Crack Initiation in Railway Wheels Resulting From Rolling Contacts Available to Purchase

Classic shelling of a railway wheel begins with crack initiation resulting from wheel rail interactions. This investigation shows the complex relationships that occur between contact stress, cold work, residual stresses, and temperatures from brake heating and non-metallic inclusion types which can lead to the formation of shelling cracks. Our investigation also includes an explanation of how these interactions affect mechanical properties such as yield strength, elastic modulus, and ductility. In turn, mechanical property changes also affect how cold work and its associated residual stresses develop under cyclic loading. Destructive testing and Finite Element Analyses were used in support of this work.