Weld battering of thermite welds and flash butt welds based on statistical evaluations

IF 4.4 2区工程技术 Q1 ENGINEERING, MECHANICAL

Engineering Failure Analysis Pub Date : 2025-02-24 DOI:10.1016/j.engfailanal.2025.109457

Markus Loidolt, Stefan Marschnig

{"title":"Weld battering of thermite welds and flash butt welds based on statistical evaluations","authors":"Markus Loidolt, Stefan Marschnig","doi":"10.1016/j.engfailanal.2025.109457","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Continuous welded rails are an improvement over bolted joints, but still some issues occur associated with welds. One of these issues, rail surface irregularities, is addressed in this paper. When a train passes the uneven rail surface, dynamic impact loads emerge. These loads increase the risk of weld breakage and cause ballast damage, resulting in significant long-term costs. There are two mechanisms driving weld irregularities: Initial irregularities caused by imperfect weld fabrication, and irregularities that grow over time due to the material hardness being adjusted by heating and cooling effects. The latter mechanism is called weld battering and differs for thermite and flash butt welds. A statistical evaluation based on 20 years of data and over 2000 welds yields that battering rates are 25 times higher for thermite welds. Further evaluations reveal that various track design features either amplify or attenuate weld battering. Track radii, steel grade, the passing vehicle collective, sleeper type, rail profile, the width of the extraneous material, the wear rate of the surrounding rail and the manufacturing quality are found to be influential features. The age of a weld and the daily load in gross tonnes have no significant influence. These results indicate that weld battering must be described as local wear and that dynamic loads are not the driving force.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11677,"journal":{"name":"Engineering Failure Analysis","volume":"173 ","pages":"Article 109457"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Engineering Failure Analysis","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1350630725001980","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, MECHANICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Continuous welded rails are an improvement over bolted joints, but still some issues occur associated with welds. One of these issues, rail surface irregularities, is addressed in this paper. When a train passes the uneven rail surface, dynamic impact loads emerge. These loads increase the risk of weld breakage and cause ballast damage, resulting in significant long-term costs. There are two mechanisms driving weld irregularities: Initial irregularities caused by imperfect weld fabrication, and irregularities that grow over time due to the material hardness being adjusted by heating and cooling effects. The latter mechanism is called weld battering and differs for thermite and flash butt welds. A statistical evaluation based on 20 years of data and over 2000 welds yields that battering rates are 25 times higher for thermite welds. Further evaluations reveal that various track design features either amplify or attenuate weld battering. Track radii, steel grade, the passing vehicle collective, sleeper type, rail profile, the width of the extraneous material, the wear rate of the surrounding rail and the manufacturing quality are found to be influential features. The age of a weld and the daily load in gross tonnes have no significant influence. These results indicate that weld battering must be described as local wear and that dynamic loads are not the driving force.

查看原文本刊更多论文

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Engineering Failure Analysis 工程技术-材料科学：表征与测试

CiteScore

7.70

自引率

20.00%

发文量

956

审稿时长

47 days

期刊介绍： Engineering Failure Analysis publishes research papers describing the analysis of engineering failures and related studies. Papers relating to the structure, properties and behaviour of engineering materials are encouraged, particularly those which also involve the detailed application of materials parameters to problems in engineering structures, components and design. In addition to the area of materials engineering, the interacting fields of mechanical, manufacturing, aeronautical, civil, chemical, corrosion and design engineering are considered relevant. Activity should be directed at analysing engineering failures and carrying out research to help reduce the incidences of failures and to extend the operating horizons of engineering materials. Emphasis is placed on the mechanical properties of materials and their behaviour when influenced by structure, process and environment. Metallic, polymeric, ceramic and natural materials are all included and the application of these materials to real engineering situations should be emphasised. The use of a case-study based approach is also encouraged. Engineering Failure Analysis provides essential reference material and critical feedback into the design process thereby contributing to the prevention of engineering failures in the future. All submissions will be subject to peer review from leading experts in the field.