Development of methodology and software for predicting the lateral wear of rails

The paper solves the problem of predicting the lateral wear of rails (LWR) in curves, which is directly related to the safety of cargo and passenger transportation by rail. At present, the prediction of LWR in curves is performed manually by the operator, according to the developed calculation method. It is proposed to solve the problem in a complex way by developing methodology and software. The result of the development will be a software system for predicting the LWR in curves with a radius of less than 1,000 meters. The purpose of predicting the LWR in curves is to determine the moment of their replacement, due to the danger of their further use for cargo and passenger transportation. In addition to the predicted values of LWR in curves, the software system will give recommendations on the maximum allowable speeds on rails with lateral wear values above the norm, and will also highlight the rails that need to be replaced in the first place. The result of the work of the software system will be the automatic generation of output documentation at the request of the operator of the software system. On the basis of the received output documentation, the management makes a decision on the replacement of particular rails.