Evaluation of the threshold for the development of fatigue cracks in a railway steel under harmonic and operational loading

The results of experimental studies of the fatigue crack development in 20GFL steel specimens cut from a cast bolster of a freight car are presented. The ratio of the threshold stress intensity coefficient Kth determined from the kinetic diagram of fatigue fracture and from the average parameters of the operational loading process is considered using the experimental results with a simulation of operational loading. Tests were carried out upon the development of permanent blocks of crack opening in the specimen (in a rigid loading mode). The operational process is presented in the form of a block of consecutive loading cycles recorded during the test of the car frame in conditions typical for a straight section of the railway track. The threshold operational level is determined by the algorithm of gradual reduction of the loading similar to the original process. The regularities in a decrease of the rate of crack development and corresponding decrease in the load were determined. Subsequent extrapolation of the obtained experimental regularities to zero value of the crack propagation rate provided estimation of the threshold loading level, similar to the initially specified value. It is shown that the value of the threshold level of the fatigue crack development in low-alloy steel 20GFL obtained from the fatigue fracture diagram (i.e., under harmonic loading) is significantly higher than that obtained from the estimate based on the average values of the operational loading process. The considered model of operational loading gives greater damage compared to harmonic loading, on the basis of which the survivability of structural elements is usually assessed.