Wheel gauge evolution in wagon wheelsets during braking: Effect of wheel heat treatment and lateral shift of brake blocks

Vijay Kumar Desam, Manikanta Ravindra Kumar Vakkalagadda, Abenesh Kumaresan, Sundareswaran Sivaramakrishnan, Anoop Ananthasivan Pillai, Vineesh Vishnu, Vikranth Racherla, Vineesh Kuttiparambil, Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Calicut, School of Mechanical Engineering, VIT-AP University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit

Published online on January 31, 2026

Abstract

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit, Volume 240, Issue 5, Page 555-565, May 2026.
Freight trains are one of the primary sources of revenue for Indian Railways. Indian Railways has reported hundreds of wheelset failures due to wheel gauge widening and condemning during the last several years. This work addresses an effective methodology ...