Analysis on Fracture Reason of Railway Wheel Plate

The fracture reason of railway wheel plate was analyzed by means of chemical composition analysis, macro and micro observation, mechanical property testing, finite element analysis and so on. The results showed that fatigue cracking originated from corrosion pit existed on the inner surface of wheel plate under alternative stress. The wheel plate was broken once the fatigue crack grown to a certain size during service. Corrosion pits did not only induce local stress concentration at the bottom of pits, but also destroy the plate surface layer with high hardness and high residual compressive stress induced by shot peening. The pitting corrosion would decrease the fatigue limit and result in fatigue cracking on the wheel plate. Therefore, the wheels need to be well protected from corrosion during transport, storage and usage.