Abstract
An experimental investigation was carried out to study and compare the response to cyclic loading of the high-performance railway wheel steels ER8 EN13262 and SUPERLOS®. Rolling contact tests were performed with the same contact pressure, rolling speed and sliding/rolling ratio, varying the lubrication regime to simulate different climatic conditions. The samples, machined out of wheel rims at two depths within the reprofiling layer, were coupled with UIC 900A rail steel samples. The wear rates, friction coefficients and hardness were correlated with the deformation beneath the contact surface. The crack morphology was studied, and the damage mechanisms were identified. The distribution of crack length and depth at the end of the dry tests was analyzed to quantify the damage. The main difference between the steels lies in the response of the external samples to dry contact: SUPERLOS® is subjected to a higher wear and lower friction coefficient than ER8, and this reduces the density of surface cracks that can propagate under wet contact conditions. The analysis of feedback data from in-service wheels confirmed the experimental results.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
A. Ekberg and E. Kabo, Fatigue of Railway Wheels and Rails Under Rolling Contact and Thermal Loading—An Overview, Wear, 2005, 258(7–8), p 1288–1300
R. Deuce, Wheel tread damage—an Elementary Guide, Report 100115000, Bombardier Transportation, Netphen, 2007
A. Mazzù, C. Petrogalli, and M. Faccoli, An Integrated Model for Competitive Damage Mechanisms Assessment in Railway Wheel Steels, Wear, 2015, 322–323, p 181–191
A. Mazzù, L. Solazzi, M. Lancini, C. Petrogalli, A. Ghidini, and M. Faccoli, An Experimental Procedure for Surface Damage Assessment in Railway Wheel and Rail Steels, Wear, 2015, 342–343, p 22–32
K. Farhangdoost and M. Kavoosi, Effect of Lubricant on Surface Rolling Contact Fatigue Cracks, Adv. Mat. Res., 2010, 97–101, p 793–796
R. Lewis and U. Olofsson, Ed., Wheel-Rail Interface Handbook, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 2009, p 221–223
S. Gubenko, S. Pinchuk, Y. Proidak, E. Belaja, A. Kozlowsky, and A. Shramko, Some Peculiarities of Corrosion of Wheel Steel, Transp. Probl., 2009, 4(3), p 5–14
J. Kalousek, E. Magel, J. Strasser, W.N. Caldwell, G. Kanevsky, and B. Blevins, Tribological Interrelationship of Seasonal Fluctuation of Freight Car Wheel Wear, Contact Fatigue Shelling and Composition Brakeshoe Consumption, Wear, 1996, 191, p 210–218
G. Donzella, M. Faccoli, A. Mazzù, C. Petrogalli, and R. Roberti, Progressive Damage Assessment in the Near-Surface Layer of Railway Wheel–Rail Couple Under Cyclic Contact, Wear, 2011, 271(1–2), p 408–416
A. Mazzù, A Simplified Non-linear Kinematic Hardening Model for Ratcheting and Wear Assessment in Rolling Contact, J. Strain Anal. Eng. Des., 2008, 43(5), p 349–360
G. Donzella, A. Mazzù, and C. Petrogalli, Failure Assessment of Subsurface Rolling Contact Fatigue in Surface Hardened Components, Eng. Fract. Mech., 2013, 103, p 26–38
M. Lancini, I. Bodini, D. Vetturi, S. Pasinetti, A. Mazzù, L. Solazzi, C. Petrogalli, and M. Faccoli, Using Vibration Measurement to Detect High Wear Rates in Rolling Contact Fatigue Tests, Acta Imeko, 2015, 4(4), p 66–74
J.R. Yates, G. Shi, H.V. Atkinson, C.M. Sellars, and C.W. Anderson, Fatigue Tolerant Design of Steel Components Based on the Size of Large Inclusions, Fatigue Fract. Eng. Mater. Struct., 2002, 25, p 667–676
A. Mazzù, G. Donzella, L. Solazzi, M. Lancini, C. Petrogalli, A. Ghidini, M. Faccoli, Una Procedura Sperimentale per l’analisi del Danneggiamento in Acciai Innovativi per Ruote Ferroviarie. Proceedings 43° AIAS National Congress, 9-12 September 2014, (Rimini, Italy). (in Italian)
R. Lewis, R.S. Dwyer-Joyce, Wear Mechanisms and Transitions in Railway Wheel Steels, J. Eng. Tribol. Proc. Instn. Mech. Eng. 218(Part J), 467–478 (2004)
T. Jendel, Prediction of Wheel Profile Wear-Comparisons with Field Measurements, Wear, 2002, 253, p 89–99
R. Enblom and M. Berg, Simulation of Railway Wheel Profile Development Due to Wear-Influence of Disc Braking and Contact Environment, Wear, 2005, 258, p 1055–1063
T.M. Beagley, Severe Wear of Rolling/Sliding Contacts, Wear, 1976, 36, p 317–335
P.J. Bolton, P. Clayton, and I.J. McEwen, Wear of Rail and Tyre Steels Under Rolling/Sliding Conditions, ASLE Trans., 1982, 25(1), p 17–24
R. Lewis, R.S. Dwyer-Joyce, U. Olofsson, J. Pombo, J. Ambrósio, M. Pereira, C. Ariaudo, and N. Kuka, Mapping Railway Wheel Material Wear Mechanisms and Transitions, Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Part F: J. Rail Rapid Transit., 2010, 224(3), p 125–137
I.Y. Shevtsov, Wheel/Rail Interface Optimization, Doctoral Dissertation, TU Delft, Delft, 2008
Y. Zhu, X. Chen, W. Wang, and H. Yang, A Study on Iron Oxides and Surface Roughness in Dry and Wet Wheel-Rail Contacts, Wear, 2015, 328–329, p 241–248
H.C. Li, Z.Y. Jiang, A.K. Tieu, W.H. Sun, and D.B. Wei, Experimental Study on Wear and Friction of Work Roll Material with 4% Cr and added Ti in Cold Rolling, Wear, 2011, 271, p 2500–2511
Y. Lyu, E. Bergseth, U. Olofsson, A. Lindgren, and M. Höjer, On the Relationships Among Wheel–Rail Surface Topography, Interface Noise and Tribological Transitions, Wear, 2015, 338–339, p 36–46
A.F. Bower, The Influence of Crack Face Friction and Trapped Fluid on Surface Initiated Rolling Contact Fatigue Cracks, Trans. ASME J. Tribol., 1988, 110, p 704–711
W.R. Tyfour, J.H. Beynon, and A. Kapoor, Deterioration of Rolling Contact Fatigue Life of Pearlitic Rail Steel Due to Dry-Wet Rolling-Sliding Line Contact, Wear, 1996, 197, p 255–265
W.R. Tyfour, J.H. Beynon, and A. Kapoor, The Steady State Wear Behavior of Pearlitic Rail Steel Under Dry Rolling-Sliding Contact Conditions, Wear, 1995, 180, p 79–89
J.H. Beynon, J.E. Garnham, and K.J. Sawley, Rolling Contact Fatigue of Three Pearlitic Rail Steels, Wear, 1996, 192, p 94–111
T. Makino, T. Kato, and K. Hirakawa, The Effect of Slip Ratio on the Rolling Contact Fatigue Property of Railway Wheel Steel, Int. J. Fatigue, 2012, 36, p 68–79
C.Z. Wu and T.S. Shih, Effects of Inclusion Particles on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of High Strength Austempered Ductile Iron, Mater. Trans., 2003, 44(5), p 995–1003
Y. Murakami and M. Endo, Effects of Defects, Inclusions and Inhomogeneities on Fatigue Strength, Int. J. Fatigue, 1994, 16, p 163–182
A. Ghidini, M. Diener, A. Gianni, J. Schneider, SUPERLOS® innovative Steel by Lucchini RS for High-Speed Wheel Application, LRS-Techno Series Vol. 5, Lucchini RS—Lovere, Italy, 2012
A. Ghidini, M. Diener, J. Schneider, Special Wheels for Mass Transit, LRS-Techno Series Vol. 7, Lucchini RS—Lovere, Italy, 2014
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank Silvio Bonometti and Valentina Ferrari for their support in the experimental activities.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Faccoli, M., Petrogalli, C., Lancini, M. et al. Rolling Contact Fatigue and Wear Behavior of High-Performance Railway Wheel Steels Under Various Rolling-Sliding Contact Conditions. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 26, 3271–3284 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-017-2786-4
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-017-2786-4