Mechanical and fracture behavior of two distinct wear plates used in ballast cleaning machines for railways maintenance

Ballast cleaning machines are essential equipment used in the maintenance and repair of railway tracks. A wear plate is a robust, durable component that is installed in ballast cleaning machines (BCM) to withstand the abrasive forces and wear caused by constant contact with ballast stones and debris. It serves as a protective layer that shields the underlying structure of the machine from damage, ensuring efficient operation and longevity. This study helps in evaluating the mechanical and fracture behavior of two distinct wear plates used in ballast cleaning machines. The tensile test & fracture test were conducted on universal testing machine (100 KN capacity) for evaluating the percentage elongation vs strength criterion for both the samples in which Plasser sample has UTS about 1270 MPa and % Elongation about 18% and RDSO sample has UTS about 1195 MPa and %Elongation about 21%. Fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) test is conducted to evaluate the behavior of both RDSO and PLASSER sample to monitor the crack growth rate& fracture toughness of both the samples through compact tension(CT) test followed by fractography of CT samples, which were studied through FESEM which shows the kind of fracture morphology. A brittle mode of fracture was observed in the Plasser-samples whereas a comparatively fibrous failure was observed in the RDSO-samples due to the presence of inclusions. In contrast PLASSER sample showcase good properties due to higher proportion of high-angle grain boundaries, a high dislocation density, smaller grain size.