Papers by Author: Jung Won Seo

Abstract: Repair of damaged rail surface by overlay welding is the common rail maintenance method. But the discontinuity in material between base and weld brings initiation of cracks and they causes a rail fracture. Unfortunately, such cracks are hard to detect on site because the weld boundary prevents the echo signals penetration by reflection. So estimation of the critical crack size (CCS) has been a critical issue in railroad industry to prevent a rail from sudden fracture. In this study, we calculated the critical size of crack which was initiated and propagated underneath of the overlay welded rail by applying linear elastic fracture mechanics. For this purpose, we measured the maximum load carrying capacities of cracked UIC60 by inverted 3 point bend tests and checked the feasibility of the finite element (FE) analysis procedure. We could find the correlation in crack size between the test and 3D FE analysis results and applied the proposed 3D FE analysis model to calculate the CCS of a rail. We calculated the stress intensity factors on cracked rail by increasing the size of crack until the rail broke. The CCS was calculated as around 30.0 mm under the normal railway service operating condition.

Abstract: The railway wheel in long-term running had experienced the wheel damage due to fatigue crack and shelling. The damaged wheel in railway vehicle would cause a poor ride comfort, a rise in the maintenance cost and even fracture of the wheel, which then leads to a tremendous social and economical cost. It is necessary to evaluate long-term damage of railway wheel in order to ensure the safety of wheel. To evaluate the damage for railway wheels, the measurements for the replication of wheel surface and residual stress of railway wheel using x-ray diffraction system were carried out. The result shows that the residual stress of wheel is depend on the running distance and thermal gradient during brake application also that the replication test can be applied in new evaluation method of wheel damage.

Abstract: Upon investigation of the damaged wheels it was determined that the cracking was caused by thermal fatigue during on-tread friction braking. The thermal cracks appear as short cracks oriented axially on the wheel tread. Severe heating of the wheel tread during braking was believed to be a contributing the variation of residual stress which is related to wheel failure. It is necessary to evaluate the residual stress due to deterioration of wheel tread in order to ensure the safety of wheel. In the present paper, the residual stress of railway wheel for deterioration using x-ray diffraction system is evaluated. The result shows that the residual stress of wheel is depend on the running distance and the residual stress needs to be inspected between the wheel diameter of 800 and 780mm.

Abstract: Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) damage on the surface of rails such a head check, squats is a growing problem. Since rail fractures can cause derailment with loss of life and property, the understanding of rail fracture mechanism is important for reducing damages on the rail surface. In this study, we have investigated RCF damage, fatigue growth and fracture surface morphology on the surface of broken rail using failure analysis and finite element (FE) analysis. The investigation indicates that the crack grows at about 20° to the depth of 8mm from the surface and branches into two cracks. One crack propagates downward at about 47°, the other propagates upward. Since the crack growth rate of the downward crack was faster than that of upward crack, rail eventually was broken. Since the downward branches lead to fracture of the rail, they are more dangerous to the integrity of rails. It has been observed that White Etching Layer (WEL) occurs within the surface of broken rail. It was found that the fatigue crack initiation and propagation was accelerated by WEL.

Abstract: The objective of this study is to clarify the effect of hub contact shape on contact pressure and fatigue life with regard to the selection of a suitable taper design near the end of the fit. A numerical asymmetric-axisymmetric finite element model was developed in order to determine the contact stress state of press-fitted shaft by using four types of tapered contact surfaces on the hub. The variations of fatigue crack initiation life according to the change of tapered contact surfaces on the hub were evaluated by using the Smith-Watson-Topper (SWT) multiaxial fatigue criterion. As the result, comparing with the contact pressure and the fatigue crack initiation life, maximum decrease of contact pressure and maximum increase of fatigue crack initiation life were obtained for the 1/400 m/m tapered hub subjected to a bending load near the fretting fatigue limit. Furthermore, as the change of bending load, the optimal amout of taper in hub which fatigue life gets into maximum is varied. Therefore, we suggest that the best performance, in terms of pressure distribution and fatigue life of press fit, can be obtained by using a proper taper values for the hub element.

Abstract: The defect initiation and crack propagation in wheel may result in the damage of the railway vehicle or derailment. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the characteristics of the wheel tread. In the present paper, the characteristics of wheel tread based on contact positions, running distance and brake pattern are evaluated. To evaluate the damage for railway wheels, the measurement for the replication of wheel surface is carried out. The result shows that the damaged wheel tread is remarkably depended on the contact positions between wheel and rail. It should be noted that the replication test can be applied in new evaluation method of wheel damage.

Abstract: White etching layer(WEL) is a phenomenon that occurs on the surface of rail due to wheel/rail interactions such as excessive braking and acceleration . Rolling contact fatigue(RCF) cracks on the surface of rail have been found to be associated with the WEL. In this study, we have investigated RCF damages of white etching layer in the laboratory using twin disc testing. These tests consist of wheel flat tests and rolling contact fatigue tests. The WEL has been simulated by wheel flat test. It has been founded that the WEL with a bright featureless contrast is formed on the surface of specimen by etching. Rolling contact fatigue test was conducted by using flat specimens with the WEL generated by the wheel flat test. It has been observed that two types of cracks occur within the specimen, the first initiated at the interface between the WEL and the undeformed area, the second initiated at the center of the WEL.

Abstract: The structural strength during static loadings for a carbody of railway container freight car was evaluated to verify the structural strength of newly manufactured carbody. The carbody of freight car was designed with SM490YA steel and stainless steel for the general railway transportation. Prior to the assessment of structural strength, finite element method (FEM) characterization was used for the stress and structural analyses on stress distribution in a carbody of container freight car. The strain gages were attached on the carbody based on the FEM results in order to measure structural strength during static loadings such as vertical and compression loadings. The actual vertical loading test and horizontal compression loading test were conducted, and the results were compared with the previous FEM results. In this investigation, the evaluation method for the structural strength in a structural component has been introduced using several engineering techniques, and experimental and theoretical results were compared.

Abstract: Railcar wheels and axles belong to the most critical components in railway vehicles. The service conditions of railway vehicles have been more severe in recent years due to speed-up. Therefore, a more precise evaluation of railcar wheel life and safety has been requested. Wheel/rail contact fatigue and thermal cracks due to braking are two major mechanisms of the railcar wheel failure. One of the main sources influencing on the contact zone failure is residual stress. The residual stress in wheels formed during heat treatment in manufacturing changes in the process of braking. Thus the fatigue life of railcar wheels should be estimated by considering both thermal stress and rolling contact. Also, the effect of residual stress variation due to manufacturing process and braking process should be included in simulating contact fatigue behavior. In this paper, an evaluation procedure for the contact fatigue life of railcar wheels considering the effects of residual stresses due to heat treatment, braking and repeated contact load is proposed. And the cyclic stressstrain history for fatigue analysis is simulated by finite element analysis for the moving contact load.

Abstract: For the high quality of wheel, the railway wheel has standardized such as UIC, KS, and JIS code but the chemical composition, the mechanical property and the hardness is merely requested. Although the standard of railway wheel has sustained, the damages of railway wheel have been occurred in service running. Because of wheel damage with spalling, shelling and thermal crack, the maintenance cost for the railway wheel has increased. In order to reduce wheel damage, it is necessary to reinforce the standard of railway wheel. In present study, the fracture mechanics characteristics of railway wheel such as threshold stress intensive factor, fracture toughness and impact energy depended on temperature have tested. The result shows that the standard of railway wheel has to supplement fracture toughness and impact energy depended on low temperature in order to reduce the wheel damage.