| Summary: | The background to the realisation of this project comprises an increasing number of rail replacements and an increasing volume of traffic with a 30-tonne axle load on the Swedish Iron Ore Line (IOL). When comparing the maintenance costs of all the different systems in the Swedish railway network, the maintenance costs for the track and wheels are by far the highest at present. The wheel profile measurement system (WPMS) was considered to provide the possibility of picking out wheels approaching the maintenance limits for wear and thereby of controlling maintenance in a more cost-effective way. Accordingly, LKAB and Trafikverket (the Swedish Transport Administration) reached an agreement concerning the initiation of a joint project in which a new type of measurement equipment would be tested. To obtain assistance with data storage and processing, etc., Luleå University of Technology (LTU) and its eMaintenance Lab were engaged in the project. The objective of the project has been to investigate and verify whether equipment for automatic wheel profile measurement is capable of registering wheel data and sending alerts concerning the passage of wheels which deviate from the safety and maintenance limits defined in the project, with regard to the climate and conditions prevailing along the Swedish IOL. The fundamental idea behind this project has been that, through continuous measurement of wheel profiles, one should be able to take vehicles out of service before any deviating wheel profiles give rise to accelerating wheel and rail wear, and that one should thereby be able to reduce the maintenance costs and increase the operational life of both wheels and rails. An additional result of the project has been increased safety on the track, since it is possible to measure wheels that have exceeded the safety limit for wheel parameters and remove them, which was impossible previously. The following conclusions can be drawn from this project.• There are benefits to be derived from development projects conducted jointly ...
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