Stratified surface layers affecting crack propagation in wheel-rail contacts

To withstand increasing mechanical and thermal loads affecting rails and wheels due to intensified rail transportation, comprehensive knowledge of evolving near-surface microstructures in the wheel-rail contact is vital. Stratified surface layers (SSLs) observed in the field gained attention recentl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tribology international 2024-04, Vol.192, p.109319, Article 109319
Main Authors: Freisinger, Matthias, Fellner, Simon, Gammer, Christoph, Riedl, Helmut, Hahn, Rainer
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brown etching layer
Rolling contact fatigue
Stratified surface layer
Wheel-rail contact
White etching layer
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Summary:To withstand increasing mechanical and thermal loads affecting rails and wheels due to intensified rail transportation, comprehensive knowledge of evolving near-surface microstructures in the wheel-rail contact is vital. Stratified surface layers (SSLs) observed in the field gained attention recently. This study extensively investigates a textbook example of SSL detected on a rail wheel. Results show crack initiation in the white etching layer (WEL) with propagation into the underlying brown etching layer (BEL) with changing crack growth direction. Within the BEL, a microstructural gradient is observed with decreasing grain size and increasing hardness with increasing distance from surface. This work provides new insights in the microstructural and micro-mechanical characteristics of SSLs and improves the knowledge of evolving stratification in wheel-rail contacts.
ISSN:0301-679X
1879-2464
DOI:10.1016/j.triboint.2024.109319