page_title: Tribo-fatigue
section_title: Hi-Tech: cast iron rails
hierarchical_section_title: Tribo-fatigue / Tribo-Fatigue for industry / Hi-Tech: cast iron rails
caption_attribution_description: English: Tribo-fatigue-16_newest
context_page_description: Tribo-Fatigue is a subdiscipline of mechanics, which studies wear-fatigue damage in and the fracture of tribo-fatigue systems. The field was founded at the junction of tribology, and mechanics of fatigue damage and fracture in materials and structural elements.
context_section_description: The wheel / rail system is tribo-fatigue: it is loaded with a spatial system of cyclic forces (Figure 16) and simultaneously works under friction conditions (during rolling, sliding and fretting) (Figure 17). Modern production of its main element – steel rails is carried out by rolling.
  JSC “Gomselmash” and S&P Group TRIBOFATIGUE Ltd developed a technology for casting rails made of high-strength cast iron with spherical graphite and high fatigue resistance DITG (MONICA).
  On August 24, 2008 JSC “Gomselmash” and S&P Group TRIBOFATIGUE Ltd cast the first rail R65 from DITG cast iron (Figure 18).
  By permission of the Gomel Department of the Belarusian Railway in 2012–2014 (all seasons of the year) the planned operation of the experimental batch of R65 rails from the DITG was carried out on the tracks of the organized train traffic (Figure 19). After operational tests, the rails were dismantled for study. It was established: there was no vertical and lateral wear of the rail heads, there were no additional difficulties during operation in winter and summer, the general appearance and condition of the rails was normal, the rails can be re-stacked and operated in the existing section of the track.
  According to calculations, the wear resistance of cast iron rails is approximately 1.5 times higher than steel, under the same operating conditions. This is due to the special properties of cast iron (self-lubrication, ability to dampen vibrations, etc.).
  For accelerated laboratory tests, original physical models of the wheel / rail system were developed (Figure 20), which are tested on SI-series machines (see Figure 5) under conditions close to operational. For example, test specimens are cut from the rail head in such a way that they contain a surface area damaged during operation (see Figure 20). A laboratory test procedure has been developed, during which rail corrugation is reproduced (Figure 21).
  Thus, it is shown that cast iron rails are promising. Given the uniqueness of the railway track, experts believe that it is more rational to cast railway wheels from cast iron, especially for locomotives.
caption: Figure 16 – Wheel / rail system
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