RAIL GRINDING – A LABORATORY STUDY FOCUSED ON MATERIAL TRANSFORMATIONS DURING FACET GRINDING
Paper i proceeding, 2025

Pearlitic rail steels are susceptible to martensite formation in the surface layer due to rapid cooling after exposure to temperatures above the austenitisation temperature. The high thermal power imposed during rail grinding operations can result in the formation of a thin layer of martensite, called a white etching layer (WEL). This experimental grinding study aims to investigate the thermal impact of rail grinding in a realistic laboratory setup. The influence of applied power and grinding speed parameters during grinding operations on the microstructure of the altered surface layer were investigated on two common rail steel grades (R260 and R350HT). The grinding experiments demonstrated very small differences in transformed depth between the two rail grades, and the martensite hardness is similar. In transitions between facets, tempering of the martensite occurs that inevitably decreases the hardness locally. Increasing the feed rate, drastically decreases the depth of the transformed layer.

white etching layer WEL

Pearlitic railway steel

thermal load effect

rail surface treatment

railway grinding

martensite

Författare

Tsering Wangmo

Chalmers, Industri- och materialvetenskap, Konstruktionsmaterial

Erika Steyn

Chalmers, Industri- och materialvetenskap, Konstruktionsmaterial

Philipp Hoier

Chalmers, Industri- och materialvetenskap, Material och tillverkning

Peter Krajnik

Chalmers, Industri- och materialvetenskap, Material och tillverkning

Johan Ahlström

Chalmers, Industri- och materialvetenskap, Konstruktionsmaterial

CM2025 - 13th International Conference on Contact Mechanics and Wear of Rail/Wheel Systems. Conference proceedings

13th International Conference on Contact Mechanics and Wear of Rail/Wheel Systems CM2025
Tokyo, Japan,

Modellering av egenskaper och skador i hjul- och rälmaterial (CHARMEC MU30)

Chalmers järnvägsmekanik (CHARMEC), 2013-04-01 -- 2021-06-30.

Materialbeteende hos hjul och räl vid belastning i drift (CHARMEC MU42)

Chalmers järnvägsmekanik (CHARMEC) (MU42), 2025-04-01 -- 2030-03-31.

IAM4RAIL

Trafikverket (2023/9635), 2023-01-01 -- 2026-02-28.

Ämneskategorier (SSIF 2025)

Metallurgi och metalliska material

Bearbetnings-, yt- och fogningsteknik

Maskinteknik

Annan materialteknik

Styrkeområden

Transport

Produktion

Mer information

Skapat

2025-10-16