METALURGIJA 46 (2007) 2, 123-128 123

I. VITEZ et al.: DAMAGE TO RAILWAY RAILS CAUSED BY EXPLOITATION

Received - Primljeno: 2006-06-02
Accepted - Prihvaeno: 2006-09-20
Review Paper - Pregledni rad
ISSN 0543-5846
METABK 46 (2) 123-128 (2007)
UDC - UDK 669.14.018.294.2:006EN=111
I. VITEZ, M. ORU, D. KRUMES, I. KLADARI
I. Vitez, D. Krumes, I. Kladari, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
University of Osijek, Slavonski Brod, Croatia, M. Oru, Metallurgical
Institute Kemal Kapetanovi, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
DAMAGE TO RAILWAY RAILS CAUSED BY EXPLOITATION
INTRODUCTION
Railway rails are a very important element of the over-
all railway track and have the basic role of supporting and
guiding railway vehicles and to endure the exploitation life
time with an acceptable level of damage.
In modern railway exploitation, rails are exposed to a
constant increase of speed and loading on the vehicle axles
and to constant stress increase in welded railway tracks.
To meet the increased exploitation requirements, new re-
quirements regarding rail steel quality have been set out in
standards for manufacture and delivery of railway rails.
Modern railway rails production technology and ex-
ploitation in European Community have required a new
philosophy and content of proposals for the new European
standards for manufacture and delivery railway rails (series
pr EN 13674 and other recommendations). An overlook
In modern railway exploitation rails are submitted to a constant increase of speed and loading on the vehicle
axles and to constant stress increase in welded railway tracks. Therefore, modern railway rails production tech-
nology and exploitation in European Community have require a new philosophy and content for the proposals
of new European standards for the manufacturing and delivery of railway rails (series pr EN 13674 and other
recommendations). In this paper an overlook over the new requirements mainly given in EN 13674-1/2004,
the criteria for the selection of steel grade and the valuation of damages to railway rails caused by exploitation
especially on the head of rails are given.
Key words: railway rails steels, new European standards, selection criteria, damages to railway rails in exploi-
tation
Oteenja eljeznikih tranica tijekom eksploatacije. U suvremenim uvjetima eksploatacije eljeznike
tranice su izloene kako porastu brzina i osovinskog optereenja, tako i porastu zaostalih naprezanja od za-
varenih kolosijeka. Zato su moderna tehnologija proizvodnje eljeznikih tranica i zahtjevi u okviru Europske
unije dali sasvim novi pogled na flozofju i sadraj prijedloga novih europskih standarda za proizvodnju i isporuku
eljeznikih tranica (serija pr EN 13674 i druge preporuke). U ovom radu dan je pregled novih zahtjeva koji
su specifcirani uglavnom u novom europskom standardu EN 13674-1/2004, kriteriji izbora elika i oteenja
eljeznikih tranica u eksploataciji naroito na glavi tranica.
Kljune rijei: elici za eljeznike tranice, novi europski standardi, kriteriji izbora, oteenja tranica u eksp-
loataciji
of the new requirements is given in EN 13674-1 for the
qualifying criteria and the acceptance tests with a number
of new tests such as: fracture toughness, fatigue crack
growth rate, fatigue test, residual stress test, microstructure,
decarburisation, oxide cleaness, hardness etc. The reference
acceptance value used until now is the minimal hardness
of the running surface which is the base also for the new
designation of rail steel grades.
The full denominations of six new European drafts of
standards for railway rails are:
1. EN 13674-1/2004 - Part 1: Flat bottom symmetrical
railway rails 46 kg/m and above (Vignole rails);
2. Draft pr EN 13674-2/April 2003 - Part 2: Switch and
crossing rails used in conjunction with Vignole railway
rails 46 kg/m and above;
3. Draft pr EN 13674-3/April 2003 - Part 3: Check rails;
4. Draft pr EN 13674-4/April 2003 - Part 4: Vignole rail-
way rails from 27 kg/m to < 46 kg/m.
As we have seen the series EN 13674 Railway applicati-
ons - Track - Rail consists on four parts mentioned above;
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I. VITEZ et al.: DAMAGE TO RAILWAY RAILS CAUSED BY EXPLOITATION
1. Draft pr EN 14587-1/October 2002 - Railway applica-
tions - Track - Flash butt welding of rails - Part 1: New
220 and 260 grade rails in a fxed plant. EN 14587 will
comprise fve parts. First is mentioned above and other
parts will be following - Part 2: New 260 Mn and 350
HT grade rails in a fxed plant; Part 3: Welding of rails by
mobile welding machines at sites other than a fxed plant;
Part 4: Welding of reusable rails and Part 5: Welding in
association with crossing construction;
2. CEN/TC 256/SC 1/October 2000 - Railway applica-
tions - Track - Aluminothermic welding of rails - Part 1:
Approval of welding processes. The second part of this
EN will be denominated as - Part 2: Requirements for
Approval of Welding Contractors and Operatives. Beside
this six drafts of EN for railway rails there are:
- Recommendations for the use of rail steel grades
- draft from International Union of Railways (UIC)
as leafet 721R/2003,
- Treatment of rail defects - draft UIC as leafet 725R/
2005 and
- Catalogue of Rail defects Code
UIC 712R/2002 [1-8].
THE PRESCRIBED
PROPERTIES OF STEEL
FOR RAILWAY RAILS
The Requirements of
the Codex UIC 860V
Technical conditions of manu-
facture and delivery of railway rails
were standardized in Codex UIC
860V of the International Railroad
Union, which has been harmonized
with the world trends before 20
years.
Table 1. gives a survey of the
prescribed values regarding chemi-
cal composition and tensile properties for four types of
normally hard rail steels [4, 9].
The Requirements of new European Norm
The new European Norm EN 13674-1: 2004 - Part 1
covers the fat bottom symmetrical rails having a linear
mass 46 kg/m and above. Modern rail production technol-
ogy and the requirements of high speed railways within
the Community have demanded a new philosophy and
content of this EN. Whenever possible, this part of EN is
performance based, adopts the European Quality System
standard EN ISO 9001 and requires the manufacturers to
offer the latest verifed technology. Two major parts of the
proposal EN are: the qualifying tests and the acceptance
tests. The qualifying tests introduce a number of perfor-
mance requirements not prescribed seen in national and
international standards (such as fracture toughness K
Ic
).
They also include typical results from relevant acceptance
tests. The principle of the acceptance criteria is based on
the measured hardness values as base for the designation
of new steel grades for railway rails (Table 2.). This steel
grades refect trends in railway usage.
Two major divisions of the draft proposal EN are:
qualifying tests and acceptance tests. The qualifying tests in-
troduce a number of perfomance
requirements not previously
prescribed in national or interna-
tional standards (such as fracture
toughness K
Ic
). They also include
typical results from relevant ac-
ceptance tests. The acceptance
tests have been designed to con-
trol the characteristics of the rail
steel and rail that are of relevance
for the production of high qual-
ity rails and the demands of the
railway user. The principle of the
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I. VITEZ et al.: DAMAGE TO RAILWAY RAILS CAUSED BY EXPLOITATION
acceptance criteria is based on measured hardness values
and not on measured tensile tests which are now part of the
qualifying tests. This hardness is the base for the designation
of new steel grades for railway rails [10].
Qualifying tests
All qualifying tests shall be undertaken at least once
every fve years and as a results of any signifcant produc-
tion process change for all grades. In addition, the residual
stress should be determined on all available grades every
two years. The maximum longitudinal residual stress in
the foot shall be up to 250 MPa. The residual stress tests
are to be performed on 6 samples and the test pieces of 1
m of length should be cut out at least 3 m in from each rail
end. For the determination of rail foot surface longitudinal
residual stresses electrical strain gauges of the encapsulated
type, 3 mm in length with a gauge factor accuracy of better
than 1 %, are used.
Standard test method for the determination of the plain
strain fracture toughness (K
Ic
) of rails shall be performed in
accordance with the requirements of ASTM E399:1991.
The thickness B of all test pieces shall be of 25 mm.
For any rail head transverse profle the test piece width
W shall be the maximum achievable of the following
dimensions: 40, 45 and 50 mm. A minimum of 5 tests
from each sample shall be performed. It is recommended
that the chevron notch in ASTM E399 is used to avoid
crack front curvature problems. Tests shall be performed
at the temperature of 20 2 C. Test temperature shall
be measured using a beadless thermocouplespot welded
to the test piece.
The supplier shall only carry out tests on the 60 E1
profle or the heaviest section produced. Prescribed are the
following qualifying tests: fracture toughness (with three
point bend); fatigue crack growth rate (17 m/Gc by K
=10 MPam
1/2
and 55 m/Gc by K =13,5 MPam
1/2
for steel
grades 200 and 320 Cr); fatigue test (min. 3 test pieces, the
life of each samples shall be greater than 510
6
cycles by
total strain amplitude
uk
= 0,00135); residual stress in rail
foot; variation of centre line running surface hardness of
heat treated rails (till 15 HBW from of the mean result
obtained); tensile strength and elongation (calculated using
multiple regression analysis); segregation (sulfur prints by
ISO 4968); other qualifying requirements.
Acceptance tests
A sequence of laboratory tests is to be performed:
chemical composition; microstructure; decarburisation;
oxide cleaness (K3 < 10 on minimum of 95 % samples);
sulfur prints; hardness (HBW 2,5 mm/1,839 kN, 15 s; max.
variation till 30 HBW); tensile test (R
m
and A
5
are mostly
calculated by the predictive equation, while for 350 HT
and 350 LHT are tested on specimens of diameter of 10
mm, L
0
=5 d
0
).
Samples for oxide cleanness shall be prepared and as-
sessed in accordance with DIN 50602. For orders less than
5000 tonnes, only one sample with a K3 greater than 10
and less than 20 is allowed. Samples shall be taken from
one of the last blooms of the last heat of the sequence but
from each sample 2 specimens shall be tested. The follow-
ing limits shall apply:
Total index:
10 < K3 < 20 for a maximum of 5 % of samples,
K3 < 10 for a minimum of 95 % of samples.
Other acceptance test of rails are: dimension tolerances;
gauges (control calibers for height, web and foot thickness,
crown profle etc.); inspection requirements/ tolerances for
internal quality and surface quality.
Internal quality of rails shall be ultrasonically tested by
a continuous process ensuring that on the entire rail length
and cross-sectional area are inspected (at least 70 % of the
head and at least 60 % of the web). Surface quality includes
the checking of all protrusions, hot marks and seams from
rolling, wear patterns, hot scratches, slivers etc.; cold marks,
surface microstructural damage (martensite or white phase),
automatic foot inspection on surface defects (cracks). Rail
profles, dimensions, properties and linear masses shall be
in accordance with is prescribed EN. This EN contains 21
different profles railways rails with linear masses from 46
till 60 kg/m. The profles have designations: 49 = 49 E1
(previous DIN S 49), and UIC 60 = 60 E1 [10].
CRITERIA FOR THE
SELECTION OF THE STEEL GRADE
Increases in railway traffc, greater axleloads, higher
speeds and the introduction of new generations of rolling
stock have increased the loadings on rails, (especially in
curves). Today, in light, of developments in rail manufac-
ture and changing prices for rail steels, most railways opt
for steel grades 260 and, to a very limited degree, for 260
Mn (steel grades 900 A and 900 B) as standard equipment
for their track. Rails of steel grade 260 and 260 Mn are
not exempt of problems that arise in curves with small
and very small radii and/or heavy loadings. Compared to
rails from inferior steel grades, these lateral and vertical
wear problems arise later or in another form (corrugation,
head-checking).
The various criteria used to select a steel grade are
grouped under the three following headings: local pa-
rameters, maintenance methods and economic assessment
[11 - 14].
Local parameters infuence the development of wear
and rolling contact fatigue defects with:
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I. VITEZ et al.: DAMAGE TO RAILWAY RAILS CAUSED BY EXPLOITATION
- curve radius (lateral wear, corrugation on the low rail
in curves, head-checking, rail contact fatigue defects
causing serious problems on curve radii on which trains
run at higher speeds),
- tonnage carried (the actual daily or annual mega gross
tonnage - mgt in the zone under consideration),
- the impact of falling and rising gradi-
ents (of around 20 and more),
- speed and cant on curves (a wide range
of traffc types which are either pull-
ing and pushing and cant contributes
to lateral wear on the high rail and to
propagation of rolling contact fatigue
defects whereas excess cant causes
crushing on the low rail),
- axleload (a higher axleload conducive
to crushing on the low rail),
- the type of rolling stock (which are
harsh on the track may exert substan-
tial forces in curves or high adhesion
forces which are conducive to rail
damage, smaller wheel radii may also
contribute to rail damage).
Rail maintenance methods as lubri-
cation and grinding help combat the wear
and rolling contact fatigue phenomena.
By applying these methods appropri-
ate way, the maintenance costs can be
reduced. Economic assessment must
be taken when choosing a steel grade
for rails.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
THE USE OF NORMAL AND
HARD STEEL GRADE RAILS
The normal steel grade are rails of
260 or 260 Mn grade steel, while hard
steel grade rails are the rails 320 Cr, 350
HT or 350 LHT. Today, the rails from
260 or 350 HT steel grades are by far
and away the most used.
The maintenance policy (rail lubrica-
tion and grinding) has a substantial impact
on the service life of rails, of normal or
hard steel. As service life is a key factor in
any economic analysis, the maintenance
policy must be taken into account when
choosing the steel grade for rails.
A key parameter in the selection of rail
steel grades is the procurement and main-
tenance cost of the rails. It is important to
consider whether the higher capital costs
of 350 HT, 350 LHT and 320 Cr are justifed by the longer
service life and/or lower maintenance costs.
In small and very small radius curves and/or subject
to heavy loadings, many railways achieve a longer (and
therefore more cost-effective) service life by laying rails
made from steel grades 350 HT, 350 LHT or 320 Cr. The
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I. VITEZ et al.: DAMAGE TO RAILWAY RAILS CAUSED BY EXPLOITATION
corresponding hardness of these rails is obtained either
through heat treatment or by the addition of alloying ele-
ment like chromium, with or without structural change.
Timely execution of maintenance measures (grinding and
above all lubrication of the rails) has a decisive impact on
the service life of rails in curves.
Often, a combination of these two measures (choice of
rail steel grade and maintenance) is necessary to achieve a
cost-effective service life for rails. Both technical and eco-
nomic criteria must therefore be considered when making
that choice [13].
RAIL DEFECTS
By each railway track maintenance always involve the
removal of a number of rails because of cracking or damage
resulting from manufacturing defects and/or traffc loads.
The monitoring of the behaviour of rails in the track must
be connected with computer processing with the aim that
users and producers could focus their efforts in improving
the quality of the rails and the conditions of their use. The
handbook of rail defects includes defnitions, recommenda-
tions, location and general coding system of defects [14].
For broken, cracked and damaged rails a code is given
that may comprise up to four digits. The general coding
system for rail defects and the classifcation of the different
types of defects are given in the Table 3.
Typical damages to railway rails caused by exploitation
on the head of rails are damages:
1. Defects in rail ends on head (11 /12) and web (13)
111 Progressive transverse cracking (kidney - shaped
fatigue crack)
112 Horizontal cracking
113 Longitudinal vertical cracking
121 Surface defects
122 Shelling of running surface
123 Crushing
124 Local batter of running surface
125 Wheel burns
132 Horizontal cracking
1321 at the web - head fllet radius
1322 at the web - foot fllet radius
133 Longitudinal vertical cracking (piping)
134 Corrosion
135 Star - cracking of fshbolt holes
139 Lap
2. Defects away from rail ends on head (21 /22) and on
web (23)
211 Progressive transverse cracking (kidney - shaped
fatigue crack)
212 Horizontal cracking
213 Longitudinal vertical cracking
220 Wear
221 Surface defects
222 Shelling
2221 Shelling of the running surface
2222 Shelling of the gauge corner
2223 Head checking / Fissuring / Scaling
223 Crushing
224 Local batter of the running surface
225 Wheel burn
227 Squat / Cracking and local depression of the surface
232 Horizontal cracking
233 Longitudinal vertical cracking (piping)
234 Corrosion
235 Cracking around holes other than fshbolt holes
236 Diagonal cracking away from any hole
239 Lap
Characteristics and
appearance of damages No. 2223 Head checking
Head checking is a rolling contact fatigue (RCF) phe-
nomenon and it occurs mainly on the high rail in curves
with high shear stresses and relatively low wear. It is a
growing concern for infrastructure managers and diffcult
to detect in the early stages. The defect starts directly un-
der the surface ( 1/10 mm), grows rapidly and reaches
the surface very quickly. Under traffc loads, these cracks
may turns downwards with a risk of multiple breakings.
It is quite diffcult to predict the development of the heed
checking and to detect with eddy currents. Preventive rail
treatment (grinding, milling, planning it) on stretches with
tendency to develop RCF defects is usually recommended
to prevent the occurrence of this type of defect [12].
Head checking (HC) takes following shapes (see
Figure 1.):
1. Stabilised and regular HC.
2. HC with scaling. Fissures inside railhead progress ac-
cording to an angle going from 10 to 15, up to maxi-
mum depth that is, in certain instances, several mm. Then
they progress parallely to the running surface of the rail
and end up meeting again in the gauge corner where they
generate the scaling. Laboratory tests showed that it is
possible to use eddy currents to assess the depth of the
crack.
3. HC that looks like a long fssure. This defect looks like
defect No. 227. (squat), but for its location in the gauge
corner. If recurring periodically, this defect may result
in multiple breaking over several metres and becaming
particularly dangerous.
The means of detection are: visual inspection and ultra-
sonic testing. Recommendations from UIC code are:
- keep rail under inspection,
- withdrawal of the rails showing defects endangering
METALURGIJA 46 (2007) 2, 123-128 128
I. VITEZ et al.: DAMAGE TO RAILWAY RAILS CAUSED BY EXPLOITATION
REFERENCES
[1] H. Bienzeisler, H. Schmedders, K. Wick, Thyssen Technische Be-
richte, H. 1 (1988), 147 - 159.
[2] *** ORE-Frage D156, Bericht 1, Utrecht, September 1984.
[3] R. Schweitzer, J. Flgge, W. Heller, 105 (1985), Nr. 25-26, 16.
Dez., p. 1451 - 1456.
[4] I. Vitez, Metalurgija 35 (1996) 1, 49 - 51.
[5] I. Vitez, I. Budi, D. Krumes, Proceedings of the Charpy Centenary
Conference, Poitiers, 2001, Vol. 1, p. 225 - 231.
[6] I. Vitez, D. Krumes, I. Kladari, 9
th
International Conference on
the mechanical behaviour of materials Geneva, Switzerland, May
25-29, 2003, p. 2E4-7p.
[7] I. Vitez, T. Hozjan, Graevinar 55 (2003) 5, 279 - 284.
[8] I. Vitez, D. Krumes, B. Vitez, 9
th
International Research/Expert
Conference TMT Antalya, Turska 2005, Proceedings, 793 - 796.
[9] *** UIC Codex 860 V, 8. Ausgabe 01.07.1986.
[10] *** Draft pr EN 13674-1: June 1999, Part 1 = Standard EN 13674-
1:2004.
[11] *** UIC Leafet 721 R: Draft of 09.07.2003.
[12] *** UIC Leafet 725 R: Draft of 09.11.2005.
[13] I. Vitez, D. Krumes, B. Vitez, Metalurgija 44 (2005) 2, 137 -
140.
[14] *** Code UIC 712 R, 4
th
edition, Catalogue of Rail defects, Febru-
ary 2002.
[15] I. Vitez, V. Peci, I. Katona, Proceedings 6
th
Scientifc/Research
Symposium FMM University of Zenica 2006, 195 - 200.
Acknowledgment
This work was supported by the Program TEST - Tech-
nological Research and Development Projects of Ministry
for Science, Education and Sports Republic of Croatia.
running safety or quality,
- grinding the rail sometimes make it possible to prevent
or delay scaling,
- removal of the broken rail [14, 15].
CONCLUSIONS
Codex UIC 860 V/1986. prescribes four pearlitic
steel grades for railways rails with tensile strength 700
till 1100 MPa (see Table 1.), while in EN 13674-1/2004.
seven pearlitic steel grades are specifed with the hardness
between 200 to 390 HBW (see Table 2.).
EN 13674-1 has two mayor divisions: qualifying tests
and acceptance tests. The qualifying tests introduce a num-
ber of perfomance requirements not previously prescribed in
the earlier norm and include also typical results of relevant
acceptance tests. The acceptance tests have to control the
prescribed properties of the high quality rail steel according
to the norm EN ISO 9001 and requires for the manufacturers
to offer the latest verifed technology. The principal of the
acceptance criteria is based on measured hardness values.
The new properties of steels for railway rails in qualifying
tests are: fracture toughness, fatigue crack growth rate,
fatigue test, residual stress in rail foot etc.
UIC Recommendation Leafet 721 R from 2003 for the
use of rail steel grades only refers to steel grades specifed
in European standard EN 13674-1. Criteria to determine the
choice of steel grade are grouped under following 3 head-
ings: local parameters, maintenance methods and economic
assessment. Recommendations for the choice of rail steel
grades require that both, technical and economical criteria
must be considered.
UIC the handbook of Rail defects includes the def-
nitions, recommendations, location and general coding
system of defects.
Head checking is a rolling contact fatigue (RCF) phe-
nomenon and it occurs mainly on the high rail in curves
with high shear stresses and relatively low wear. RCF is
currently one of the major factors limiting the productiv-
ity of infrastructure. Squats, shelling and head checks are
all forms of RCF, but head checks are prevalent in curves
and switches where fange contact towards the gauge
corner may results in increased tangential force and slip
in a smaller wheel-rail contact area. If not treated cor-
rectly, these surface-initiated cracks can lead to complete
fracture of the rail.