Advanced metallurgical alloy design and thermomechanical processing for rails steels for North American heavy haul use

Abstract

Rail is the most valuable asset owned by railroads the AAR reported that only in North America the annual expenditure for rail repair and replacement is approximately $2.6 billion. In the last 50 years the railways and rail manufacturers have improved rail performance. Modern rail metallurgies have achieved a successful increased in hardness from 248 Hardness Brinell (HB) to more than 400 HB. This in turn increased the wear resistance of rails and a life extension. Lubrication and suspension bogies have positively contributed to rail life extension as well. Unfortunately, not as much progress has been made as far as rail's fatigue performance (e.g. rolling contact fatigue (RCF)), and fracture toughness. In this work is presented a methodology followed to development a new metallurgy that will increase RCF and wear resistance. The development of this new rail consists of rail characterization and advanced rail steel design.