Welcome

Welcome on the registration website of the Symposium Railway Rails and Rail Maintenance.
The symposium is organized by the TU Delft, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering , Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) on the occasion of Bart Schotsman’s Ph.D. defense.

19 November, 2025, 09:30-14:00 o’clock

Symposium: Railway Rails and Rail Maintenance

In Industrial Design Engineering Hall O - Hans Dirken, 34.D-1-810 of Delft University of Technology

The presentations provide an overview of current and past research on the microstructure of rail steels, rolling contact fatigue, surface roughness and roughness reduction, rail grinding, etc.

The symposium is interesting for researchers and students on Railway Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, who are also encouraged to share their questions and research with presenters. In addition, the information shared is accessible and applicable by anyone professionally involved in rail maintenance.

I look forward to a symposium that inspires to improve maintenance strategies and motivates ongoing research.

Program

09:30	Opening	M.J. Santofimia
09:40	Railway rails and rail maintenance	B. Schotsman
Railway rails need maintenance to maintain the profile shape and to remove damage initiations. In the presentation recent research results are shown on the interrelations between material removal (grinding depth), the MESH of the grinding wheels, and the introduction of preferential sites for damage initiation.
10:20	To be announced	R.H. Petrov

11:00	RCF caused by static and dynamic loads.	Z. Li
In the presentation, we will show that head checks are caused by static load, and squats by dynamic loads. We show these with field observations and with numerical analyses
Break
12:10	Modelling of rolling contact fatigue in a rolling contact under traction	M.B. de Rooij
Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) is a primary failure mechanism in rolling elements across critical engineering applications such as rail-wheel systems, bearings, steel rolls, and gears. With increasing demands for higher load-bearing capacities, accurate failure prediction and optimized maintenance strategies are essential. The presentation will give an overview of recent research performed in the group involving both modelling and experimental validation, with a focus on the effects of interacting effects of hardness and roughness of the contacting surfaces.
12:50	To be announced	D.I. Fletcher

13:30	Wrap-up and closure	M.J. Santofimia/ D. Leonetti