Analysis of contact fatigue crack growth using twin-disc tests and numerical evaluations

• Behavior of crack growth was investigated by using twin disc test and FE analysis.
• Relationship between crack growth rate and parameters was verified.
• Crack under dry condition did not propagate due to wear.
• Crack growth rate increased as crack length increased, however, which decreased over a certain crack length.

The contact fatigue damages on the rail surface, such as head check, squats are one of the growing problems. Fracture of rail can be prevented by removing the crack before it reaches the critical length. Therefore, the crack growth rate needs to be estimated precisely according to the conditions of the track and load. In this study, we have investigated the crack growth behavior on rail surface by using the twin-disc tests and the finite element analysis. We have verified the relationship between the crack growth rate and the variety of parameters as cracks grow from the initiation stage.