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, Bernard K. Chen
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Monash University 3800, Australia
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 7 December 2010
Received in revised form12 April 2011
Accepted 14 April 2011
Available online 22 April 2011
Keywords:
Residual stress
Quenching
Railway wheels
Low-carbon bainiticmartensitic steels
Finite element modelling
a b s t r a c t
A nite element (FE) method was used to study the formation of residual stresses in low carbon
bainiticmartensitic rail wheels. The FE model combines a commercially available heat treatment
software DANTE to the nite element analysis software ABAQUS. Material data which include thermo-
mechanical properties and kinetics of phase transformations for low carbon bainiticmartensitic (LCBM)
steels were obtained from dilatometry experiments and added to DANTE material library. The results
showed that quenching conditions can be designed to promote the development of compressive residual
stresses in the rim of LCBM rail wheels making it possible to produce LCBM steel rail wheels, which have
superior properties compared to conventional pearlitic steels.
2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
During manufacture, rail wheels are quenched to achieve
favourable mechanical properties as well as to promote benecial
residual compressive circumferential stress in the rimof the wheel.
Mutton and Lynch (2004) have shown the importance of compres-
sive residual stresses in rail wheels and their role in increasing the
life of rail wheels by retarding the formation and growth of cracks.
Conventional rail wheels are made of medium to high carbon
steels and have a characteristic pearliticferritic microstructure as
reported by Zhang and Gu (2008) and Devanathan and Clayton
(1991). Avariety of grades are usedwithinthe Australianrail indus-
try ranging fromthe AAR Class A (nominally 0.470.57% C), Class B
(0.570.67% C) and Class C (0.670.77% C) depending on the type
of service and degree of tread braking involved. Kwon et al. (2006)
have demonstrated that conventional pearlitic wheels are suscep-
tible to the initiation of thermal fatigue cracks at the wheel/rail
contact zone. Signicant thermal loads which occur during heavy
tread braking transform the pearlitic steel into brittle martensite
after subsequent rapid cooling of the wheels. Although theories
for the formation of such cracks differ as reported by Mutton and
Boelen (1989), there is evidence that pearlitic steels with higher
carbon content are more susceptible to this problem. Therefore,
compressive residual stresses within the rimof the wheel are seen
C/s to 920
C/s,
1.5
C/s, 3
C/s and 9
C/s).
Using DANTE tting utility, the dilatometry data were used to
determine the kinetic parameters for LCBMsteels. Thermal expan-
siondata fromthe dilatometry experiments were incorporatedinto
DANTE in a similar fashion as described in Warke et al. (2009).
Experiments for pearlitic steels were previously undertaken by
DANTE and material data are available in DANTEs proprietary
material library.
2.2. Development of ABAQUS/DANTE FE rail wheel model
The nite element model of the rail wheel was developed using
ABAQUS 6.7.1 and DANTE 3.3
C/s, 1.5
C/s, 3
C/s and
9
C/s.
incremental FE analysis allowed the timetemperature elds from
the heat transfer analysis to be used as time-dependant loadings
for the mechanical analysis in which the residual stresses follow-
ing the quenching process were predicted. The four noded and
three noded bilinear asymmetric stress ABAQUS elements CAX4
andCAX3respectively were usedinthe mechanical model analysis.
The boundary conditions and thermo-physical quantities that
have been assumed in the model are listed below:
(1) At the start of the analysis, a stress-free state is assumed for the
rail wheel model as the rail wheel is set to austenization tem-
perature of 871
C;
martensite =0.025+310
6
(T) W/mm
C.
(8) Specic heat capacities individual phases were temper-
ature dependent; austenite =370+0.298(T) J/kg
C; marten-
site =450+0.387(T) J/kg
C.
2.3. Modelling of quenching process for pearlitic steel and low
carbon bainiticmartensitic steel rail wheels
ThecombinedABAQUS/DANTEFEmodel was usedtoinvestigate
three different quenching conditions labelled Case A, Case B and
Case C.
In Case A, the conventional quenching process is modelled for
pearlitic rail wheel AARClass A(0.55%C). The conventional quench-
ing process is modelled in four stages as described by Gordon and
Perlman (1998). The tread of the wheel is rst quenched for 120s
while the other sections of the wheel lose heat through convection
and radiation. The rail wheel is left to dwell at room temperature
for 240s and then tempered in a 500
C/s, 1.5
C/s, 3
C/s and 9