Rolling contact fatigue: Damage function development from two-disc test data

The concept of the rail damage function provides vital understanding of the operational performance of rail grades in terms of surface degradation. Previously, material specific damage functions have been derived from measurements in track combined with vehicle-track simulations. However, from the occurring wide range in track loading conditions it is difficult to achieve clear characterisation results from track data only. To reach more controlled loading conditions, a rolling-sliding two-disc laboratory set up could be applied. The validation of a two-disc test approach in order to define rail/wheel interface wear and RCF response is the topic of the here presented study.