Rolling Contact Fatigue Cracks Research Articles

Peridynamic analysis of rolling contact fatigue crack propagation in rail welding joints with pore defects

Pore defects are prevalent in rail welding joints and significantly contribute to the propagation of fatigue cracks. This study develops a peridynamic (PD) model that incorporates the characteristics of pore defects to analyze their impact on rolling contact fatigue behavior. Initially, compact tension (CT) fatigue tests were performed to derive and validate the bond fatigue failure model specific to rail weld materials. Subsequently, pore defects were modeled as holes in the CT specimens, with experimental results being compared to PD simulation outcomes for validation. Finally, a wheel-rail contact PD model was constructed to investigate the mechanisms of fatigue crack propagation in rail welding joints affected by pore defects.

Finite element analyses of rail head cracks: Predicting direction and rate of rolling contact fatigue crack growth

A numerical framework in 3D for predicting crack growth direction and rate in a rail head is presented. An inclined semi-circular surface-breaking gauge corner crack with frictionless crack faces is incorporated into a 60E1 rail model. The investigated load scenarios are wheel–rail contact, rail bending, thermal loading, and combinations of these. The crack growth direction is predicted using an accumulative vector crack tip displacement criterion, and Paris-type equations are employed to estimate crack growth rates. Results are evaluated along the crack front for varying crack radii and crack plane inclinations. Under the combined load cases and in the presence of tractive forces, the crack is generally predicted to go deeper into the rail than under pure contact. Crack growth rates for the combined load cases are higher than (but still close to) that for pure contact. A tractive force will increase growth rates for smaller cracks, whereas a steeper (45°) inclination will decrease the growth rate under the studied conditions as compared to a shallower (25°) inclination. Results should be of use for rail maintenance planning where deeper cracks require more machining efforts.

Investigation on fatigue parameters in railway wheels using a critical plane model

The contact areas between rail and wheel are critical in determining the performance of rail vehicles. Analyzing the mechanics, materials, tribology, and geometry of the interface is important to understand the contact damage mechanisms, fatigue parameter and fatigue life. Developing a simplified and novel approach to predict crack initiation and fatigue life is key for investigating contact fatigue of rail wheel interaction. This study aims to investigate rolling contact fatigue (RCF) cracks and fatigue life in railroad wheels using Finite Element Model (FEM). Using a proper material model that accounts for plastic shakedown, ratchetting, and cyclic hardening for both the rail and wheel materials, the FEM model is analyzed with the help of Abaqus 2020 tool. The submodelling technique was implemented to reduce computation demand. Stress and strain history outputs extracted from the submodel (at 0 mm, 1.3 mm, 2.6 mm, and 3.6 mm depths) were used to predict critical plane orientation, crack initiation and fatigue life using critical plane models. The orientation of critical (crack) plane was found using a novel MATLAB algorithm by searching for a plane with maximum fatigue parameter (FPmax). The investigation reveals that the location of maximum damage is the subsurface and the crack angles fall within the range of (0°, 40°), (62°, 123°) and (143°, 180°) with a 5 % margin and at a depth of 2.6 mm below the wheel surface. The determined fatigue crack initiation and life at this specific location were 6178 and 7174 cycles, respectively. Predicting the critical zone which is susceptible to shorter crack initiation and fatigue life is a crucial to prevent wheel failure.

Investigation of Rolling Contact Fatigue Damage Behavior of a ER9 Wheel Tread in Relation to Surface Microstructural Evolution

In the present study, we systematically analyze the relationship between the surface microstructural evolution and rolling contact fatigue (RCF) damage behavior of the ER9 wheel tread. In the unfatigued zone (Zone A), where the shear stress was low, a thin plastic deformation layer with low hardness formed. The ferrite grains exhibited obvious plastic flow; however, these grains were not refined, and the cementite showed no significant fragmentation or dissolution. Additionally, the dislocation density remained low on the wheel surface in Zone A. Conversely, in the fatigue zone (Zone B), where the shear stress was high, a thicker plastic deformation layer with increased hardness developed. The ferrite grains in this zone were notably refined, and a substantial amount of lamellar cementite fragmented and dissolved, leading to a high dislocation density on the wheel surface. The severe plastic deformation in Zone B facilitated the formation of fatigue wear cracks on the wheel, which initiated the RCF crack in Zone B. Furthermore, the interface between pearlite and proeutectoid ferrite grains in the wheel accelerated the RCF crack propagation, ultimately leading to RCF failure.

Development of a flexible arrayed eddy current sensor with three-phase excitation for inspection of rail rolling contact fatigue cracks

A Flexible Arrayed Eddy Current (FAEC) sensor can inspect a large area in a single probe pass, which is beneficial for customizing the profile of the inspected part. This paper presents the development of a flexible arrayed eddy current sensor with three-phase excitation for inspection of Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) cracks in rail. The excitation coils are driven by three-phase currents that are 120° apart in phase. The induced eddy current in the conductive rail sample shifts electrically along the phase variation direction of the excitation currents. The sensor measures a small background signal to determine if there is no defect in the rail sample. Therefore, the sensor has a high relative sensitivity to defects. We study the operating principle of the sensor using a 3D finite element method (FEM) model. The numerical results demonstrate the sensor's viability for fast inspection and characterization to detect RCF defects in conductive rail steel samples.

The correlation between material deformed microstructure and rolling contact fatigue crack propagation of U71Mn rail when matching with CL60 wheel

Deformed microstructure and rolling contact fatigue (RCF) cracks are the two predominant damage characteristics of the field wheel and rail materials from the cross-sectional view. The proportion of two damage characteristics varied under different operating conditions. Thus, this study aims to investigate the correlation between material deformed microstructure and RCF crack propagation of U71Mn rail when matching with CL60 wheel using a twin-disc testing machine. An initial deformed microstructure layer on U71Mn rail material was first obtained by testing under dry condition, and then the RCF crack propagation tests were conducted under water condition. Results indicated that when the crack depth was smaller than the initial deformed microstructure layer depth, the deformed orientation dominated the crack propagation direction; when the depth of crack propagation towards the matrix exceeded the depth of newly formed deformed microstructure region, crack propagation direction dominated the microstructure deformed orientation. The increase in the initial deformed microstructure layer depth would intensify both the crack length and depth, and also would result in thicker newly formed deformed microstructure region. The Pearson correlation coefficient between initial deformed microstructure layer depth and crack depth was 0.998. The influence of initial deformed microstructure layer depth on wear rate was slightly greater than crack depth.

Investigation into the mechanisms of Corrosion-Induced rolling contact fatigue crack initiation and propagation in pearlitic rails

Corrosion stands as a pivotal causative agent for the initiation and propagation of rolling contact fatigue (RCF) cracks on rail surfaces. This study aims to scientifically delineate the corrosion fatigue behavior of U75V rails. The study identifies the presence of oxidative corrosion and graphitization on the rail surface. Carbides near the rail surface cause stress concentration, reducing the rail’s RCF residence. Oxide corrosion engenders internal oxide inclusions within cracks, expediting RCF crack propagation. Furthermore, grain refinement and discordant deformation between soft and hard grains near the rail surface give rise to sub-surface microporosity and microcracking. These findings advance our comprehension of rail RCF and offer insights for guiding rail maintenance and informing new rail design strategies.

Mechanism and improvement of the rolling contact fatigue of the surface layer with heterogeneous microstructures of the rail steel treated by laminar plasma jet

Surface layer with heterogeneous microstructures (SLHM), characterized by hardened spots discretely embedded in a soft substrate, can be prepared by laminar plasma quenching (LPQ) to improve the wear resistance of the railway rail. However, severe rolling contact fatigue (RCF) cracks and spalling would occur in the hardened spots that only consist of quenched microstructure. This study analyzed the RCF damage mechanism of the LPQ prepared hardened spots by contact simulation. To improve the RCF resistance while maintaining the high wear resistance of the treated rail, a novel SLHM, whose discrete hardened spots are surrounded by transitional zone with the hardness lower than that of the quenched zone but higher than that of the substrate, was proposed and prepared by laminar plasma quenching-tempering (LPQT). Then, twin-disc tests and contact simulations were conducted to investigate the wear and RCF resistances of the LPQT treated rail steel. Results showed that the cause of the severe RCF cracks and spalling at the entry side of the LPQ prepared hardened spots was that the cyclic tensile stress at the entry side was always higher than that at the exit side under the cyclic rolling contact loading. The high tensile stress at the entry side of the LPQ prepared hardened spots resulted from the elastic deformation induced by tensile plastic deformation of the neighboring substrate. When the thickness of the transitional zone was about 0.1 mm, the generation of severe RCF cracks and spalling was significantly inhibited in the LPQT prepared hardened spots because the transitional zone decreases the cyclic tensile stress at the entry side of the quenched zone. Besides, the wear loss of such LPQT treated rail steel was only increased by 18.1 % compared with that of the LPQ treated rail steel, indicating that the wear resistance of the LPQT treated rail steel was not significantly reduced. These findings are promising for designing the microstructure of the surface layer to obtain wear-resistant rail with high RCF resistance.

Study on rolling contact fatigue crack initiation and propagation in U75V rail treated by laminar plasma

Surface discrete hardening by laminar plasma (HLP) enhances rail wear resistance by rapidly quenching surfaces to form discrete martensitic zones. In comparative field tests on a North China freight railway, HLP-treated U75V rails supported twice the total passing weight before reaching wear limits, compared to untreated rails. However, HLP treatment increases susceptibility to rolling contact fatigue (RCF) cracks, including interface cracks from mechanical differences, impact cracks from wheel-rail contact, deformation cracks from cumulative deformation, and matrix cracks extending from interfaces. The ratchet effect and seesaw mechanism, due to plastic deformation accumulation and quenching area warping, are crucial for crack initiation and propagation. This research advances understanding of HLP-treated rails' tribological behavior, emphasizing the necessity for customized maintenance strategies.

The role of microstructure on the wear and rolling contact fatigue of railway steels: The performance of bainite

This study aims to describe the wear and rolling contact fatigue (RCF) behavior of microalloyed forged railway wheel steel Class D (7NbMo), with microstructures of upper bainite (UB - 350 HV0.5), lower bainite (LB - 450 HV0.5), and pearlite (PE - 350 HV0.5), against 7C steel with a tempered martensite microstructure (660 HV0.5) in a twin-disc tribometer. The results showed that bainite (LB and UB) exhibited greater wear resistance compared to pearlite (PE). The primary wear mechanism for all three microstructures was the fatigue wear. An analysis of the PE disc revealed continuous (single-layer) RCF cracks, which were relatively large and deep. In contrast, UB and LB cracks were discontinuous (multiple layers), thin, and smaller but more numerous (higher crack density). These characteristics indicated that bainitic microstructures also had greater resistance to RCF than pearlite did. Therefore, the combination of mechanical properties and the morphological arrangement of the microstructure led bainite to develop a shallower depth of deformed layer with a higher capacity for plastic deformation per unit volume. The greater wear and RCF performance of bainite compared to those of pearlite may be associated with how they release the accumulated deformation energy after reaching saturation in relation to volume deformation absorption: regarding bainite, the material releases energy by opening crack surfaces; conversely, regarding pearlite, it is through the detachment of large and wide cracks.

Rail surface damage management through monitoring and modelling

ABSTRACT Rolling contact fatigue (RCF) cracking and wear significantly impact rail surfaces. The interaction between them is crucial; wear dominance can remove initiated cracks, while low wear rates may escalate crack propagation, elevating rail failure risks. Grinding, a preventive maintenance technique, removes remaining cracks, applied in fixed-interval or condition-based regimes. Operational constraints, favouring cyclic regimes, may potentially reduce rail life and increase costs. Thus, an optimal asset management strategy involves grinding based on current RCF condition and its predicted growth rate, considering its interaction with wear. London Underground employs diverse rail inspection methods, including advanced MRX-RSCM technology, to measure crack depth. Research used its measurements, developing a novel Combined Shakedown Map and Tγ approach. This predicts RCF growth under wear interaction, indicating the material to be removed by grinding. Its results are displayed for high and low rails of curved track sites, compared with monitoring measurements, enabling observation of changes in damage susceptibility and related grinding requirements over different rails.

Novel in-situ real-time line scan optical monitoring of wear and surface damage initiation in a laboratory twin disc test

A new optical monitoring system has been developed to photograph in-situ in real time the initiation of damage on the running surface of a rail steel twin-disc sample undergoing wear testing. The line-scan camera system has been demonstrated on the Sheffield University ROlling Sliding 2 (SUROS2) twin-disc machine. The results show the system can continuously track the development of wear flakes, with wear flake initiation and stabilisation of wear flake size observed without test interruption for the first time. Image analysis to quantify the total wear flake shadow pixel count showed a good correlation with the mass loss results, indicating the potential for the optical data to quantify rail steel wear without interruption to testing. Furthermore, in a water-lubricated test the new system enables observation of rolling contact fatigue (RCF) crack initiation through a water layer present on the specimens, without requiring test interruption. The improving knowledge of the wear and RCF performance of rail steels available from the new observation method can help improve understanding of steel performance and support to the selection of rail steel grades according to their performance.

Influence of shear yield strength of rail material on the shakedown limit in shakedown map

Rail materials with different shear yield strengths can exhibit different rolling contact fatigue (RCF) damage response during cyclic contact loading. The objective of this work is to achieve the actual shakedown limits in the shakedown map for rail materials with different shear yield strengths through RCF simulation tests of wheel-rail, and to investigate the relationship between the shear yield strength (ke) and the shakedown limit. Rolling-sliding tests were performed to investigate the RCF damage states of three types of rail materials with different shear yield strengths. Then, according to the differences of RCF damage states for each rail material and the method of nonlinear curve fitting, the actual shakedown limits for three types of rail materials were obtained. The actual shakedown limits for the three types of rail materials were lower than the original one in the classical shakedown map. With an increase in the shear yield strength (ke) of the rail material, the actual shakedown limit is reduced. Moreover, a relationship emerged which allowed a simple method to be proposed to obtain the actual shakedown limit based on the shear yield strength. The changing process and differences in the impact of different shear stress levels on the microstructural damage transformation of rail materials from the perspective of contact mechanics have been discussed. The behavior of severe accumulation of residual stresses during cyclic loading and more likely initiation of microcracks are the main reasons why rail materials with a higher shear yield strength (ke) under great contact loads are more prone to developing RCF crack damages. That is, the shakedown limit for the material with a higher shear yield strength (ke) is much lower. In view of the application of the shakedown map in the evaluation and prediction for RCF damage of rail materials with different shear yield strengths, different shakedown limits should be applied to different rail materials when analyzing their likely performance.

Deep Learning (Fast R-CNN)-Based Evaluation of Rail Surface Defects

In current railway rails, trains are propelled by the rolling contact between iron wheels and iron rails, and the high frequency of train repetition on rails results in a significant load exertion on a very small area where the wheel and rail come into contact. Furthermore, a contact stress beyond the allowable stress of the rail may lead to cracks due to plastic deformation. The railway rail, which is the primary contact surface between the wheel and the rail, is prone to rolling contact fatigue cracks. Therefore, a thorough inspection and diagnosis of the condition of the cracks is necessary to prevent fracture. The Detailed Guideline on the Performance Evaluation of Track Facilities in South Korea specifies the detailed requirements for the methods and procedures for conducting track performance evaluations. However, diagnosing rail surface damage and determining the severity solely rely on visual inspection, which depends on the qualitative evaluation and subjective judgment of the inspector. Against this backdrop, rail surface defect detection was investigated using Fast R-CNN in this study. To test the feasibility of the model, we constructed a dataset of rail surface defect images. Through field investigation, 1300 images of rail surface defects were obtained. Aged rails collected from the field were processed, and 1300 images of internal defects were generated through SEM testing; therefore, a total of 1300 pieces of learning data were constructed. The detection results indicated that the mean average precision was 94.9%. The Fast R-CNN exhibited high efficiency in detecting rail surface defects, and it demonstrated a superior recognition performance compared with other algorithms.

Evaluations and enhancements of fatigue crack initiation criteria for steels subjected to large shear deformations

While large accumulated plastic deformations occur in the rail surface layer where rolling contact fatigue cracks initiate, many available Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF) crack initiation criteria focus on small plastic strains. Accordingly, this paper evaluates available fatigue crack initiation criteria for highly shear-deformed R260 steels, reflecting the conditions in the surface layer of rails. Furthermore, modified crack initiation criteria are suggested. The evaluation is based on three different experiments: Large shear strain increments under varying axial loading (predeformation), strain-controlled LCF tests after some predeformation, and axial High Cycle Fatigue (HCF) experiments. For the predeformation, Finite Element (FE) simulations, with a large-strain plasticity model for cyclic and distortional hardening, provide predictions of the local stress and strain histories. A cross-validation procedure is used to assess the accuracy and reliability of both established and modified fatigue crack initiation criteria. The proposed modifications to one of the criteria show an improved fit to the experimental data. However, there is a tendency to overfitting, which can be improved by including more experimental data.

Effects of predeformation on torsional fatigue in R260 rail steel

Rolling contact loading induces severe plastic deformations and initiates cracks near the rail surface. Prevention of such rolling contact fatigue cracks requires a better understanding about the mechanical behavior of the deformed material in this region. Even so, current rail standards do not consider the plasticity-induced changes to mechanical behavior. They only evaluate the mechanical performance of virgin rail steels under uniaxial loading conditions, which is not representative for the material’s performance after years of service. This study proposes a new method for fatigue life evaluation of deformed material under loading conditions similar to rolling contact loading. Both virgin and predeformed test bars with a circumferential notch were subjected to strain-controlled torsional fatigue loading to evaluate the influence of axial loading, predeformation, and torsional loading direction. Superimposed compressive axial loads increase the fatigue life without affecting the torque response. The predeformed test bars exhibited longer lives, an effect we attribute to the combination of different torque responses, hardening, and anisotropy.

Eddy Currents Assessment of Rail Cracks Using Artificial Neural Networks in a Laboratory Setup

Although flaws associated with rolling contact fatigue (RCF) and the corresponding traffic induced damage, which are a cause of failure in railways, have been of great concern in railway system maintenance and safety strategies in many countries for at least two decades, this serious problem has not been yet adequately tackled in the Argentine railway system. The present upgrading activities undertaken in the Argentine railway system (in infrastructure and in rolling stock) are prompting the need for R&D in non-destructive testing techniques and procedures, to satisfy requirements of the new rolling stock and to ensure safe and economic operation of passengers and cargo. RCF damage appears as surface and near surface defects and grows into cracks which in time will propagate along the running surface and through the cross-section. Eddy current testing (ET) is a very efficient in-service inspection method for this task, the near field technique being especially recommended for ferromagnetic components.
 In the present paper, an artificial neural network (ANN) method for automatic classification of flaws with lift-off compensation is presented and tested. The tests consist on the ET evaluation of right angle artificial cracks on a rail calibration coupon; the depth of the cracks studied ranged from 1 to 7 mm. The technique permitted to compensate the weakening of the signals caused by the lift-off effect, allowing signal cracks classification with lift-off variations of up to 5.4 mm.
 The effect of crack skewness on the ET signals is also studied. Because the RCF cracks penetrate the rail at oblique angles, (10° to 30° to the rolling surface), an additional uncertainty component is added to the experiments if calibration is made with a piece having perpendicular cracks. In order to estimate this additional uncertainty on the ANN method presented here, further tests were made with a second calibration piece with cracks at 25° to the surface. Comparison of results showed that the peak to peak amplitudes for both types of cracks are not equivalent at all the tested depths.

Influence of rolling speed on fatigue crack initiation and growth of wheel steel under dry-wet rolling/sliding contact

In order to examine the effect of rolling speed on rolling contact fatigue (RCF) of wheel steel, dry-wet rolling/sliding tests were carried out at varied rolling speeds. Wear loss, friction coefficient, crack morphology, and crack size distribution of test wheel discs were analyzed. Finite element (FE) analysis was subsequently performed to evaluate the RCF crack growth according to the max ΔKeq criterion. By combining the findings from both experimental and FE analyses, potential influences of rolling speed on RCF crack initiation and growth were postulated. It was discovered that the crack initiation is governed by the ratcheting mechanism under dry condition. As the rolling speed increases, the initiated crack size first increases and then decreases, probably due to the concurrent rising of friction coefficient and yield strength. Furthermore, the predicted crack growth paths using FE model with and without considering the trapped fluid are consistent with test results at lower and higher rolling speeds, respectively. The driving force of crack growth in depth and branching direction decreases with an increase in rolling speed, probably owning to the reducing hydrostatic pressure in the crack cavity induced by the increasing air volume. This ultimately results in smaller crack size and reduced wear loss under wet condition.

Evolution of microscopic characteristics of rolling contact fatigue coexisting with wear of U75V rail

During the damage and defects related to rolling contact fatigue (RCF), together with wear occurring at the rail surface, the microscopic characteristics of the rail material change with the accumulation of wheel cycles. To find the relationship between rail material characteristics and RCF damage under wheel-rail contact situations, a series of twin-disc rolling-sliding tests, based on real wheel-rail contact situations at a radius of 80 mm rail profile, was established for a heavy-haul railway in China. The microscale characteristics of the rail disc contact surface was researched, including crack, wear, roughness, and hardness of the U75V rail with different load cycles. The results show that the damage mechanism of RCF and wear alternately dominates the rail disc surface at the microscale, taking a certain cycle as a boundary which makes the RCF crack number and wear rate have opposite evolutionary trends. The above factors also affect the wear at the surface rail discs, alternating between fatigue and adhesion. Meanwhile, increasing the surface micro-hardness leads to a decrease in the relative wear rate and an increase in the roughness, length and number of RCF cracks. The plastic deformation layers, including the severely deformed layer (SDL) and the transition layer (TL), almost maintain the same thickness and the dynamic equilibrium increases during the cycles. Two kinds of cracks are initiated and propagated at the rail disc surface, one at the SDL and the other at the junction of SDL and TL. The number of each kind of crack depends on the SDL thickness.

Effect of creepages on stress intensity factors of rolling contact fatigue cracks

In heavy-haul railway systems, the experience of high traction force of rails in curved tracks significantly accelerates the rolling contact fatigue crack growth. The overall level of traction force and its detailed distribution within a contact patch can be determined by the extent of wheel slips in different directions, also referred to as creepage. However, few studies have focused on quantifying the influence of creepage on rolling contact fatigue crack growth behaviour. In this paper, a numerical method is proposed to investigate the non-proportional mixed-mode rolling contact fatigue crack growth behaviour in the presence of severe longitudinal, lateral and spin creepages. To partially validate the proposed numerical method, the predicted crack growth directions on the rail surface are compared with the cracking patterns obtained from field observations. A parametric study is also conducted to further quantify the influence of different creepage combinations on the evolution of stress intensity factors at the crack front. Results show that both lateral and spin creepages can significantly affect the phase and maximum magnitude of KII and KIII during one complete loading cycle. Moreover, the increase of spin creepage is found to have a more detrimental effect on overall RCF crack driving force than the increase of the other two creepage components.