Results from the European 5th Framework project 'InfraStar' are presented. The InfraStar project is developing a railhead with an additional surface layer to increase the productivity and reliability of rail infrastructure. The two-material rail aims to be rolling contact fatigue (RCF) resistant and to reduce squeal noise. From the metallurgical investigation it can be concluded that both selected coatings (222, 508) display a strongly improved resistance to RCF damage compared to the standard 260-grade material. Bonding quality was proven to be excellent for both coatings. Metallurgical analyses results and first field test results are in full agreement. Twin disc testing performed in the InfraStar project to judge die RCF resistance and rank the selected materials, have shown good agreement with the field test results. During the first two years of the InfraStar project, laser cladding application development has made important progress. The technology has successfully produced samples and prototypes for both laboratory and field testing. During field testing, the two coatings have shown improved resistance to RCF damage, wear and deformation compared to the 900A material. After 10 months of testing, no cracks have developed in the 222 coating, whereas the 900A rail has developed RCF damage. The 508 material has also developed cracks, but it is believed that this is due to an incorrect tempering procedure. From the noise measurements, it can be concluded that the selected coatings do not reduce or prevent squeal noise occurrence at die RATP test site. The coating for both inner and outer rails was too narrow to support the complete running band. This can have a negative effect on squeal behaviour. Due to the higher hardness and wear resistance of the coatings, it is likely that in the future the contact band will narrow down to the coating width. It will be prooved whether a change in squeal behaviour is found then.
Two-material rail development: Field test results regarding rolling contact fatigue and squeal noise behaviour
2003
9 Seiten, 8 Bilder, 2 Tabellen, 10 Quellen
Conference paper
English
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