LAUSR

Abstract The effects of water lubricant to reduce airborne wear particles (AWPs) generation from wheel–rail contacts were investigated under three different train velocities using a twin-disk rig. Results indicated that the train velocity influenced generation trend, amount, and size distributions of nano- and micro-particles under dry and wet conditions. Water lubricant effectively reduced the number concentration (NC) of nano-particles, and the reduction increased with velocities. The NC of micro-particles generated under wet conditions was almost negligible for all tested velocities. Water vapors generated because of frictional heating significantly influenced the nano-particles NCs. Thus, water lubricants can effectively reduce the NCs of AWPs.