Study of wheel-rail impact at insulated rail joint through experimental and numerical methods

As part of an ongoing research on the development of a longer life insulated rail joint (IRJ), this paper reports a field experiment and a simplified 2D numerical modelling for the purpose of investigating the behaviour of rail web in the vicinity of endpost in an insulated rail joint (IRJ) due to wheel passages. A simplified 2D plane stress finite element model is used to simulate the wheel-rail rolling contact impact at IRJ. This model is validated using data from a strain gauged IRJ that was installed in a heavy haul network; data in terms of the vertical and shear strains at specific positions of the IRJ during train passing were captured and compared with the results of the FE model. The comparison indicates a satisfactory agreement between the FE model and the field testing. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the experimental and numerical analyses reported in this paper provide a valuable datum for developing further insight into the behaviour of IRJ under wheel impacts.

Experimental studies on the performance of rail joints with modified wheel/railhead contact

Rail joints are provided with a gap to account for thermal movement and to maintain electrical insulation for the control of signals and/or broken rail detection circuits. The gap in the rail joint is regarded as a source of significant problems for the rail industry since it leads to a very short rail service life compared with other track components due to the various, and difficult to predict, failure modes – thus increasing the risk for train operations. Many attempts to improve the life of rail joints have led to a large number of patents around the world; notable attempts include strengthening through larger-sized joint bars, an increased number of bolts and the use of high yield materials. Unfortunately, no design to date has shown the ability to prolong the life of the rail joints to values close to those for continuously welded rail (CWR). This paper reports the results of a fundamental study that has revealed that the wheel contact at the free edge of the railhead is a major problem since it generates a singularity in the contact pressure and railhead stresses. A design was therefore developed using an optimisation framework that prevents wheel contact at the railhead edge. Finite element modelling of the design has shown that the contact pressure and railhead stress singularities are eliminated, thus increasing the potential to work as effectively as a CWR that does not have a geometric gap. An experimental validation of the finite element results is presented through an innovative non-contact measurement of strains. Some practical issues related to grinding rails to the optimal design are also discussed.

Ratchetting of railhead in the vicinity of the gap of the insulated rail joints

Insulated Rail Joints (IRJs) are designed to electrically isolate two rails in rail tracks to control the signalling system for safer train operations. Unfortunately the gapped section of the IRJs is structurally weak and often fails prematurely especially in heavy haul tracks, which adversely affects service reliability and efficiency. The IRJs suffer from a number of failure modes; the railhead ratchetting at the gap is, however, regarded as the root cause and attended to in this thesis. Ratchetting increases with the increase in wheel loads; in the absence of a life prediction model, effective management of the IRJs for increased wagon wheel loads has become very challenging. Therefore, the main aim of this thesis is to determine method to predict IRJs' service life. The distinct discontinuity of the railhead at the gap makes the Hertzian theory and the rolling contact shakedown map, commonly used in the continuously welded rails, not applicable to examine the metal ratchetting of the IRJs. Finite Element (FE) technique is, therefore, used to explore the railhead metal ratchetting characteristics in this thesis, the boundary conditions of which has been determined from a full scale study of the IRJ specimens under rolling contact of the loaded wheels. A special purpose test set up containing full-scale wagon wheel was used to apply rolling wheel loads on the railhead edges of the test specimens. The state of the rail end face strains was determined using a non-contact digital imaging technique and used for calibrating the FE model. The basic material parameters for this FE model were obtained through independent uniaxial, monotonic tensile tests on specimens cut from the head hardened virgin rails. The monotonic tensile test data have been used to establish a cyclic load simulation model of the railhead steel specimen; the simulated cyclic load test has provided the necessary data for the three decomposed kinematic hardening plastic strain accumulation model of Chaboche. A performance based service life prediction algorithm for the IRJs was established using the plastic strain accumulation obtained from the Chaboche model. The predicted service lives of IRJs using this algorithm have agreed well with the published data. The finite element model has been used to carry out a sensitivity study on the effects of wheel diameter to the railhead metal plasticity. This study revealed that the depth of the plastic zone at the railhead edges is independent of the wheel diameter; however, large wheel diameter is shown to increase the IRJs' service life.

A neutron diffraction investigation of residual stresses in rail ends after severe deformation of rail surfaces

Insulated rail joints (IRJs) are a primary component of the rail track safety and signalling systems. Rails are supported by two fishplates which are fastened by bolts and nuts and, with the support of sleepers and track ballast, form an integrated assembly. IRJ failure can result from progressive defects, the propagation of which is influenced by residual stresses in the rail. Residual stresses change significantly during service due to the complex deformation and damage effects associated with wheel rolling, sliding and impact. IRJ failures can occur when metal flows over the insulated rail gap (typically 6-8 mm width), breaks the electrically isolated section of track and results in malfunction of the track signalling system. In this investigation, residual stress measurements were obtained from rail-ends which had undergone controlled amounts of surface plastic deformation using a full scale wheel-on-track simulation test rig. Results were compared with those obtained from similar investigations performed on rail ends associated with ex-service IRJs. Residual stresses were measured by neutron diffraction at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). Measurements with constant gauge volume 3x3x3 mm3 were carried in the central vertical plane on 5mm thick sliced rail samples cut by an electric discharge machine (EDM). Stress evolution at the rail ends was found to exhibit characteristics similar to those of the ex-service rails, with a compressive zone of 5mm deep that is counterbalanced by a tension zone beneath, extending to a depth of around 15mm. However, in contrast to the ex-service rails, the type of stress distribution in the test-rig deformed samples was apparently different due to the localization of load under the particular test conditions. In the latter, in contrast with clear stress evolution, there was no obvious evolution of d0. Since d0 reflects rather long-term accumulation of crystal lattice damage and microstructural changes due to service load, the loading history of the test rig samples has not reached the same level as the ex-service rails. It is concluded that the wheel-on-rail simulation rig provides the potential capability for testing the wheel-rail rolling contact conditions in rails, rail ends and insulated rail joints.

Prediction of tread block forces for a free-rolling tyre in contact with a rough road

This paper describes a new approach to model the forces on a tread block for a free-rolling tyre in contact with a rough road. A theoretical analysis based on realistic tread mechanical properties and road roughness is presented, indicating partial contact between a tread block and a rough road. Hence an asperity-scale indentation model is developed using a semi-empirical formulation, taking into account both the rubber viscoelasticity and the tread block geometry. The model aims to capture the essential details of the contact at the simplest level, to make it suitable as part of a time-domain dynamic analysis of the coupled tyre-road system. The indentation model is found to have a good correlation with the finite element (FE) predictions and is validated against experimental results using a rolling contact rig. When coupled to a deformed tyre belt profile, the indentation model predicts normal and tangential force histories inside the tyre contact patch that show good agreement with FE predictions. © 2012 Elsevier B.V..

Ocular surface changes with short-term contact lens wear

Contact lenses are a common method for the correction of refractive errors of the eye. While there have been significant advancements in contact lens designs and materials over the past few decades, the lenses still represent a foreign object in the ocular environment and may lead to physiological as well as mechanical effects on the eye. When contact lenses are placed in the eye, the ocular anatomical structures behind and in front of the lenses are directly affected. This thesis presents a series of experiments that investigate the mechanical and physiological effects of the short-term use of contact lenses on anterior and posterior corneal topography, corneal thickness, the eyelids, tarsal conjunctiva and tear film surface quality. The experimental paradigm used in these studies was a repeated measures, cross-over study design where subjects wore various types of contact lenses on different days and the lenses were varied in one or more key parameters (e.g. material or design). Both, old and newer lens materials were investigated, soft and rigid lenses were used, high and low oxygen permeability materials were tested, toric and spherical lens designs were examined, high and low powers and small and large diameter lenses were used in the studies. To establish the natural variability in the ocular measurements used in the studies, each experiment also contained at least one “baseline” day where an identical measurement protocol was followed, with no contact lenses worn. In this way, changes associated with contact lens wear were considered in relation to those changes that occurred naturally during the 8 hour period of the experiment. In the first study, the regional distribution and magnitude of change in corneal thickness and topography was investigated in the anterior and posterior cornea after short-term use of soft contact lenses in 12 young adults using the Pentacam. Four different types of contact lenses (Silicone hydrogel/ Spherical/–3D, Silicone Hydrogel/Spherical/–7D, Silicone Hydrogel/Toric/–3D and HEMA/Toric/–3D) of different materials, designs and powers were worn for 8 hours each, on 4 different days. The natural diurnal changes in corneal thickness and curvature were measured on two separate days before any contact lens wear. Significant diurnal changes in corneal thickness and curvature within the duration of the study were observed and these were taken into consideration for calculating the contact lens induced corneal changes. Corneal thickness changed significantly with lens wear and the greatest corneal swelling was seen with the hydrogel (HEMA) toric lens with a noticeable regional swelling of the cornea beneath the stabilization zones, the thickest regions of the lenses. The anterior corneal surface generally showed a slight flattening with lens wear. All contact lenses resulted in central posterior corneal steepening, which correlated with the relative degree of corneal swelling. The corneal swelling induced by the silicone hydrogel contact lenses was typically less than the natural diurnal thinning of the cornea over this same period (i.e. net thinning). This highlights why it is important to consider the natural diurnal variations in corneal thickness observed from morning to afternoon to accurately interpret contact lens induced corneal swelling. In the second experiment, the relative influence of lenses of different rigidity (polymethyl methacrylate – PMMA, rigid gas permeable – RGP and silicone hydrogel – SiHy) and diameters (9.5, 10.5 and 14.0) on corneal thickness, topography, refractive power and wavefront error were investigated. Four different types of contact lenses (PMMA/9.5, RGP/9.5, RGP/10.5, SiHy/14.0), were worn by 14 young healthy adults for a period of 8 hours on 4 different days. There was a clear association between fluorescein fitting pattern characteristics (i.e. regions of minimum clearance in the fluorescein pattern) and the resulting corneal shape changes. PMMA lenses resulted in significant corneal swelling (more in the centre than periphery) along with anterior corneal steepening and posterior flattening. RGP lenses, on the other hand, caused less corneal swelling (more in the periphery than centre) along with opposite effects on corneal curvature, anterior corneal flattening and posterior steepening. RGP lenses also resulted in a clinically and statistically significant decrease in corneal refractive power (ranging from 0.99 to 0.01 D), large enough to affect vision and require adjustment in the lens power. Wavefront analysis also showed a significant increase in higher order aberrations after PMMA lens wear, which may partly explain previous reports of "spectacle blur" following PMMA lens wear. We further explored corneal curvature, thickness and refractive changes with back surface toric and spherical RGP lenses in a group of 6 subjects with toric corneas. The lenses were worn for 8 hours and measurements were taken before and after lens wear, as in previous experiments. Both lens types caused anterior corneal flattening and a decrease in corneal refractive power but the changes were greater with the spherical lens. The spherical lens also caused a significant decrease in WTR astigmatism (WRT astigmatism defined as major axis within 30 degrees of horizontal). Both the lenses caused slight posterior corneal steepening and corneal swelling, with a greater effect in the periphery compared to the central cornea. Eyelid position, lid-wiper and tarsal conjunctival staining were also measured in Experiment 2 after short-term use of the rigid and SiHy contact lenses. Digital photos of the external eyes were captured for lid position analysis. The lid-wiper region of the marginal conjunctiva was stained using fluorescein and lissamine green dyes and digital photos were graded by an independent masked observer. A grading scale was developed in order to describe the tarsal conjunctival staining. A significant decrease in the palpebral aperture height (blepharoptosis) was found after wearing of PMMA/9.5 and RGP/10.5 lenses. All three rigid contact lenses caused a significant increase in lid-wiper and tarsal staining after 8 hours of lens wear. There was also a significant diurnal increase in tarsal staining, even without contact lens wear. These findings highlight the need for better contact lens edge design to minimise the interactions between the lid and contact lens edge during blinking and more lubricious contact lens surfaces to reduce ocular surface micro-trauma due to friction and for. Tear film surface quality (TFSQ) was measured using a high-speed videokeratoscopy technique in Experiment 2. TFSQ was worse with all the lenses compared to baseline (PMMA/9.5, RGP/9.5, RGP/10.5, and SiHy/14) in the afternoon (after 8 hours) during normal and suppressed blinking conditions. The reduction in TFSQ was similar with all the contact lenses used, irrespective of their material and diameter. An unusual pattern of change in TFSQ in suppressed blinking conditions was also found. The TFSQ with contact lens was found to decrease until a certain time after which it improved to a value even better than the bare eye. This is likely to be due to the tear film drying completely over the surface of the contact lenses. The findings of this study also show that there is still a scope for improvement in contact lens materials in terms of better wettability and hydrophilicity in order to improve TFSQ and patient comfort. These experiments showed that a variety of changes can occur in the anterior eye as a result of the short-term use of a range of commonly used contact lens types. The greatest corneal changes occurred with lenses manufactured from older HEMA and PMMA lens materials, whereas modern SiHy and rigid gas permeable materials caused more subtle changes in corneal shape and thickness. All lenses caused signs of micro-trauma to the eyelid wiper and palpebral conjunctiva, although rigid lenses appeared to cause more significant changes. Tear film surface quality was also significantly reduced with all types of contact lenses. These short-term changes in the anterior eye are potential markers for further long term changes and the relative differences between lens types that we have identified provide an indication of areas of contact lens design and manufacture that warrant further development.

Estudo da evolução das tensões residuais através da difratometria de raios x em aço rolamento submetido a esforços cíclicos

The micro-deformations caused by cyclic loading origins the variation of the distances between atoms of the crystal lattice producing the irreversible component. In order to study and understand the microstructural behavior of the material this paper investigated the influence suffered by residual stresses in thrust rolling bearing races fabricated in AISI 52100 steel, after tests by cyclic rolling contact in a tribometer at 1m/s under two contact pressures (500 MPa and 1400 MPa) in dry and boundary lubrication conditions. Procedures of tests thermo-acustically isolated were developed for monitoring the contact temperature and sound pressure level signals to establish a comparison between the residual stress measurements, micro-hardness Vickers and micrographic registers searching an indication of wear evolution. The sin²ψ method by X-ray diffraction technique was used to quantify the residual stresses. Three raceway zones were selected for the evaluation of wear and surface morphology after predetermined cycling, comparing with their new condition ("as received"). Micro-hardness and residual stress measurements showed significant changes after the tests and it was possible to observe the relationship between the increase of sound pressure level and the residual stress for dry and lubricated conditions.

Estudo da evolução das tensões residuais através da difratometria de raios x em aço rolamento submetido a esforços cíclicos

The micro-deformations caused by cyclic loading origins the variation of the distances between atoms of the crystal lattice producing the irreversible component. In order to study and understand the microstructural behavior of the material this paper investigated the influence suffered by residual stresses in thrust rolling bearing races fabricated in AISI 52100 steel, after tests by cyclic rolling contact in a tribometer at 1m/s under two contact pressures (500 MPa and 1400 MPa) in dry and boundary lubrication conditions. Procedures of tests thermo-acustically isolated were developed for monitoring the contact temperature and sound pressure level signals to establish a comparison between the residual stress measurements, micro-hardness Vickers and micrographic registers searching an indication of wear evolution. The sin²ψ method by X-ray diffraction technique was used to quantify the residual stresses. Three raceway zones were selected for the evaluation of wear and surface morphology after predetermined cycling, comparing with their new condition ("as received"). Micro-hardness and residual stress measurements showed significant changes after the tests and it was possible to observe the relationship between the increase of sound pressure level and the residual stress for dry and lubricated conditions.

Severe wear of a near eutectic aluminium-silicon alloy

The severe wear of a near eutectic aluminium silicon alloy is explored using a range of electron microscopic, spectroscopic and diffraction techniques to identify the residually strained and unstrained regions, microcracks and oxidized regions in the subsurface. In severe wear the contact pressure exceeds the elastic shakedown limit. Under this condition the primary and eutectic silicon particles fragment drastically. The fragments are transported by the matrix as it undergoes incremental straining with each cyclic contact at the asperity level. The grains are refined from similar to 2000 nm in the bulk to 30 nm in the near surface region. A large reduction in the interparticle distance compared with that for a milder stage of wear gives rise to high strain gradients which contribute to an enhancement of the dislocation density. The resulting regions of very high strain in the boundaries of the recrystallized grains as well as within the subgrains lead to the formation of microvoidskracks. This is accompanied by the formation of brittle oxides at these subsurface interfaces due to enhanced diffusion of oxygen. We believe that the abundance of such microcracks in the near surface region, primed by severe plastic deformation, is what distinguishes a severe wear regime from mild wear. (C) 2011 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transitions in the erosive wear behavior of a glass-ceramic

The mechanisms of material removal were investigated during the erosive wear of a glass-ceramic. The effects of erodent particle shape, velocity and angle were studied. Single impacts and incremental erosion tests were performed, to study the development of surface features and to elucidate the mechanisms of material removal. It was found that transitions in mechanism occurred which depended on the particle shape, impact velocity and impact angle. The mechanisms of material removal, for erosion by silica sand, changed from fine scale fracture and plastic processes below a transition point to large-scale cracking of the surface above. Spherical glass beads caused wear dominated by fatigue, with a very strong dependence of wear rate on the impact conditions. This work indicates that laboratory erosion testing of glass-ceramic and other brittle materials should reflect the conditions present in practice, and that account must be taken of possible changes in wear mechanisms.

Tool wear in sheet metal stamping

This paper discusses our recent research on wear at the die radius in sheet metal stamping. According to wear theory, contact pressure and sliding distance are the two dominant factors in determining sliding wear. We applied the finite element analysis to accurately quantify the contact pressure and sliding distance at the die radius in sheet metal stamping. The results were then applied to analyze sliding wear at the die radius. We found that a typical two-peak steady-state contact pressure response exists during a channel forming process. The steady-state contact pressure response was preceded by an initial transient response, which produced extremely large and localized contact pressures. We proposed a method to numerically quantify the sliding distance, which was applied to examine the contact sliding distance at the die radius. Correlating the contact pressure and sliding distance, a new insight into the wear/galling that occurs at the die radius in sheet metal stamping was gained. The results show that the region close to zero degrees on the die radius is likely to experience the most wear, with the identified transient stage contributing to a large proportion of the total wear.

Molecular aspects of boundary lubrication by human lubricin : effect of disulfide bonds and enzymatic digestion

Lubricin (LUB) is a glycoprotein of the synovial cavity of human articular joints, where it serves as an antiadhesive, boundary lubricant, and regulating factor for the cartilage surface. It has been proposed that these properties are related to the presence of a long, extended, heavily glycosylated and highly hydrated mucinous domain in the central part of the LUB molecule. In this work, we show that LUB has a contour length of 220 ± 30 nm and a persistence length of ≤10 nm. LUB molecules aggregate in oligomers where the protein extremities are linked by disulfide bonds. We have studied the effect of proteolytic digestion by chymotrypsin and removal of the disulfide bonds, both of which mainly affect the N− and C− terminals of the protein, on the adsorption, normal forces, friction (lubrication) forces, and wear of LUB layers adsorbed on smooth, negatively charged mica surfaces, where the protein naturally forms lubricating polymer brush-like layers. After in situ digestion, the surface coverage was drastically reduced, the normal forces were altered, and both the coefficient of friction and the wear were dramatically increased (the COF increased to μ = 1.1−1.9), indicating that the mucinous domain was removed from the surface. Removal of disulfide bonds did not change the surface coverage or the overall features of the normal forces; however, we find an increase in the friction coefficient from μ = 0.02−0.04 to μ = 0.13−1.17 in the pressure regime below 6 atm, which we attribute to a higher affinity of the protein terminals for the surface. The necessary condition for LUB to be a good lubricant is that the protein be adsorbed to the surface via its terminals, leaving the central mucin domain free to form a low-friction, surface-protecting layer. Our results suggest that this “end-anchoring” has to be strong enough to impart the layer a sufficient resistance to shear, but without excessively restricting the conformational freedom of the adsorbed proteins.

Effect of electroless nickel interlayer on the fatigue strength of chromium electroplated AISI 4340 steel

Deposition of wear-resistant hard chromium plating leads to a decrease in the fatigue strength of the base material. Despite the effective protection against wear and corrosion, fatigue life and environmental requirements result in pressure to identify alternatives or to improve conventional chromium electroplating mechanical characteristics. An interesting, environmentally safer and cleaner alternative for the replacement of hard chronic plating is tungsten carbide thermal spray coating, applied by high velocity oxyfuel (HVOF) process.To improve the fatigue strength of aeronautical steel chromium electroplated, shot peening is a successfully used method. Multiple lacer systems of coatings are considered to have larger resistance to crack propagation in comparison with simple layer.The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of nickel underplate on the fatigue strength of hard chromium plated AISI 4340 steel in two mechanical conditions: HRc 39 and HRc 52.Rotating bending fatigue tests results indicate that the clectroless nickel plating underlayer is responsible for the increase in fatigue strength of AISI 4340 steel chromium electroplated. This behavior may be attributed to the largest toughness/ductility and compressive residual stresses which, probably, arrested or delayed the inicrocrack propagation from the hard chromium external layer. The compressive residual stress field (CRSF) induced by the electroplating process was determined by X-ray diffraction method. The evolution of fatigue strength compressive residual stress field CRSF and crack sources are discussed and analyzed by SEM. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.