What Is The Purpose Of Rail Grinding?

When we marvel at the lightning-fast speed and smoothness of high-speed trains, we often attribute the credit to advanced locomotives and vehicles as well as intelligent control systems. However, what underpins this grand vision are just two seemingly ordinary steel rails. What is less known is that these two hard steel rails have been enduring tremendous pressure and wear since their installation. And rail grinding, this seemingly simple and rough “manual work”, is actually a highly sophisticated “medical skill” that integrates materials science, dynamics, and precise measurement. It is an indispensable safety valve for the safe, smooth, and economical operation of modern railways.

1. Rail grinding is not simply “repair”

In the eyes of ordinary people, grinding is nothing more than removing the unevenness on the surface of the rail. However, the core concept of modern rail grinding has already transcended the passive “repair”, advancing to active “prevention” and “management”. Its role is a multi-dimensional and systematic project, and its far-reaching significance mainly lies in the following aspects:

1.1. The priority for ensuring train safety

The contact relationship between the train wheels and the rail is one of the most precise mechanical relationships in the world. However, under repeated rolling, the surface of the rail will produce a series of “damages”, directly threatening train safety.

1.2 Eliminating wave wear: This is the periodic wear on the top surface of the rail, resembling waves. When the train passes through the wave wear section at high speed, it will generate intense vibrations and noise. It will not only affect the comfort of the ride. But more terrifyingly, it will significantly increase the dynamic force between the wheel and the rail. So it will potentially cause fatigue fractures of components and even triggering derailment risks. Grinding operations can precisely level these “waves”, restoring the smoothness of the rail surface, fundamentally eliminating this safety hazard.

1.3 Repairing peeling and falling off: In curved sections or areas with frequent braking, the surface of the rail will develop tiny cracks due to excessive contact stress, which will then develop into metal flake-like peeling or falling off. These defects are like “traps” on the rail surface. So they can easily cause damage to the wheel tread and expanding rapidly under high-speed impact, forming a vicious cycle. Grinding can promptly remove these fatigue layers, preventing cracks from spreading inward and avoiding catastrophic accidents.

1.4 Preventing rail head cracking: In heavy-load railways, the rail interior is prone to small cracks (cracking). Through regular preventive grinding, the plastic deformation layer and microscopic crack initiation points on the rail head surface can be eliminated, effectively delaying the generation of internal fatigue cracks, playing a crucial role in “preventing small problems from growing into big ones”.

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