Wear and Rolling Contact Fatigue in Railway Systems

Dear Colleagues,

The efficient and safe operation of railway systems is paramount to the transportation industry, enabling the seamless movement of people and goods across vast distances. In this intricate web of steel rails and rolling stock, wear and rolling contact fatigue (RCF) emerge as critical challenges that demand thorough understanding and meticulous management. Wear, resulting from the continuous interaction between wheel and rail materials, leads to material loss, increased maintenance costs, and potential safety hazards. On the other hand, RCF, often referred to as rail and wheel damage, is a complex phenomenon characterized by surface cracking and spalling due to repetitive loading and unloading cycles during train operations. Both wear and RCF not only compromise the operational integrity of railway infrastructures but also pose significant economic and safety concerns. We will embark on a journey to unravel the intricate mechanics, causes, consequences, and mitigation strategies associated with these phenomena. With an eye towards the advancement of railway technology and the pursuit of sustainable and reliable transportation solutions, this Special Issue seeks to provide valuable insights into the challenges posed by wear and RCF and the innovative solutions that hold the promise of enhancing the performance, safety, and longevity of railway systems in the 21st century.

This is a call for papers for a Special Issue on "Wear and Rolling Contact Fatigue in Railway Systems". This Special Issue will provide a venue for scholars and researchers to share their most recent theoretical and technical successes, as well as a platform on which to highlight key topics and difficulties for future studies in the field. Submitted papers are expected to inspire original ideas and potential contributions to theory and practice. Acceptable research topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Material property improvement for achieving better resistance to wear and RCF;
• Monitoring and inspection technologies for the detection of wear and RCF defects;
• Modeling and simulation theories for wear and RCF in railway applications;
• Lubrication and friction management for wear and RCF problems in railways;
• Applications of artificial intelligence, big data, and deep learning in RCF and wear prediction for railway systems.

Dr. Wei Zhou
Dr. Congcong Fang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Machines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• RCF
• wear
• wheel-rail
• railway system
• numerical simulation
• field tests