Abstract
The existence of narrow and brittle white etching layers (WELs) on the rail surface is often linked with the formation of rail defects such as squats and studs, which play the key roles in rail surface degradation and tribological performance. In the present study, a systematic investigation on stress/strain distribution and fatigue life of the WEL during wheel-rail rolling contact was conducted based on a numerical model considering the realistic wheel geometry. This is the first study considering the influence of rail materials, loading pressure, frictional condition, WEL geometry (a/b), and slip ratio (Sr) in the practical service conditions at the same time. The results revealed much higher residual stress in WEL than in rail matrix. Stress changes along the rail depth matched with the previously reported microstructure evolutions. The current work revealed that the maximum difference in contact stress between the wheel passages of rail matrix and the WEL region (noted as stress variation) rises with the increase of loading pressure, the value of a/b, and Sr; but drops with the friction coefficient (μ). In addition, a critical length-depth ratio of 5 for a/b has been found. The fatigue parameter, FP, of the WEL decreased quickly with the length-depth ratio when it was less than 5 and then increased slightly when it was larger than 5. This study also revealed that the fatigue life of the WEL was reduced for high strength head hardened (HH) rail compared with standard carbon (SC) rail.
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Acknowledgements
Authors Qinglin LIAN, Xi WANG, and Zhiming LIU would like to acknowledge the National Key R&D Program of China (2016YFB1200501-008) for the financial support. Author Hongtao ZHU would like to acknowledge the support of Australian Research Council Training Centre for Advanced Technologies in Rail Track Infrastructure (ARC ITTC-Rail).
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Qinglin LIAN. He received his Ph.D. degree at Beijing Jiaotong University, China, in 2020, majoring in vehicle operation engineering. He had been a visiting Ph.D. student at the University of Wollongong, Australia, from 2016 to 2018. He is currently an engineer at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. He has published 8 peer-reviewed journal papers. His research interests include the RCF behavior of rolling components such as wheel/rail and bearings and the fatigue analysis of railway vehicle structures.
Guanyu DENG. He is a research fellow at University of Wollongong, Australia. He has worked as a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) fellow at Kyoto University from 2015 to 2018. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Northeastern University, China, in 2006 and 2008, respectively. He received his Ph.D. degree from University of Wollongong, Australia, in 2014. His research interests include computational modelling, contact mechanics, advanced manufacturing, severe plastic deformation, high temperature tribology, and oxidation.
Hongtao ZHU. He is a senior lecturer at University of Wollongong, Australia. He received his Ph.D. degree from Northeastern University, China, in 2000. He was a postdoc with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, from 2001 to 2002. His research interests include tribology, contact mechanics, and quantum and molecular dynamic simulation. He leads a research team on ‘Contact Mechanics and Damage of Rail/Wheel’ at University of Wollongong. He has authored/co-authored 181 papers. He is first and leading CI for 6 industry contract projects. He has been awarded 5 Australian Research Council Discovery Projects and 2 Linkage Projects.
Huijun LI. He is a professor at University of Wollongong, Australia. He received his Ph.D. degree from University of Wollongong in 1996. He then worked as a research fellow at University of Wollongong from 1996 to 2000 and a research scientist at the Materials Institute of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation from 2000 to 2008. His research interests include high strength low alloy steels, welding, and nuclear materials. He has successfully completed about 20 research projects funded by the Defence Materials Technology Centre, Australian Research Council and Cooperative Research Centre. He has published over 200 papers.
Xi WANG. He received his Ph.D. degree in engineering science from Harvard University in 2007. He was a postdoc with Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University from 2007 to 2009. He then worked as an associate professor at Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences and joined the School of Mechanical, Electronic and Control Engineering of Beijing Jiaotong University as a full professor since 2013. His primary research interest focuses on mechanics of materials and structures in railway vehicles and has published over 60 peer-reviewed scientific papers in those areas.
Zhiming LIU. He is a professor in School of Mechanical, Electronic & Control Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, China. He received his Ph.D. degree from Beijing Jiaotong University, China, in 2001. He has been engaged in the fatigue reliability research of railway vehicle structure, presided over and participated in 15 national projects, completed more than 120 research projects of railway vehicle safety reliability, and published 70 journal papers.
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Lian, Q., Deng, G., Zhu, H. et al. Influence of white etching layer on rolling contact behavior at wheel-rail interface. Friction 8, 1178–1196 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-020-0388-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-020-0388-x