The Influence of Wheel/Rail Contact Conditions on the Microstructure and Hardness of Railway Wheels
Figure 1
Influence of wheel diameter on average depth of material removal at reprofiling, as a function of mileage since last turned. This example is for the leading wheelset 1, which is most commonly affected by RCF. Wheels turned because of other damage types (e.g., flats) or for parity are excluded. (a) Wheels from all manufacturers. (b) Wheels from only one manufacturer. It is usually necessary to remove approximately φ5 mm to recover the flange thickness; deeper cuts indicate that RCF damage has propagated more deeply. Both graphs show a trend that RCF becomes serious more quickly on wheels of smaller diameter.
