Calculation of section modulus and moments of inertia of the 60E1 rail profile due to its head cross-section change

The paper presents the theoretical foundations regarding the operational wear of rail heads. Rail, which constitute the basic element of the railway track, among others, guides the wheel in a lateral direction as well as enables a safe operation of rail vehicles. The criteria for the interaction of vehicles with the railway surface are described and the issues of interaction of the rail vehicle wheel with the rail is described. In the further part of the work an analysis of the influence of rail head wear of the 60E1 rail profile on the value of the moment of inertia Ix and sectional modulus Wx of this profile was carried out. The analysis was conducted on real, previously prepared samples of 60E1 operated rails. The methodology for calculating the geometric characteristics of cross-sectional characteristics of worn rails has been proposed using the Autodesk Autocad (Computer Aided Design software). The obtained values of moments of inertia and sectional modulus were compared with theoretical formulas described in the literature.