Decarburisation and rolling contact fatigue of a rail steel

Decarburisation is present on all new rails and unless ground off, will be on the running surface once installed. This paper presents a detailed investigation into the effect of decarburisation of rolling contact fatigue and wear. Twin disc testing has been used to study the phenomenon under water-lubricated rolling/sliding contact. Rail discs have been cut from grade 220 rail and heat-treated to give samples with varying depths of decarburisation. It was found that as the depth of decarburisation increased the wear rate of the rail disc increased while that of the wheel disc decreased. The effect of decarburisation on rolling contact fatigue was to increase the crack growth rate of samples with increasing depth. Cracks under rolling contact fatigue were propagated by contact stresses via the fluid pressure mechanism and influenced by microstructure. The effect of decarburisation was predicted to have little effect on rail/wheel contact when scaled from the laboratory tests using the depth of maximum shear stress.     

[表面强化及损伤机理]钢轨表面宽带激光淬火工艺及其疲劳磨损性能

针对目前钢轨强化采用的欠速淬火方法存在强化层硬度偏低、耐磨性难以满足重载线路使用要求的问题,使用3种不同光斑宽度的激光,研究了U71Mn材质钢轨的激光淬火强化工艺,获得了不同扫描速度下的临界功率和淬火层深,并测试了淬火层在滚动接触条件下的磨损与接触疲劳性能。结果表明：在临界熔化的激光能量密度下,光斑宽度由6 mm增加到20 mm时,淬火层深度提高了38%,或在获得相同的淬火层深度情况下,处理效率提高6.8倍;淬火层组织为针状马氏体,硬度从原来的300HV提高到800HV以上;20万周次的磨损试验后,激光淬火试样的磨损量只有未处理试样磨损量的25%,未处理试样以表面接触疲劳剥落和塑性变形为主,激光淬火试样仅有轻微的疲劳磨损,耐磨性和抗接触疲劳性能优异。     

润滑条件下中低碳空冷贝氏体钢的滚动滑动接触疲劳行为

研究了三种高强度或超高强度高韧性空冷贝氏体钢在油润滑条件下的接触疲劳行为。发现引起麻点剥落的疲劳裂纹不仅可在接触表面 ,也可以在距表面一定深度下的亚表面萌生 ,亚表面萌生裂纹的深度比理论计算最大剪切应力所在深度小近一个数量级 ,裂纹萌生由塑性变形和剪应力共同作用产生 ,一端向接触表面扩展 ,到达表面后润滑油被挤压进入裂纹中产生支点效果 ,另一端向最大剪应力深度扩展 ,最后在外力和润滑油支点共同作用下 ,由裂纹包围的金属屑被折断 ,形成疲劳剥落坑。钢的初始硬度或强度在低接触应力下对接触疲劳寿命影响不明显 ,在高接触应力下影响显著 ,初始硬度越高 ,接触疲劳寿命越长。     

Kinetics of damage accumulation in pearlitic rail steels under contact fatigue

The kinetics of damage accumulation in specimens of rail steels with the pearlitic structure manufactured by various companies has been studied in contact fatigue tests. The parameters of damage to the steels, such as the number, dimensions, and area of defects, the angular coefficients of cumulative size statistical distributions of the defects, as well as the velocity of propagation and the attenuation coefficient of ultrasonic waves, have been assessed. New criteria have been proposed to characterize the evolution of damage under contact fatigue. A linear interrelation between the number of surface defects and the number of subsurface defects in the zone of contact has been established, which can serve as a basis for continuously monitoring the condition rail steels and for assessing their current and remaining service lives.     

Effects of compressive stresses on torsional fatigue

Rolling contact fatigue (RCF) is the dominant failure mode in properly installed and maintained ball and roller element bearings. Lundberg and Palmgren in their seminal publication indicated that this failure is due to the alternating component of shear stress. Thus, torsional fatigue experiments have been used to predict the RCF behavior of bearing materials. In non-conformal contacts, due to Hertzian pressure the contact experiences large compressive stresses. Hence, it is critical to take into account the effect of these large compressive stresses in torsional fatigue to better simulate RCF conditions. This paper presents an investigation of torsional fatigue of bearing steels, while the effects of combined compressive stress and its relevance to material behavior in rolling contact fatigue is examined. An MTS test rig was used to investigate the fatigue life of several bearing steels and their failure mechanisms were evaluated through fractography. Then the effects of compressive stresses on torsional fatigue were investigated. A set of custom designed clamp fixtures were designed, developed and used to apply Hertzian pressures of up to 2.5 GPa on the torsion specimens. The experimental results indicate that at high cycle fatigue, a combination of shear and biaxial compression, by application of Hertzian contact, is more detrimental to fatigue life than shear alone; however, as expected it has little to negligible effects in the low cycle fatigue regime. Also the failure mode changes such that fracture planes form a cup and cone pair with multiple internal cracks as opposed to helical planes observed in pure torsion which are formed by a single crack. A 3D finite element model (using ABAQUS) was developed to investigate the fatigue damage accumulation, crack initiation, and propagation in the material. The topology of steel microstructure is modeled employing a randomly generated Voronoi tessellation wherein each Voronoi cell represents a material grain and the boundaries between the cells are assumed to represent the weak plane in the steel matrix. Continuum damage mechanics (CDM) was used to model material degradation during the fatigue process. A comprehensive damage evolution equation is developed to account for the effect of mean stress on fatigue. The model predicts the fatigue lives and crack patterns successfully both in presence and absence of compressive stresses.     

Predicting the Effect of Grinding Corrugated Rail Surface on the Wear Behavior of Pearlitic Rail Steel

Rail grinding has become an increasingly permanent way maintenance practice to tackle rail corrugation, as well as extending the rolling contact fatigue life of rails. However, and as far as material loss is concerned, such a grinding is considered as an artificial wear process added to the natural wear. The work presented in this article investigates the quantitative effect of grinding the whole deformed rail surface layer on the overall wear process of the running surface of pearlitic rail steel. Results show that if wear behavior is known as an empirical model which can predict the effect of grinding that could be obtained.     

不同碳含量的CrNiMo钢疲劳裂纹扩展特性

三种不同碳含量的ＣｒＮｉＭｏ 钢的疲劳扩展试验结果表明,随着钢中碳含量升高,裂纹扩展速率升高。回归分析表明,ＣｒＮｉＭｏ 钢的疲劳裂纹扩展速率符合以下公式：ｄａ／ｄｎ＝ Ｂ（ｄｋ－ ｄｋｔｈ ）２ ,其中疲劳裂纹扩展系数Ｂ值可以由材料拉伸性能估算。该式的有效性还以不同应力比下的疲劳裂纹扩展数据进行了验证。     

Hardness changes in rolling contact—their significance in ball-bearing steel performance

Analysis of hardness changes has revealed significant differences which explain the variation in performance in rolling contact between samples of basic electric arc (BEA) ball-bearing steels and the difference between BEA and acid open hearth (AOH) material. It is suggested that the BEA steels inhibit the spread of strain hardening, and these steels are therefore less resistant to rolling contact fatigue than the AOH steels. Interstitial nitrogen content may be a contributory factor and could explain differences between otherwise identical casts of BEA steel.     

Rolling—sliding wear damage in rail and tyre steels

The wear behaviour of several rail steels in rolling-sliding contact with a tyre steel is investigated in the laboratory using an Amsler wear testing machine. Three wear regimes are identified, and a metallurgical examination to determine the characteristic wear modes within these regimes is described. Relations between the wear rates and test contact parameters are presented for two of these regimes. A comparison of laboratory test wear modes with those found to occur in side-worn rails shows sufficient correlation for the laboratory test to be used to offer a prediction of the relative wear behaviour of pearlitic rail steels in curved track.     

Tangential stress range-compressive stress range diagram for fretting fatigue design curve

Fretting fatigue strength can be effectively predicted regardless of pad geometry, rigidity, contact pressure and slip amplitude based on the tangential stress range-compressive stress range diagram. However, the tangential stress range-compressive stress range diagram is a material property and applicable only to the material concerned. In the present study, a new approach for predicting fretting fatigue strength irrespective of material has been proposed based on a generalized tangential stress range-compressive stress range diagram. The generalized tangential stress range-compressive stress range diagram was obtained by normalizing the tangential stress range and compressive stress range values by tensile strength of each material. It was found that the generalized tangential stress range-compressive stress range diagrams for all the steels merged to one line and could be applicable for predicting fretting fatigue strength of wide range of steels.     

Tribological properties of hardened high strength Boron steel at combined rolling and sliding condition

The use of hardened high strength steel is found in applications where high wear resistance is required. The wear properties of high strength Boron steel are well known in applications with abrasive wear from stones, ore and other hard material. A unique concept of wear protection of rails is newly presented, a wear resistant cap made of hardened high strength Boron steel.Reducing the wear of rails and wheels and controlling the frictional behavior in the wheel/rail contact are two key issues for railway owners in order to reduce the increasing costs related to higher axle loads, higher speeds, more frequent traffic, etc. Therefore, the aim of this work has been to investigate and compare the tribological properties of Boron steel and UIC 1100 rail steel in contact with Blue Light wheel steel (AAR Class C (69-JDG-8)) under dry and water lubricated conditions in a two-disc tribometer. Advanced analytical instruments including 3D optical surface profiler, micro-hardness indenter, light microscope and SEM/EDS were used to analyze the results.Results from the experiments show that the friction coefficient in tests with Boron steel is more stable both in dry and water lubricated conditions than tests including UIC 1100 rail steel used in todays application. Surface damages seen from water lubricated tests on UIC 1100 rail steel are not seen on the surface of the Boron steel discs. In all tests, the wear decreased when water was added in the contact and friction was slightly decreased.     

Wear mechanisms of polytetrafluoroethylene during its friction against various grades of steel

Wear tests of polytetrafluoroethylene paired with two grades of steel have been performed. It has been shown that the presence of alloying additives in steels has a positive effect on widening of the operating load range for polytetrafluoroethylene. The analytical dependence of the wear factor on the contact pressure multiplied by the sliding velocity has been obtained for the adhesive wear mechanism. The friction surfaces of polytetrafluoroethylene in cases of the adhesive and fatigue mechanisms of wear have been comparatively studied.     

轴承钢生产中的钡合金脱氧工艺

为提高GCr15轴承钢的质量,在生产中采用钢包精炼炉进行钡合金脱氧,并将此工艺生产的钢与钢包精炼炉和真空精炼炉用铝脱氧的钢进行了夹杂物对比分析和疲劳寿命对比试验.结果表明:钡合金脱氧钢的疲劳寿命高于相同氧含量真空和非真空铝脱氧钢的,钢中的夹杂物细小均匀,呈弥散分布,并消除了点状夹杂物;喂钡合金线的脱氧效果优于直接加入钡合金块的,其疲劳寿命最高,最终氧含量达到7 mg·kg-1.     

Evaluation of non-metallic inclusions of steels used for rolling bearings from fracture surface by rotating ring fatigue fracture test

Recent improvements in steel-making techniques have much decreased the content of non-metallic inclusions in steels. Inclusions are known to be detrimental to the rolling contact fatigue life of bearings. While bearing life has improved because of advances in steel-making techniques, the conventional method for evaluating non-metallic inclusions is losing its effectiveness. A new method for evaluating the non-metallic inclusion content of steels used for rolling bearings has been developed. In ring-type rotating fatigue fracture tests on quench-hardened specimens a crack usually initiates on the inside surface of the ring specimen. However, a crack initiates near the outside surface when the specimen has been treated, to produce a large residual tensile stress on the outside surface before the test. In this case, the fractured surface remains protected from damage caused by rubbing of the mating fracture surfaces until the test rig stops. A fish eye is observed on the fracture surface and there is a non-metallic inclusion at the centre of the fish eye. There is a correlation between the size of the non-metallic inclusion in the fish eye and the rolling contact fatigue life of the steel.     

基于加热炉步进机械滚轮和斜台面轨道的有限分析

针对步进机械升降滚轮和斜台面轨道,建立了利用平面应力理论分析得出的接触应力理论模型,以某加热炉步进机械为例,利用ABAQUS软件进行有限元分析对比验证了该理论模型和赫兹公式的差异,得出了滚轮与斜台面轨道间接触应力的分布情况。     

Effects of humidity and contact material on fretting fatigue behavior of an extruded AZ61 magnesium alloy

Fretting fatigue tests of the extruded AZ61 magnesium alloy with the same contact material under low and high humidity were carried out to investigate basic fretting fatigue characteristics and effect of humidity on fretting fatigue behavior. Influence of contact material was also studied by using JIS S45C carbon steel contact material. Degradation of fatigue strength due to fretting was much more significant than that due to corrosion under high humidity condition. Therefore, no effect of humidity on fretting fatigue strength was found. Reduction rate of fatigue strength due to fretting for the magnesium alloy was between those of aluminum alloys and titanium alloys. Tangential force coefficient of the magnesium alloy was rather low compared to other materials such as steels, aluminum alloys and titanium alloys. Fretting fatigue strength with the S45C contact material was inferior compared to that with the same contact material. This is mainly due to higher tangential force in AZ61/S45C contact. Fretting fatigue cracks at the edge of fretting contact region were observed to nucleate in the very early stage of fatigue life, similar to other structural materials.     

316不锈钢材料的统计热疲劳模型

通过对316不锈钢材料在450℃,600℃和700℃中温环境应力控制下的低周疲劳试验,得到有实际意义的试验结果,对这些试验结果进行分析和研究,得出316不锈钢材料在中温环境和应力控制下的低周热疲劳行为,并且提出一个低周热疲劳寿命预测模型。在所建立的低周热疲劳寿命模型中,Manson通用斜率方程被用于疲劳寿命与拉伸性能的试验整合。通过对疲劳试验数据与不同的数学模型进行的拟合以建立温度和其他参数之间的函数关系,从而对316不锈钢材料在中温低周疲劳环境下进行寿命预测,为以后的寿命评估模型提供依据。     

Relations between cavitation erosion resistance of materials and their fatigue strength under random loading

The paper contains results of tests on fatigue strength under uniaxial random loading and cavitation erosion resistance for three steels: 10HNAP, 18G2A and 15G2ANb. The obtained fatigue and cavitation characteristics were used for determination of relations between these two phenomena. From the analysis it appears that there is correlation between fatigue strength of the material under random loading and its cavitation erosion resistance. It has been shown that fatigue tests under random loading and tests on cavitation erosion of 10HNAP, 18G2A and 15G2ANb steels may be described with a mathematical model of the same type. It has been also found that there is a linear relation, in the dual logarithmic system, between cavitation erosion resistance of the steels tested and their fatigue strength under random tension—compression with zero mean value.     

高碳贝氏体轴承钢滚动接触疲劳性能的研究

以GCr15Si1Mo贝氏体轴承钢为研究对象,在油润滑条件和无润滑条件下,对不同初始碳化物体积分数的试样进行滚动接触疲劳试验,采用扫描电镜观察试验前后试样的表面形貌和碳化物分布,并通过Weibull曲线确定试样滚动接触疲劳性能的优劣性。结果表明,在无润滑条件下,碳化物体积分数为1.9%的试样滚动接触疲劳性能优于碳化物体积分数为5.1%的试样。在油润滑条件下,贝氏体轴承钢的滚动接触疲劳性能的优劣性依次为：无初始碳化物试样、碳化物体积分数为5.1%试样、碳化物体积分数为1.9%试样。碳化物作为基体的硬质相,很容易成为疲劳源,无初始碳化物的贝氏体轴承钢的滚动接触疲劳性能优于有碳化物的贝氏体轴承钢;碳化物脱落后的凹坑增大了润滑油和试样表面的粘着力,有利于增加油膜厚度,从而提高滚动接触疲劳寿命。     

Evaluation of slant crack propagation under RCF in railway rail

Crack propagation due to rolling contact fatigue (RCF) could be a significant potential challenge to the integrity of railway rails because it may lead to a serious disaster. Fatigue cracks subjected to cyclic rolling contact force experience a complex non-proportional mixed loading and complicated boundary condition. In the present research, complex crack opening/closure/sliding/locked behaviors as the cyclic contact loading movement is analyzed considering liquid lubrication action on rail surfaces as well as crack faces. Based on a series of FE analyses, the calculations of the effective SIF ranges for RCF cracks under certain contact loading and boundary conditions are proposed in the form of polynomial functions which will be appropriately used to predict RCF crack growth rate.