Frogs made

of Bainite 1400 Plus

voestalpine BWG GmbH & Co KG

www.voestalpine.com/bwg
Material choice
as crucial economic factor
With long-lasting investment goods such as With its frogs made of Bainite 1400 Plus,
railway infrastructure, competitiveness against voestalpine BWG has created a highly
other carriers depends on providing and securing wear-resistant component for this heavily
a market-driven and profitability-oriented loaded area of the turnout. This more than
network infrastructure. This particularly doubles the lifetime at the same load.
relates to turnouts that represent an especially
cost-intensive and safety-relevant component
of this structure.

Bainitic rail steel

When looking at conventional rail steel, a direct
link can be recognised between the hardness
and the carbon content. The higher the quality
parameters of yield point and tensile strength
are, the higher the carbon content.

From the maintenance perspective, this leads

to a contradiction: a material is either easily Perlit
weldable or it has sufficient tensile strength,
yield point and hardness, as an increase in the
carbon content limits the weldability. With the
intermediate microstructure bainite, which
emerges in natural steels between the pearlite
and martensite conversion stages, this balancing
act succeeds.

Bainite 1400 Plus, developed by voestalpine

BWG, builds bridges between the weldability
requirements, on the one hand, and tensile
strength, yield point and hardness requirements, Bainit
on the other hand. This is reached by limiting
the carbon content, which is actually necessary
to achieve hardness, to 0.4 % and hardening
the otherwise naturally hard bainite from
approx. 1400 N/mm2 to 1450-1550 N/mm2,
using a specialized heat treatment method.

Martensit
Use of Bainite 1400 Plus
Bainite 1400 Plus, developed and thoroughly
tested by voestalpine BWG, is a rail quality with
a characteristic profile that represents an ideal
solution particularly for the demands of turnout
components.
Thanks to the special heat treatment technology
used, Bainite 1400 Plus fulfils the following
requirements:
The tensile strength can be varied from
1350-1550 N/mm2, depending on customer
requirements and the case of application
of the frogs.
The high ultimate elongation at break of
12-16 % enables plastic deformation/solidifica-
tion on the running surface in the run-in phase
of the frog.
Thanks to the low carbon content of 0,4 %,
the weldability is very well suited for all
prevalent joint and build-up welding methods.
The different material cross-sections of the
frog nose result in different cooling speeds.
In order to ensure that the bainitic microstructure
is formed continuously, another heat treatment
is applied so that a tensile strength of 1500-
1550 N/mm2 can be achieved (Bainite 1400 Plus).
In the area of the weld-on rails, naturally
hardened bainites are used, which through sub-
sequent heat treatment ensure a good expansion
and yield point and minimize the formation of
cracks (Bainite 1400).
Various combinations with the well-known
standard grades allow variable, application-rela-
ted and customer-specific designs.

Since 2000, the EBA approval exists for the

use of our bainitic frogs in the tracks of DB. The
crossings are successfully used in the network.
The economic efficiency is proven, also for the
field of industrial railways, by a lifetime that is
more than twice as long at the same load.

The following frog options with Bainite 1400 Plus are possible:

1. Frog nose made of Bainite 1400 Plus, weld-on rails and wing rails made of HSH (R350HT)

2. Frog nose made of Bainite 1400 Plus, weld-on rails made of R260 completely hardened and tempered,
wing rails made of HSH (R350HT)

HSH (R350HT)

R260 hardened
3. Frog nose made of Bainite 1400 Plus, weld-on rails made of Bainite 1400, and tempered
wing rails made of HSH (R350HT)
Bainite 1400

Bainite 1400 Plus

4. Frog nose made of Bainite 1400 Plus, weld-on rails and wing rails made of Bainite 1400
Highlights
More than doubled lifetime at the same load
Ideal material characteristics for the respective
case of application of the frog
Low maintenance requirement with long
maintenance intervals
Good weldability for joint and build-up welding
Suitable for slab track and ballast track
Increased resistance against rolling
contact fatigue
Also available for tongue rails and
standard rails for highly-loaded installations
High availability
Quick amortisation

Conclusion

State-of-the-art technology of voestalpine BWG These excellent characteristics make

combined with the highest manufacturing Bainite 1400 Plus the ultimate material for
quality prevents fatigue damage and enables long-distance, urban railways and
the use of a highly wear-resistant material that industrial railways.
also features good weldability for the first time.

voestalpine BWG GmbH & Co KG

info.bwg@voestalpine.com . www.voestalpine.com/bwg

Germany
Plant Butzbach Plant Brandenburg Plant Gotha
Wetzlarer Str. 101 Uferstr. 97 Sdstr. 2b
35510 Butzbach 14774 Brandenburg 99867 Gotha
T. +49/6033/892-0 T. +49/3381/810-0 T. +49/3621/770-0
F. +49/6033/892-113 F. +49/3381/810-107 F. +49/3621/770-102

Branch Office Heilbronn Branch Office Dresden

T. +49/7131/64 07 27-0 T. +49/351/46 12 95-0
F. +49/7131/64 07 27-9 F. +49/351/46 12 95-9

Asia
Representative Office China,
Beijing
T. +86/10/65 33 60 71
info-bwg-china@voestalpine.com
Representative Office Korea, Taiwan Branch, Taipei
Seoul T. +886/2/25 06 67 92
T. +82/2/26 34 10 50 info-bwg-taiwan@voestalpine.com
info-bwg-korea@voestalpine.com

Affiliated and related companies

The Netherlands
voestalpine WBN BV HBW Light Rail BV
2e Daalsedijk 14 2e Daalsedijk 14
EJ 3551 Utrecht EJ 3551 Utrecht
T. +31/30/242-76 00 T. +31/30/242-76 29
F. +31/30/246-83 95 F. +31/30/246-83 97
info.wbn@voestalpine.com
www.voestalpine.com/wbn