Rail fatigue crack propagation in high-speed wheel/rail rolling contact

To study the wheel/rail rolling contact fatigue of high-speed trains, we obtain the distribution of contact forces between wheel and rail by introducing the strain-rate effect. Based on the finite element simulation, a two-dimensional finite element model is established, and the process of a wheel rolling over a crack is analyzed to predict the crack propagation direction. The statistics of possible crack prop- agation angles are calculated by the maximum circumfer- ential stress criterion. The crack path is then obtained by using the average crack propagation angle as the crack propagation direction according to Weibull distribution. Results show that the rail crack mode of low-speed trains is different from that of high-speed trains. The rail crack propagation experiences a migration from opening mode to sliding mode under the low-speed trains; however, the rail crack mainly propagates in the opening mode under high- speed trains. Furthermore, the crack propagation rate for high-speed trains is faster than that for low-speed trains. The simulated crack paths are consistent with the experimental ones, which proves that it is reasonable to use the average value of possible crack propagation directions as the actual crack propagation direction.

Correlations of Ni Contents, Formation of Reversed Austenite and Toughness for Ni-Containing Cryogenic Steels

It has been widely demonstrated that addition of Ni in low-carbon steels can effectively improve the cryogenic toughness, but the mechanism behind it has yet to be clarified. In the present work, the evolutions of microstructure and mechanical properties after quenching and tempering for Ni-containing cryogenic steels with different Ni contents （3.5-9 wt%） were investigated. The results showed that after quenching and tempering, the Ni-containing cryogenic steels were composed of tempered martensite and reversed austenite. The volume fraction of reversed austenite has increased from 0 up to 6.3% when the Ni content increases from 3.5% to 9%. The Charpy impact tests indicated that the low- temperature toughness was markedly improved with the increase in Ni content, which can be correlated with the increase in reversed austenite amount. The main contribution of reversed austenite to the toughness lies in： （1） the elimination of cementite precipitates improved the plastic deformation capacity of matrix, and （2） the crack propagation is hindered through plastic deformation.

Microstructure Characterization and Fracture Toughness of Laves Phase-Based Cr–Nb–Ti Alloys

Three Laves phase-based alloys with nominal compositions of Cr2Nb-xTi （x = 20, 30, 40, in at%） have been prepared through vacuum non-consumable arc melting. The results show that the microstructures of Cr2Nb-（20, 30） Ti alloys are composed of the primary Laves phase C15-Cr2（Nb,Ti） and bcc solid solution phase, while the microstructure of Cr2Nb-40Ti alloy is developed with the eutectic phases C15-Cr2（Nb,Ti）/bcc solid solution. The measured fracture toughness of ternary Laves phase C15-Cr2（Nb,Ti） is about 3.0 MPa m1/2, much larger than 1.4 MPa m1/2 for binary Laves phase Cr2Nb. Meanwhile, the fracture toughness of Cr2Nb-xTi （x = 20, 30, 40） alloys increases with increasing Ti content and reaches 10.6 MPa m1/2 in Cr2Nb-40Ti alloy. The eutectic microstructure and addition of Ti in Cr2Nb are found to be effective in toughening Laves phase-based alloys.