Advances in rail materials from conventional rail steels to those with higher yield points and the potential of additively manufactured laser clad coatings to improve the durability of railway track components presents a new challenge in characterisation. Many of these new and novel materials have either limited test samples available or are more resistant to strain and therefore present challenges in characterisation. The method reported here uses twin disc tests to simulate cyclic loading experienced by rail steel in service. A sample from a single test condition is analysed, measuring the shear yield stress and the accumulated shear strain at multiple depths below the contact surface, from which a Shear Yield Stress – Plastic Shear Strain (SYS-PSS) relationship is extracted. Knowledge of the stress history of a rail sample is not required to apply the method and minimal samples are required, providing a technique which can be used on rail steel samples removed from service.

A new directional Eddy Current Probe has been developed and previously tested statically on typical rail damage types. To better understand its damage detection capability, knowledge of its performance while being moved along a track section was required as well as application to a wider range of potential rail flaws. High-speed stud inspections were conducted using damaged rail extracted from the field at velocities up to 2 m s ⁻¹ to evaluate the probe’s reliability for potential deployment on a hand-pushed trolley. The inspection of rail studs at 2 m s ⁻¹ achieved an signal-to-noise ratio of 3.5, exceeding the industry-accepted threshold of 3.0. This result confirms the system’s robust defect detection performance under dynamic operating conditions. The current field-representative set-up maintained reliable defect detectability across all tested speeds. These findings underscore the probe’s operational resilience and validate its applicability for real- world rail maintenance scenarios where mechanical constraints and environmental variability are unavoidable.

This novel experimental work aims to bring further knowledge of frictional performance of common barrier products used in the treatment of incontinence-associated dermatitis and determine how the skin-pad interface changes when a treatment is applied to the skin. Key data is reported and there is an in-depth analysis into friction profiles which reveals great differences between how different skin-pad tribosystems operate when exposed to commercially available barrier treatments. In a wet-pad state Barrier cream A (3M™ Cavilon™ Barrier cream) reduced friction and had much lower dynamic and static coefficients of friction than the other barrier treatments ( Barrier cream B (Sorbaderm Barrier cream) and the Barrier spray C (Sorbaderm Barrier spray)). Barrier cream A provided stable friction coefficients in reciprocating sliding, whereas the other treatments, and untreated skin, did not display this unique characteristic. The barrier spray gave rise to high static friction coefficients and exhibited the most stick-slip. All three candidate barrier protection products were found to reduce directional differences in the static coefficient of friction: indicative of reduced shear loading. Knowledge of the desirable frictional properties would drive innovation in product development, and benefit companies, clinicians and users.

A class of dynamic material property (DMP) experiments on the Sandia National Laboratories pulse power Z-Machine requires planar samples to be held in a panel assembly. A custom press device to fabricate the assemblies has the ability to assemble one sample, window, or stack at a time, resulting in a 1-week lead time for a typical three-pocket panel assembly. Fabrication of targets with more than three pockets can take longer. In late 2015, General Atomics conceptualized a new multi-press device to enable several samples, windows, or stacks to be assembled simultaneously, and a prototype was designed, procured, and outfitted in 6 months. Since June 2016, this multi-press design has successfully assembled 60 planar DMP targets. The development considerations for this new device and the resulting benefits for the fabrication of targets are discussed.

Leaf low adhesion mechanisms are complex and the interplay between the influencing parameters is not well understood. In this paper new approaches have been utilised to assess the role of leaf layer moisture versus humidity on low adhesion. Using controlled testing in a climate chamber as well as laboratory and field testing, leaf layer moisture relationships were explored. Moisture was found to be the most important characteristic when compared with environmental changes (such as humidity) and the relationship between moisture and traction is qualified.