• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
• /
• v.11 no.1 s.38
• /
• pp.33-42
• /
• 1999

In the present study, crack initiation criteria, static failure and tensile mode fatigue behavior for a rail steel are evaluated to assure the railway vehicle's safety. The transverse fissure, which is the most critical damage in the rail, is initiated by the maximum shear stress and its location is subsurface. In addition, the possibility of transition from the shear mode to the mixed mode increases with increasing the length of subsurface crack. Because of the brittleness by the welding, the fracture toughness of the welded part is lower than of the base metal. For low ${\Delta}K$, the stage II fatigue crack growth rates of the welded part is slower than of the base metal but, for high ${\Delta}K$, this different behavior for fatigue crack growth rate is nearly diminished. These trends are more remarkable for low stress ratio, R=0.1. It is believed that this behavior is caused by the change of the microstructure which that of the welded part is coarser than of base metal.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.491-496
• /
• 2013

Finite element simulations of tensile tests were performed to determine the equivalent stress - equivalent plastic strain curves, critical equivalent stresses, and critical equivalent plastic strains. Then, the curves were used as inputs to finite element simulations of fracture toughness tests to determine the plane strain fracture toughness. The critical COD was taken as the COD when the equivalent plastic strain at the crack tip reached a critical value, and it was used as a crack growth criterion. The relationship between the critical COD and the critical equivalent plastic strain or the reduction of area was found. The relationship between the plane strain fracture toughness and the product of the critical equivalent stress and the critical equivalent plastic strain was also found.