Measurement of Residual Stress in Railway Wheels With Vertical Split Rim Failures

Author(s):  
Adrian T. DeWald ◽  
Scott Cummings ◽  
John Punwani

Residual stresses are known to significantly impact the initiation and growth of cracks in metallic components such as railway wheels. Tensile residual stresses are of particular concern due to their ability to non-conservatively affect performance. Vertical split rim (VSR) is an important failure mode for railway wheels. Vertical split rim, like any crack growth failure mode, is significantly influenced by residual stress (e.g., mean or steady stress effects). The crack face of a typical VSR wheel shows signs of low-cycle fatigue. Recently, residual stress measurements were performed on a set of Class C railway wheels. This study looked at the difference in axial residual stress for wheels in three primary conditions: new (as manufactured), service-worn, and wheels that failed through VSR. Residual stresses were significantly larger in the service-worn condition and for wheels that had failed due to VSR relative to the new condition. There is a small difference in the axial residual stress profiles of wheels that failed due to VSR compared to other service-worn wheels. It is unclear, however, if the difference is significant based on a limited population of data. This paper provides a description of the methods used to quantify residual stress in the Class C railway wheels and presents important results from the study.

1989 ◽  
Vol 166 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Salinas-Rodriguez ◽  
J.H. Root ◽  
T.M. Holden ◽  
S.R. Macewen ◽  
G.M. Ludtka

ABSTRACTThe macroscopic residual stress distribution in γ-quenched and stress levelled U-0.8wt% Ti alloy tubes was studied using neutron diffraction techniques. Residual strains were evaluated from the difference in d-spacings measured in the tubes and in small reference samples machined from each tube. Residual stresses were calculated with the isotropic bulk values of the elastic constants for polycrystalline α-U. Quenching from the γ field resulted in a nearly equi-biaxial stress state at every point across the wall thickness of the tube. The magnitude of the radial stress was very small compared with that of the axial and hoop stresses which were compressive at the surfaces and tensile in the interior. Stress levelling relieved almost completely the hoop residual stress without affecting the radial stress. The axial residual stress becomes tensile through the wall thickness and remains constant at about 20% of its magnitude in the as-quenched condition.


2011 ◽  
Vol 308-310 ◽  
pp. 1177-1181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Song Zhang ◽  
Gang Yi Cai ◽  
Shu Sen Yang

Effect of substrate conditions, including material type, thickness and radius of substrate, on residual thermal stresses of plasma spraying Sm2Zr2O7/YSZ TBCs was analyzed through finite element method in this paper. The radial and shear stresses of the coating decrease with increasing of distance from the center to edge, and they decrease abruptly at the edge of the specimen, while the axial residal stress increase abruptly at the edge of substrate. All residual stresses increase with increasing of thermal expansion coefficient of substrate. The thickness of substrate has slight effect on the radial residual stress, axial residual stress and shear stress are almost uneffected by substrate thickness. The optimum thickness of substrate is 10mm. Radius of substrate have no effect on radial stress when it is greater than 28mm.


1981 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 302-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. Pu ◽  
M. A. Hussain

A simple method is provided for the computation of the redistribution of residual stresses and the stress intensity factors due to the introduction of notches and cracks in a partially autofrettaged tube. Numerical results of several crack and notch problems are obtained by the method of thermal simulation. These results are shown to be in excellent agreement with those obtained from the classical method of superposition. The new method based on thermal simulation is easier to apply and it avoids the alternate method of superposition requiring cumbersome distributed crack face loadings for each crack configuration.


Author(s):  
Cameron Lonsdale ◽  
John Oliver

Railroad wheels are manufactured with beneficial residual compressive hoop stresses, which are imparted by rim quenching and tempering. Hoop and radial residual stresses for wheels have been studied in detail by various organizations over the years and are relatively well characterized. However axial residual stresses, in the orientation across the rim width from back rim face to front rim face, have not been extensively investigated. This paper describes a failure mode known as a vertical split rim (VSR) and describes efforts to measure the axial residual stresses in, 1) new wheels, 2) service worn wheels and 3) wheels that have failed from VSRs. Initial axial residual stress measurement efforts, using core drilling and x-ray diffraction from the tread surface, are briefly reviewed. Further more extensive work using x-ray diffraction to measure axial residual stress on radial wheel slices is described and data are presented, focusing on differences between the three wheel types. The concept of Axial Stress Amplification (ASA) is outlined, and the relationship of axial residual stress to VSRs is discussed. A proposed mechanism for VSR formation is described. Future work, with a goal of reducing or eliminating VSRs in service, is considered.


Author(s):  
Pei-Yuan Cheng ◽  
Tasnim Hassan

It is well known that residual stress of welded joints influence their fatigue lives. This influence of residual stress is manifested through strain ratcheting response at the weld toe. Among many other reasons, strain ratcheting at the weld toe is anticipated to be a reason of many premature fatigue failure of welded joints. Hence, accurate simulations of weld toe residual stress and strain responses are essential for fatigue life simulation of welded joints. This paper presents results form an ongoing study on fatigue failure of welded piping joints. A modeling scheme for simulating weld toe residual stress and strain response is developed. Uncoupled, thermo-mechanical, finite element analyses are employed for imitating the welding procedure, and thereby simulating the temperature history during welding and initial residual stresses. Simulated residual stresses are validated by comparing against the measured residual stresses. Finite element simulations indicate that both residual stress and resulting strain responses near the weld toe are the key factors in inducing fatigue cracks at the weld toe. Research needs in revealing the fatigue failure mechanisms at the weld toe are discussed.


Author(s):  
Nazrul Islam ◽  
Tasnim Hassan

Earlier studies [1] showed that the ANSYS software package customized with an advanced rate-independent constitutive model was unable to simulate some of the low-cycle fatigue responses of elbow components. Hence, simulations are performed to investigate the influence of manufacturing and welding residual stresses on elbow low-cycle fatigue responses. The sequentially coupled thermo-mechanical finite element analysis is performed to determine the initial residual stress states in elbows due to the elbow manufacturing processes and welding of elbows to straight pipes. Real-time girth-welding processes are taken into account to simulate the welding induced residual stress field. Incorporating these initial residual stresses in the computations, low-cycle fatigue and strain ratcheting responses are simulated by ANSYS. The simulation responses demonstrate that the influence of manufacturing and welding residual stresses in elbows on its low-cycle fatigue responses is negligible. Hence, the question remains what is missing in the simulation models that some of the elbow low-cycle fatigue responses cannot be simulated.


1988 ◽  
Vol 110 (4) ◽  
pp. 297-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. F. Rybicki ◽  
J. R. Shadley ◽  
A. S. Sandhu ◽  
R. B. Stonesifer

Residual stresses in a heat treated weld clad plate and test specimens obtained from the plate are determined using a combination of experimental residual stress analysis and a finite element computational model. The plate is 102 mm thick and made of A 533-B Class 2 steel with 308 stainless steel cladding. The plate is heated to 538 C and allowed to cool uniformly. Upon cooling, residual stresses are set up in the clad plate because of the difference between the coefficients of thermal expansion of the plate and the cladding. Residual stress in the clad plate is determined using both a previously verified experimental residual stress analysis technique and a computational model. Removing test specimens from the clad plate can relax the stresses in the cladding. Thus, residual stress distributions were also determined for two types of clad test specimens that were removed from the plate. These test specimens were designed to examine the effect of cladding thickness on residual stresses. Good agreement was found between the experimentally obtained residual stress values and the residual stresses calculated from the computational model. Because of the interest in tests conducted at elevated temperatures and the inherent difficulty in doing experimental residual stress analysis at elevated temperatures, the computational model was applied to examine the effect of elevated temperature on the residual stresses in the test specimens. Peak stresses in the heat treated clad plate were found to approach the yield stress of the cladding material. It was also found that removing a 32 mm clad specimen with cladding on one side reduced the residual stresses in the cladding. However, the residual stresses in the cladding were found to increase when one-half of the cladding thickness was machined away to form the second test specimen geometry. Residual stresses parallel and perpendicular to the weld direction were very similar in magnitude for all cases considered. The effect that heating the test specimens to 204 C has on residual stress distributions was to reduce the residual stress in the cladding and the plate.


Author(s):  
Cameron Lonsdale ◽  
John Oliver

Recent work using x-ray diffraction techniques has shown that the axial residual stress pattern within the railroad wheel rim is significantly different for as-manufactured AAR Class C wheels vs. AAR Class C wheels that have failed due to a vertical split rim (VSR), and non-failed AAR Class C wheels that have been operating in service. VSRs almost always begin at areas of tread damage, resulting from shelling or spalling, and cracking propagates into the rim section under load. At the locations tested, the as-manufactured wheels have a relatively “flat” axial residual stress profile, compressive but near neutral, caused by the rim quenching operation, while wheels that have been in service have a layer of high axial compressive stress at the tread surface, and a balancing zone of axial tensile stress underneath. The magnitude and direction of this tensile stress is consistent with the crack propagation of a VSR failure. When cracks from the tread surface propagate into this sub-surface axial tensile zone, a VSR can occur under sufficient additional service loading, such as loads caused by in-service wheel/rail impacts from tread damage. Further, softer Class U wheels, removed from service and tested, were found to have a balancing axial tensile stress layer that is deeper below the tread surface than that found in used Class C wheels. This paper describes further efforts to characterize the axial residual stress present in failed VSR and used Class C wheels. Axial residual stress results are obtained near the initiation point of several VSR wheels using x-ray diffraction. Sub-surface axial residual stress patterns are also determined at points of high out-of-roundness for a group of wheels that were tested for TIR (total indicated runout) on the tread surface. Residual stress data and a photo are presented for a wheel rim slice containing a second VSR crack. Additionally, wheel rim ultrasonic testing data, collected by the wheel manufacturer when the wheels were new, are discussed for wheels that have failed due to VSRs and these data are compared to ultrasonic data for non-VSR wheels. Chemistry data are also compared. These data show that the driving force for VSRs is axial residual tensile stress, not a material cleanliness issue.


Materials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
Hai Gong ◽  
Xiaoliang Sun ◽  
Yaoqiong Liu ◽  
Yunxin Wu ◽  
Yanan Wang ◽  
...  

Relieving the residual stress in components is essential to improve their service performance. In this study, a roll-bending process was proposed to reduce the quenching residual stress in a large-size 2219 Al alloy ring. The roll-bending effect on quenching residual stress was evaluated via the finite element method (FEM) combined with experiment. The effect of radial feed quantity, friction coefficient, and roller rotational speed during the roll-bending process on quenching residual stress was analyzed. A set of optimized roll-bending parameters with radial feed quantity, friction coefficient, and roller rotational speed was obtained. The results reveal that the best reduction rates of circumferential and axial residual stress reached 61.72% and 86.24%, respectively. Furthermore, the difference of the residual stress reduction effect between the roll-bended ring and the three-roller bended beam was analyzed.


Author(s):  
Daniel H. Stone ◽  
Scott M. Cummings

The Wheel Defect Prevention Research Consortium (WDPRC) conducted an analysis pertaining to the fatigue cracking of wheel treads by incorporating the effects of residual stresses, temperature, and wheel/rail contact stress. Laboratory fatigue tests were conducted on specimens of wheel tread material under a variety of conditions allowing the analysis to properly account for the residual stresses accumulated in normal operating conditions. Existing literature was used in the analysis in consideration of the effects of contact stress and residual stress relief. This project was performed to define a temperature range in which the life of an AAR Class C wheel is not shortened by premature fatigue and shelling. Wayside wheel thermal detectors are becoming more prevalent on North American railroads as a means of identifying trains, cars, and wheels with braking issues. Yet, from a wheel fatigue perspective, the acceptable maximum operating temperature remains loosely defined for AAR Class C wheels. It was found that residual compressive circumferential stresses play a key role in protecting a wheel tread from fatigue damage. Therefore, temperatures sufficient to relieve residual stresses are a potential problem from a wheel fatigue standpoint. Only the most rigorous braking scenarios can produce expected train average wheel temperatures approaching the level of concern for reduced fatigue life. However, the variation in wheel temperatures within individual cars and between cars can result in temperatures high enough to cause a reduction in wheel fatigue life.


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