26th ANNUAL WHEEL RAIL INTERACTION CONFERENCE

Biography: Dr. Daniel Szablewski has over 16 years of experience in materials engineering with emphasis on ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, including solidification and heat processing of cast and wrought components. His key technical strengths are in rail wear and rolling contact fatigue mechanism, rail defect analysis, investigation of train derailments (due to component failure), expertise in rail welding and heat-affected zone mitigation, and defect analysis of welding failures. Daniel has expert knowledge of ASTM standards in metal product analysis including metallography and mechanical testing techniques.

Dr. Szablewski spent 6 years at Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) in Pueblo, Colorado in the position of metallurgist for the Association of American Railroads (AAR). While there he directed a rail research program testing premium, intermediate and standard rail types. His expert knowledge extends to regular track, special trackwork and rolling stock components. In addition, he provided technical advice on numerous commercial projects with proprietary client focused research goals. Daniel also performed top-of-rail friction modification (TOR FM) studies at TTCI’s heavy axle load test track where products from industry leading manufacturers were evaluated under HAL traffic conditions.

From mid-2015 to present, Dr. Szablewski has worked at the National Research Council of Canada as a metallurgist in the Wheel/Rail Performance (WRP) group. During his time at NRC Daniel led projects focused on establishing full traction vs. creepage curves for freight wheelsets where the friction characteristics at the wheel/rail interface were controlled to establish dry, wet, lubricated and friction managed conditions. In addition, Daniel contributed his metallurgical expertise to projects involving defect root cause analysis in freight operations and optimization of wheel/rail interaction in transit operations.

Dr. Szablewski obtained his M.A.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Engineering from the University of Windsor, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.