Fatigue failure of rail wheels and mechanical behavior of wheel steels

摘要

Wheel steel performance influences the safety and economy of railway transport, and fatigue cracking is the main cause of wheel failure. These problems have been accentuated by the demand for higher speed in passenger cars and higher axle loads in freight cars, even though great efforts have been made to improve the wheel steels. This article investigates the fatigue damage and failure modes of wheels, specifically the mechanical behavior of three kinds of wheel steels used in China.