Experimental investigation on the fatigue and fracture toughness properties of hypereutectoid rail steel

Increasing train speeds and the reduction of maintenance slots places high demands on the railway rails. To meet the challenging demands, producers regularly introduce new steel types. In this experimental investigation is the mechanical behavior of an air-cooled vanadium-alloyed hypereutectoid rail steel presented. The rail is produced applying conventional hot rolling of a reheated bloom and is then cooled on a cooling bed. The mechanical behavior is determined by performing standardized linear elastic fracture mechanics tests. The necessary specimens are extracted from new rails that are made in series production. Monotonic tensile test results have shown that the strain-hardenability of the steel is comparable to standard grade eutectoid rail steel and is higher than that of an accelerated-cooled eutectoid rail grade. The fracture toughness test results showed, statistically, no difference when compared with the fracture toughness values of the accelerated-cooled eutectoid rail grade. The tests were performed at room temperature. The fatigue crack growth rates are, in the linear Paris-regime, slightly higher than in the previously mentioned steels. The results are explained considering the distinct microstructural characteristics of the air-cooled vanadium-alloyed hypereutectoid steel and the fractured surface of the specimens. This experimental investigation contributes to selecting railway steels and predicting the actual in-service behavior. • Experimental study on air-cooled hypereutectoid vanadium-alloyed railway steel. • Standardized linear elastic fracture mechanics tests. • Fractography reveals the characteristics at specific crack growth rates. • The fatigue crack growth rate of hypereutectoid steels is higher than that of eutectoid steels. • Fracture toughness behavior is best explained by the temperature of hot-rolling.