Experimental study on the effect of solid and liquid lubrication on wheel wear in Ankara metro trains

Lubrication is used in metro and railway systems to reduce wheel-rail wear. Today, no standart has been formed for wheel(flange) lubrication systems and lubricants. Through recent studies, various kinds of lubrication systems and lubricants have been developed. However, which lubrication systems and lubricants are the most useful with which railway system is not clear known. In this study rails with solid lubrication is compared with rails without lubrication and liquid lubrication is compared with solid lubrication systems and wheel wears were also observed for a certain time. In the first experiment, which was done in the Ankara Metro with the sabo braking system, the applicability tests of liquid lubrication were done. The applicability of liquid lubrication in the Ankara Metro has been determined with those observations and test results. In the second part of the experiment, Train 11 without a lubrication system is compared with Train 29 with solid lubrication by making the wheel wear measurements with a CNC wheel lathe machine. It is determined that wheel life with solid lubrication is at least 70 % more than wheels without lubrication. In the third part of the experiment, the wheel wears of Train (29, 3029) with a solid lubrication system and Train (11, 3011) with a liquid lubrication system were examined with the photographs and measurements taken on a CNC wheel lathe machine. Wheel wear amounts in vii both liquid and solid lubrication are have nearly the same values according to the obtained results.