Environmentally friendly cure for railway wear and curve squeal? Proposal for palm oil-based grease as a friction modifier.

This paper discusses the railway curve squeal and the relationship with the creep curve. The wear of the rail and wheel are closely related with the level of creep and friction level. The wear profiles are discussed based on the literature and the ensuing wear map from which the effect of lubricant can be seen to drastically reduce the wear by a factor of 3. Previous data of palm oil grease were derived from the four ball tester which can be difficult to apply to railway squeal and wear. The development of palm oil methyl esthers as grease for curve lubricant and also for friction modifier require the evaluation of testing procedure and rig. The challenges associated with the tools and the interpretation of the results from the twin-disc machine are discussed. High correlation of the twin-disc experimental with rail track measurement indicated that the twin-disc machine is indispensable in the study of the effectiveness of palm oil grease as friction modifier and curve lubricants. Further work of development of palm oil for railway application would require the use of the twin-disc machine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]