Author:
Soares Henrique,Anes Vitor,Freitas Manuel,Reis Luis
Abstract
Railway mechanical components are subject to thousands of fatigue cycles. Fatigue damage and life assessment is still an open issue. Under service multiaxial loading conditions several challenges can arise. In this study an evaluation of a railway wheel material is performed, i.e. the material properties and the working conditions are taking into account and evaluated. Different mechanical tests are carried out, namely fatigue tests under uniaxial (LCF+HCF) and biaxial (HCF) conditions, applied to several specimens made from the railway wheel. Multiaxial fatigue models were considered regarding the fatigue life estimation. Moreover, fatigue crack plane measurements were compared with estimations from several critical plane models. The applied models provided very satisfactory results, regarding the fatigue life estimation and the initial crack initiation plane under the multiaxial loadings conditions.