Rolling Contact Fatigue Behavior of Rail Weldments under Various Load Conditions: In Indian Railways Aspect

Indian railway provides the necessary infrastructure for the rapid industrialization and economic development of the country, but in the recent times, accidents and derailments have serious affected its credibility. It was observed that the failure of rail causing an accident is largely associated with rail fatigue and joint failure i.e. weldments. The occurrence of defective rail weld and the associated increase in train accidents has emphasized the need, both from safety and operation viewpoints. Sometimes fresh weld failure causes the derailment. Sincederailmentsare causeddueto weldfailuresandrail fractures, it is necessary to strengthentracksbyreplacing the aging rails with new ones. The aim of the studyis to find the effect of higher axial load on rail/welds at various operating speed of train varyingfrom 50 to 100 kmph. The studyalsodiscuss the various causes of defectoccurs in wheels and rails due to higheraxleload. The recommendationhad been provided to prevent the deterioration in rail/welds. The data werecollectedfrom multiple sources of Indianrailwaysdepartmentsinvolved in rail track construction and maintenance activitieswiththeirexperiences. The data of rail/weldfailure of in last 5 years for 52 kg and 60 kg rail section wasobtained. Considering the importance of rail as an assetfrombothsafety and reliability point of view for IR'soperation of bothpassenger and freight trains on the same infrastructure, itisrecommended to use 60 Kg, 110UTSrail section