Vehicle/track interaction and rolling contact fatigue in rails in the UK

Abstract

Since the Hatfield derailment in October 2000, extensive research has been undertaken in the UK to understand the factors leading to rolling contact fatigue (RCF) cracking in rails. This article describes the development and validation of a new damage energy model to predict the initiation of RCF cracks in rails. The article also describes the application of the model to help understand the mechanisms of RCF causation on specific sites and to explore the influence of key track geometry and vehicle dynamic factors on the incidence of RCF in the UK.