Citation

Franklin FJ, Kapoor A. Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Pt. F J. Rail Rapid Transit 2007; 221(1): 23-33.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the wearing and cracking found in steel rails. The authors note this to be a significant safety and cost-efficiency concern to the railway industry, due to the reduction of the useful life of rails, leading to more frequent and expensive rail replacement and/or regrinding that affects track access time and causes timetable delays. To address this concern, the authors investigate finding the optimum combination of wear and grinding that both maintains railhead profile and prevents cracks from growing. Because of the large number of variables seen in track geometry, train dynamics, and wheel and rail profiles, there is a correspondingly wide variation in contact patch size and location. The research uses the two-dimensional model of ratcheting wear developed by Kapoor et al. to serve as a model for the damage that accumulates near the rail surface. It is based on a full three-dimensional contact stress distribution. Also explored are the effects of microstructure on wear and crack initiation via the use of models of different rail steel microstructures.

Language: en