Abstract
In this paper, the authors present an analysis of wheel and rail wear intensities corresponding to representative cases of tractive and regenerative braking efforts associated with Diesel Electric Locomotives and Battery Electric Locomotives (respectively) in a Hybrid Consist arrangement. Relative changes in wheel and rail wear intensities are simulated for a practical set of operating (curving) conditions, with wear energy (T-gamma) levels used to estimate the change in relative contribution of the locomotive consist to wheel and rail wear rates, by placing the results in the context of established wheel and rail wear models. Wear rates are then translated into estimates of embodied carbon footprint, which can be used in a lifecycle modelling approach through which the combination of tractive effort and regenerative recharging can be optimized to yield a balance between operational carbon savings and embodied carbon emissions.
