Structural and phase transformations in the continuous cooling of steel for one-piece railroad wheels

The influence of the cooling rate on the phase transformations and the position of the critical points during the continuous transformation of the supercooled austenite in steel for one-piece railroad wheels is established by means of the Gleeble 3500 system. The microstructure is established, and the influence of the cooling rate on the structure and hardness is analyzed. Thermokinetic diagrams of supercooled-austenite decomposition in 2, T, and C wheel steel are presented. Recommendations are made for correction of the cooling in the heat treatment of railroad wheels.