A simulation of the vertical split head failure in rails

A method for tracking internal crack propagation in railhead

“…In both models, as the VSH moves away from the top, SIFs increase first and then decrease after they reach their maximum values although the maximum value is predicted at different values of H . Also it can be seen that the prediction of Kuo et al (1993) is unconservative when H moves further down (beyond the maximum SIF level) as the tensile stress zone predicted by their model neglecting the finite shape of the railhead is much narrower than our prediction. It, therefore, is clear that modelling the actual shape of the railhead containing VSH defect provides better prediction of the SIF.…”

“…Beyond this point, the SIF decreases gradually due to reduction in local stress level. The same problem was also solved by Kuo et al (1993) with the simplification of the railhead as an infinite strip by ignoring the edge effect. Their results is also plotted in Figure 6 as solid line with stars to make a comparison with our results in which the effect of shape of the rail is considered.…”

“…A similar problem was solved by Kuo et al (1993) where the railhead was idealised as a semi-infinite medium subjected to contact loading as defined in Equation (20). The parameters for wheel/rail contact loading were selected as follows (Orringer et al, 1988; Kuo et al, 1993): e = 4.19 mm, F n = 182.4 kN, ν = 0.3, and G = 79.565 GPa. All the results were calculated by setting the highest order of Chebyshev series, M 1 = 100, M k = 60 (k = 2-4) in Equation (12).…”

“…However, there is only limited information published on VSH defects (Kuo et al, 1993;Marich and Kerr, 2004). Marich and Kerr (2004) presented the practical issues of dealing with VSH defects in railheads in the New South Wales rail system.…”

“…Marich and Kerr (2004) presented the practical issues of dealing with VSH defects in railheads in the New South Wales rail system. Kuo et al (1993) treated the VSH as a crack and in an infinitely wide strip by ignoring the traction-free edge effects of the railhead profile. This paper provides an improved solution to the VSH defect by including the traction free surfaces of the railhead, thereby considering the rail as a finite body.…”