Effect of the chemical surrounding environment on the physical and mechanical properties of aged thermoplastic polymers.

A complete study is presented on the response of thermoplastic and thermoplastic composite materials for bearing cages of bogie trains for rail applications to aging conditions in presence of lubricants. Glass Fiber reinforced Polyamaide 66 (GF PA66) is proposed as commercial material already used in the field while Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK) is proposed as novel polymeric candidate material due to its chemical stability and high mechanical performance. Accelerated aging tests were performed to analyze the response of these materials to external chemical agents under different conditions.

Visual Measurement System for Wheel-Rail Lateral Position Evaluation.

Railway infrastructure must meet safety requirements concerning its construction and operation. Track geometry monitoring is one of the most important activities in maintaining the steady technical conditions of rail infrastructure. Commonly, it is performed using complex measurement equipment installed on track-recording coaches.