Fatigue crack in rails and cyclic-loaded train parts is a contributory factor in multiple railroad accidents. We address the problem of crack detection and measurement at early stages, when total failure has not yet occurred. We propose to combine acoustic emission (AE) testing for prediction of crack growth with digital image correlation (DIC) for its accurate quantitative characterization. In this study, we imitated fatigue crack appearance and growth in samples of railway rail and two train parts by cyclic loading, and applied these two techniques for inspection. Experimental results clearly indicate the efficiency of AE in the early detection of fatigue cracks, and excellent DIC capabilities in terms of geometrical measurements. Combination of these techniques reveals a promising basis for real-time and non-destructive monitoring of rails and train parts.

This paper presents a study of acoustic emission (AE) during the deformation of dissimilar welded joints of austenitic steel to pearlitic steel. One of the specific problems in these welded joints is the presence of decarburized and carbide diffusion interlayers, which intensively increase in width during long-term high-temperature operation. The presence of wide interlayers negatively affects the mechanical properties of welded joints. Moreover, welded defects are difficult to diagnose in welded joints containing interlayers: due to the high structural heterogeneity, interlayers create structural noises that can hinder the detection of defects such as cracks, pores, or a lack of penetration. The AE method may become a complex decision for diagnosing dissimilar welded joints due to applicability to the testing of heterogenic materials with a complex microstructure. Specimens cut from dissimilar welded joints of austenitic steel to pearlitic steel were tested by tension to rupture, with parallel AE data registration. According to the research results, the characteristic features of the AE were revealed for specimens containing defects in the form of lack of penetration as well as for specimens with diffusion interlayers. The results obtained show that the AE method can be used to test both typical welding defects and diffusion interlayers in welded joints of steels of different structural classes.

In this study, we investigated defect detection in dissimilar welded joints by the acoustic emission (AE) method. The study objects were carbide and decarburized interlayers, which are formed at the fusion boundary between austenitic and pearlitic steels. Diffusion interlayers, as a structural defect, usually have microscopic dimensions and cannot be detected using conventional non-destructive testing (NDT) methods. In this regard, the AE method is a promising approach to diagnose metal objects with a complex structure and to detect microscopic defects. In this paper, the AE signatures obtained from testing defect-free specimens and specimens with diffusion interlayers are analyzed. We found that the AE signature for defective and defect-free welded joints has significant differences, which makes it possible to identify descriptors corresponding to the presence of diffusion interlayers in dissimilar welded joints.

No abstract

The results of metallographic studies of 5V titanium alloy welds obtained with the range of electron-beam welding speeds from 20 to 120 m/h are presented. It was established that at all welding speeds some identical microstructure of a weld metal is formed, which can differ only in sizes and shapes of the primary crystals. The results of Vickers hardness, ultimate tensile stress and yield stress estimation by sample-free indentation methods are shown. The weld metal hardness distribution in the transverse direction is homogeneous while from the top to the root an increase in hardness values at all welding speed modes is occurred. It was also revealed that both the hardness and strength of the weld metal grow with the rising welding speed, herewith the increase in these properties in the top of the weld is more significant than in the root. According to the analysis of the interrelation between structure and mechanical properties it was concluded that the main reason of mechanical properties fluctuations is a change in the weld metal chemical composition as a result of the volatile components evaporation during welding.