Author(s)

M. Hosoda, H. Kataoka, T. Deshimaru

Abstract

The maintenance work on rail defects, especially squat, is very important to ensure railway safety. As to the ultrasonic flaw detection of the squat, it is not easy to identify the exact position of the crack tip and the depth of transverse crack, due to the reflection of the incident ultrasonic wave at the horizontal crack generated in the rail head. Therefore, the study on the mechanism of crack growth is very helpful in making a maintenance plan. In this paper, the authors proposed a test method for crack growth with a full-scale test rail. The authors also compared the FEM analysis results for an estimation of the Stress Intensity Factor (SIF) and the transverse crack growth rate with the test results, and proposed the prediction method of the transverse crack growth rate using FEM under various actual track conditions.

Keywords