Abstract
Rolling contact fatigue (RCF) of rail can be a significant problem affecting safety and maintenance. Rail materials have been optimized to reduce it, but not enough is known about how friction management products applied to the rail affect crack growth. This study presents experimental results carried out to explore the influence of different lubricants and application orders on wear and pre-existing RCF cracks in rail materials. The results indicate that the types or properties of lubricants have a vital role in the wear rate and fatigue crack growth characteristics of rail materials after conditioning with 5000 dry cycles to initiate cracks. Using a different application order of two lubricants has a significant influence on the crack growth angles in the rail rollers.
Highlights
Rolling contact fatigue has an important role in determining the operational reliability of the wheel/rail system
This study presents experimental results carried out to explore the influence of different lubricants and application orders on wear and preexisting Rolling contact fatigue (RCF) cracks in rail materials
When the lubricants are used at the beginning of testing, the traction coefficient keeps a low level compared with the dry condition
Summary
Rolling contact fatigue has an important role in determining the operational reliability of the wheel/rail system. There is a competitive relationship between wear and RCF damage and the wear has an important role in enhancing rail fatigue life [7]. Reducing wear problems may lead to more RCF or other competitive types of wheel/rail damage. The wear rate is significant for controlling the initiation and propagation of wheel/rail RCF cracks [8]. Donzella established a simulation model for assessing the wear and RCF in rails with particular emphasis on their competitive role, and the results indicated that the wear can remove the surface cracks due to RCF [9]. It is noted that the initiation and propagation of cracks are affected by lots of factors, such as the microstructure of materials, contact pressure, shear stress, lubricant and operational environment
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