Comparison of wear and rolling contact fatigue behaviours of bainitic and pearlitic rails under various rolling-sliding conditions

Abstract Rolling-sliding wear experiments were performed to investigate the wear and rolling contact fatigue (RCF) behaviours of a premium pearlitic rail (PH), a carbon-free bainitic rail (BH) and two standard pearlitic rails (U71Mn and U75V). The wear regime and RCF damage evolution of the PH and BH materials in terms of Tγ/A (i.e. creepages and contact pressures) were compared and analyzed. The high-hardness BH steel presented a wear resistance similar to U71Mn and U75V rail materials, whereas lower wear rate was shown by the PH steel. Concerning the RCF performance, the damage of BH steel (comparable to U75V) was more severe than that of PH steel (comparable to U71Mn). Finally, with the increase in creepages and pressures, the wear and RCF damage of both PH and BH steels increased. These information could provide a guide in choosing rail materials and in development of bainitic rails.