Technology Digests / Intermediate Strength Rail Test at FAST®–2021

TD22-002

April 1, 2022
Authors
  • Ananyo Banerjee
  • Joseph LoPresti
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Key Findings

  • A new rail test was started on a 5-degree curve with three intermediate strength rail types and one standard strength rail type on both the high and low rails. Various railroads donated the rails as a part of a random sample selection from their inventories.
  • The intermediate strength rail types have median surface hardness and yield strength values above the recommended minimum values for intermediate strength low alloy rails per AREMA Chapter 4. The measured median ultimate tensile strength values for all intermediate strength rail types were higher than the recommended minimum values for intermediate strength carbon rail and low alloy rail types.
  • Rail wear at 56 MGT and before the first grind has shown higher head-area loss on the low rail compared to the high rail.

Intermediate Strength Rail Test at FAST®–2021

MxV Rail (formerly TTCI) has been testing three intermediate strength (IS) rail types along with a standard strength (SS) rail type on a 5-degree curve of the High Tonnage Loop (HTL) located at the Facility for Accelerated Service Testing (FAST®) in Pueblo, CO. The rails were installed in January 2021 and accumulated 141 million gross tons (MGT) of service through June 2021. The 5-degree curve in Section 3 of the HTL is equipped with gage face lubrication on the high rail and oil as top-of-rail lubrication on the low rail. During testing, MxV Rail has been monitoring rail wear, internal rail defects, and electric flash butt (EFB) weld failures. There were no internal defects or weld failures in this test through 141 MGT. Preventative grinding was performed twice, at 56.5 MGT and 127 MGT, to remove surface rolling contact fatigue (RCF). The two previous IS rail tests lasted until 390…