Crack growth paths in rolling contact fatigue — Numerical predictions
Licentiate thesis, 2022
In the first paper of this thesis (Paper A), a numerical procedure is developed to evaluate the effect of different operational loading scenarios on the predicted crack paths in rails. A 2D linear elastic finite element model of a rail part with an inclined surface-breaking crack has been implemented. The rail part is subjected to wheel‒rail contact load, rail bending, and temperature drop as isolated scenarios and in combinations. The effective crack propagation direction is predicted based on an accumulative Vector Crack Tip Displacement (VCTD) criterion that accounts for crack face locking effects through a reversed shear threshold parameter. It has been shown that the crack path for combined thermal and contact loads varies gradually between the pure load cases while the combination of bending and contact loading has an abrupt change in predicted crack paths. Furthermore, the dependency of the results on the reversed shear threshold parameter is investigated.
The influence of crack face friction on the crack path is investigated in the second paper (Paper B). The numerical procedure developed in Paper A is utilised, and crack face friction is modelled by a Coulomb friction model. Qualitative predictions are obtained for varying magnitude of the coefficient of friction, as well as for varying parameters of the crack growth criterion. It is observed that the frictional crack tends to go deeper into the rail under a pure contact load and for a combination of bending and contact loads, while the friction has a moderate influence on the crack path for combined thermal and contact loads. Furthermore, assessment of the ranges of crack face deformation indicates that friction reduces the crack growth rate.
Vector crack tip displacement
Crack face friction
Crack growth direction
Crack propagation
Rolling contact fatigue
Author
Mohammad Salahi Nezhad
Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Material and Computational Mechanics
Numerical predictions of crack growth direction in a railhead under contact, bending and thermal loads
Engineering Fracture Mechanics,;Vol. 261(2022)
Journal article
Mohammad Salahi Nezhad, Fredrik Larsson, Elena Kabo, and Anders Ekberg, Influence of crack face friction on crack propagation in a railhead.
Growth of rolling contact fatigue cracks (CHARMEC MU38)
Chalmers Railway Mechanics (CHARMEC), 2019-09-01 -- 2024-08-31.
Areas of Advance
Transport
Subject Categories
Applied Mechanics
Thesis for the degree of licentiate of engineering - Department of Applied Mechanics, Chalmers University of Technology: Report number: IMS-2022-1
Publisher
Chalmers
Virtual Development Laboratory (VDL), Chalmers Tvärgata 4C Göteborg
Opponent: Professor Mårten Olsson, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden