The Influence of Wheel/Rail Contact Conditions on the Microstructure and Hardness of Railway Wheels
Figure 13
OM images of microstructure in the flange root area: (a) Region C1, (b) Region C2, and (c) Region C3. These show the microstructure sheared to the right (toward the centre of the tread) which is consistent with the direction of tangential forces on this part of the wheel (Figure 4). The depth of shearing is about 0.1 mm. A crack is visible in Region C2, at the same angle as the sheared microstructure, about 0.2 mm long. Cracks are also visible on the surface here (see Figure 3).
