Objective

As in previous conferences, the focus will be on the contact between wheel and rail and the phenomena that have their origin in this area. For the CM2006 conference, the theme"Combining scientific and practical knowledge for the safe and economic operation of railway systems" has been chosen to reflect the important interaction between research and practice. We encourage the participation of rail and transit system staff and of consultants, vendors and engineers, in parallel with the researchers.

Themes

The Conference will feature presentations by internationally leading researchers and engineers. The International Committee is seeking original scientific papers which adhere to the overall theme and are in the following areas:

• Fundamental studies in rail/wheel contact mechanics and material behaviour
• Damage processes in rails and wheels
• Wear
• Rolling contact fatigue
• Corrugations
• Friction, wear and rolling contact fatigue behaviour at the rail/wheel interface
• Management of the rail/wheel interface, including grinding, lubrication, etc
• Development and application of new rail and wheel materials
• Vibration and noise in rail/wheel contact
• Measurement and simulation of rail/wheel contact behaviour
• Rail/wheel contact and vehicle/track interaction behaviour.

Authors may choose to submit an extended form of their paper for publication in a special issue of the international journal "Wear". These papers will be subjected to an international referee process. Authors choosing this option will be required to submit the extended paper at the time of the conference Accepted papers will be grouped according to the above topics, which will then form the basis of the conference program. Invited keynote papers on these topics will also be sought from persons eminent in the field.

Exhibition

There will be an exhibition held in conjunction with the conference. Enquires can be addressed to Materials Australia.