Process for producing pearlitic rail excellent in wearing resistance and ductility

摘要

A process for producing a pearlitic rail by subjecting a steel billet containing, interms of mass%, 0.65-1.20% C, 0.05-2.00% Si, and 0.05-2.00% Mn, the remainder beingiron and incidental impurities, to at least rough rolling and finish rolling. Inthe finish rolling, the work is rolled at a rail head surface temperature which isnot higher than 900°C and not lower than transformation point Ar ortransformation point Ar so as to result in a cumulative head area reductionof 20% or higher and a reaction force ratio of 1.25 or higher. The rail head surfaceafter the finish rolling is cooled to at least 550°C at a cooling rate of 2-30°C/sec by accelerated cooling or natural cooling to thereby reduce thegrain size of the structure in the rail head and regulate the hardness to a valuein a given range. Thus, the rail can have improved wearing resistance and ductility.