Abstract
During operation, the railway axle is exposed to static, cyclic and dynamic loading that is accompanied by influence of corrosive environments. This causes the accumulation of structural and mechanical damages in the material, formation of corrosion and mechanical micro-defects that are potential sites of fatigue crack nucleation and growth. This requires the development of failure analysis methods that allow determining main mechanisms of ferrite-pearlite steels fracture on the micro scale level. The railway axle’s material – the OSL steel – main regularities of temperature influence on fracture mechanisms in ferrite-pearlite steel type are shown. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of fracture surface of Charpy specimens tested at 20°C and -40°C was performed on micro scale level using SEM investigation.
Highlights
Increase in the intensity of rail transportation leads to the increase of locomotive park usage and decrease its outage, including overhaul periods [1, 2]
That is why considerable attention is paid to their research and obtained data are used for development of residual life assessment models
A significant role is played by research of the effect of the exploitation defects shape influence on the axle residual life and statistical description of fatigue crack growth, the impact of the axle geometry on fatigue cracks nucleation and growth, the stress intensity factor determination at the crack tip [8, 9]
Summary
Increase in the intensity of rail transportation leads to the increase of locomotive park usage and decrease its outage, including overhaul periods [1, 2] Such actions require review and extending of existing approaches in particular justification of fatigue life and crack growth resistance of railway axle steel [3,4,5]. The solution to this problem is impossible without obtaining experimental data about influence of exploitation and temperature factors on fracture mechanisms of railway axle steel [6]. The purpose of this work is to evaluate influence of axle steel microstructure on macro and micro mechanisms of the wheel-set axle fracture under cyclic and impact loading
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