Abstract
The benefits of using premium pearlitic rail steels in heavy haul operations may be offset by the potential occurrence of localized degradation at flashbutt welds due to the discontinuous nature of both microstructure and mechanical properties between the heat-affected zone and the parent rail. In this study, the influence of the width of the softened zone on ratcheting behaviour of flashbutt welds has been investigated for three rail steels. The results show that both maximum ratcheting strain and maximum ratcheting strain rate can be significantly reduced for all three rail steels by narrowing the width of the softened zones. This indicates that the performance of flashbutt welds can be improved by reducing the width of the softened zones.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Contact Mechanics and Wear of Rail/wheel Systems, CM 2018 |
| Editors | Alfredo Nunez, Zili Li |
| Publisher | DELFT University of Technology |
| Pages | 792-802 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9789461869630 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2018 |
| Event | International Conference on Contact Mechanics and Wear of Rail/Wheel Systems 2018 - Delft, Netherlands Duration: 24 Sept 2018 → 27 Sept 2018 Conference number: 11th |
Publication series
| Name | Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Contact Mechanics and Wear of Rail/wheel Systems, CM 2018 |
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Conference
| Conference | International Conference on Contact Mechanics and Wear of Rail/Wheel Systems 2018 |
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| Abbreviated title | CM 2018 |
| Country/Territory | Netherlands |
| City | Delft |
| Period | 24/09/18 → 27/09/18 |
Keywords
- Finite element analysis.
- Flashbutt weld
- Premium pearlitic rail steels
- Ratcheting behaviour
- Softened zone