Abstract
The fatigue and wear characteristics of four different steel wheel materials are investigated in detail by using rolling contact fatigue and wear bench tests on a JD-1 apparatus, analyzing chemical composition and hardness, and performing profile analysis and micro-morphology analysis. The wear and fatigue behavior of one of the materials under different operation speeds is also investigated. The results show that the wear resistance of the materials has a positive correlation with their carbon content, while fatigue resistance has a negative correlation. Based on hardness analysis as a function of depth into the specimen, the thickness of layers with a steep hardness gradient has a negative correlation with the initial surface hardness in the tests using different materials. The hardness increments, however, have a positive correlation with initial surface hardness. The rolling tests on one material using different rotation speeds show that the hardness increments and the thickness of layers with a steep hardness gradient increase with the rotation speed. The analyses and experimental results demonstrate that two of the four materials exhibit good wear resistance and rolling contact fatigue resistance, making them suitable for either high-speed or heavy axle railroad operations.
Highlights
Researching high-performance wheel materials is important in wheel/rail development in order to reduce the wear between wheel and rail and prolong service life [1]
The results show that the wear resistance of the materials has a positive correlation with their carbon content, while fatigue resistance has a negative correlation
The results indicate that the wear resistance is directly related to the carbon content, and specimens with a higher carbon content have greater wear resistance
Summary
Researching high-performance wheel materials is important in wheel/rail development in order to reduce the wear between wheel and rail and prolong service life [1]. In China, Mi et al [3] researched the wear characteristics of two types of cast steel wheel materials, which were named B? Wear is the most critical factor in the replacement of rails and wheels in commercial railroad systems, and in restricting the service life of wheels. Enhancing the wear resistance of wheels, can bring economic benefit to railway operations, and a large amount of railway research is spent on reducing the wear between the wheel and rail by reducing the weight loss or by reducing special wear forms such as corrugation
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