SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1978
STP27120S

An Evaluation of the Fatigue Performance of Conventional British Rail Steels

Source

A comprehensive evaluation of the fatigue behavior of eight conventional pearlitic rail steels is presented. The materials examined are UIC Grades A, B, and C, 1 percent chromium, BS11 Cast 1879, BS11 Cast 500, BS11 Cargo Fleet and BS11 Concast 2971. Of these, the UIC and 1 percent chromium steels are all specifically designed for wear resistance, whereas the BS11 steels are representative of the rail steels in general usage by British Rail. The investigations ranged from the endurance limit to the low cycle region, and both smooth and notched specimens were employed to provide data indicating cyclic strength and ducility, notch sensitivity, and resistance to crack initiation and early growth. In constant-amplitude, strain-controlled, smooth specimen fatigue tests, the conventional BS11 steels proved superior in the low cycle region, whereas the more highly alloyed steels were generally stronger at long lives. Where a tensile mean stress is present, the superiority of the BS11 rail steels in the short life region is reduced, and the 1 percent chromium steel exhibits a high resistance to fatigue over a large range of endurances. In the notched plate tests, the 1 percent chromium and UIC Grade B steels proved most resistant in general to fatigue crack initiation and early growth. Overall, the superior performance of the 1 percent chromium steel on the basis of both fatigue characteristics and static properties is demonstrated.

Author Information

Dabell, BJ
Materials Engineering Group, GKN Group Technological Centre, Wolverhampton, England
Hill, SJ
Materials Engineering Group, GKN Group Technological Centre, Wolverhampton, England
Watson, P
Materials Engineering Group, GKN Group Technological Centre, Wolverhampton, England
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Details
Developed by Committee: A01
Pages: 430–448
DOI: 10.1520/STP27120S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-4716-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-0545-4