TWELFTH PROGRESS REPORT ON SHELLY RAIL STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

This paper summarized the past year's progress on shelly rail studies at the University of Illinois: 1. Stress relieving of specimens during laboratory rolling-load tests at either 1000 or 800 deg F have not appreciably increased the life of the rails. 2. Rolling-load tests of commercially flame-hardened rails gave tests about 50 percent above the average for standard carbon steel rails. 3. Rolling-load tests of high silicon steel rails gave tests almost double the average for standard carbon steel rails. 4. An electric furnace 60-lb steel rail with European chemistry gave very low tests in the rolling-load machine--94,400 cycles. 5. Metallographic examination of 17 shelly rails from service found only 1 rail which contained extra large non-metallic inclusions, which could explain why it had developed shelling in service. 6. Using a special rolling-load machine, detail fractures from shelling were produced in five standard steel rails and one alloy rail. 6. The cause of shelling in service appears to be that present wheel loads are too heavy for the small area of contact between wheel and rail, so that as a result of the flow of the steel, internal stresses are produced that exceed the capacity of the steel to withstand such stresses. 7. Laboratory rolling-load tests indicate that stronger rail steel, such as high silicon steel rails, intermediate manganese chrome-vanadium alloy rails, or heat-treated rails should give longer life before shelling develops in service.

• Corporate Authors:

  American Railway Engineering Association

  59 East Van Buren Street
  Chicago, IL  United States  60605
• Authors:
  • Cramer, R E
• Publication Date: 1954

Media Info

• Features: Photos; References;
• Pagination: p. 832-840
• Serial:
  • AREA BULLETIN
  • Volume: 55
  • Publisher: American Railway Engineering Association

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Concrete hardening; Contaminants; Cracking; Defects; Dynamic loads; Equipment tests; Failure; Hardness; Rail (Railroads); Shelling (Metals); Stress relieving; Technology; Wheel loads
• Uncontrolled Terms: Contamination
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Old TRIS Terms: Fissures (Rails); Rail failure; Shelling; Shelling (Rails); Test equipment
• Subject Areas: Environment; Materials; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00040825
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 8 1994 12:00AM