Maintenance of disc-brake wheelsets

This article discusses the maintenance of disc brake wheelsets. The wheel set of a rail vehicle, along with the disc brake, is the basic unit of a rail vehicle, susceptible to abrasive wear. In the case of railway wheels, wear results from contact with the rail, while for brake discs, wear occurs through friction with the friction lining. The wear process of both wheels and brake discs is uneven, which for the operator requires shutting down the vehicle, once when the discs reach their maximum wear limit, and again when the wheels reach their wear limit. This article presents the results of wheel and brake disc wear tests and their analysis over a 5-year period on a selected ELF I electric multiple unit. Based on the test results, it was concluded that for a multi-unit vehicle such as a multiple unit, it is necessary to monitor the wear rate of wheels and brake discs during the P2 periodic inspections and to implement organizational and technical measures to achieve longer service life for one of the wheelset components. Such actions will allow to obtain similar values of the wear limit of the wheel and disc at the P4 inspection, i.e. during the revision repair.