Wear of Titanium and Titanium Alloys Under Conditions of Rolling Stress

Abstract

One of the most important conditions necessary for high-speed railway traffic is a clear reduction of the unsprung masses. The fact that even with light-weight wheelsets, the steel tires still constitute over 50 percent of the total weight, shows that it is here, by utilizing the lightweight materials, that the most promising possibility of weight reduction lies. For this reason, the frictional and wear behaviour of various titanium alloys was investigated and compared with that of normal steels. From the positive results, it would appear worthwhile carrying out further investigations under practical conditions as an adequate assessment cannot be obtained on the basis of the laboratory tests alone.