PDEng position: Development of a friction calibration setup for the Dutch railways

At the start of your career, would you like to immediately focus into complex issues and work on improving the railways? What about diving into the content and develop yourself to the maximum? Then take part in the two-year PDEng programme of ProRail and the University of Twente. You will work on an innovation project in the railway sector to bring new developments that make the railway suitable for more transport of passengers and goods. In addition, you will participate in a training programme that strengthens your knowledge and helps you to develop in certain specific aspects of the innovation project.

Measuring and controlling friction in the wheel-rail contact (adhesion) in the track is decisive for the punctuality of trains, maintenance costs but also for safety. The adhesion determination project aims to develop a train tribometer system that records and processes real-time friction measurements in the rail infrastructure. One of the components in this project is the calibration of the friction registration in the rolling stock. In collaboration with a PDEng in the field of friction measurement and a team of specialists from ProRail, University of Twente and TU Delft, you will investigate the tribological and railway engineering aspects of friction measurements in the wheel-rail contact and you will design a prototype of a system with which the recording equipment in trains can be set up.