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Simulation of Flash-Butt Welding Process of a Railway Steel. Part 2: Dilatometric and Numerical Analysis

Abstract:

Long rails, welded by the Flash-Butt Welding process present desirable characteristics concerning the dynamic behavior of the track, however flash-butt-welded joints are regions of structural and mechanical discontinuity where high residual stresses originate, and, consequently, premature-fatigue failures may take place. This paper employs dilatometric analysis to simulate the austenitic grain size effects on the postweld microstructural evolution. Finite Element Method (FEM) is used to carry out transient, physically non-linear thermo-mechanical analyses to evaluate the effects of the welding parameters on residual stresses. The results allow understanding the mechanisms associated with the morphological changes of the pearlite in the HAZ in terms of phase transformation and can be used to systematically guide changes in the process parameters or to control the cooling rate in order to obtain better metallurgical/mechanical conditions. In addition, from the results of the numerical models, it is demonstrated how the adoption of narrow HAZ influences cooling rates and the development of residual stresses in critical regions of the welded component.

Key-words:
Flash butt welding; Rail steels; Dilatometry; Welding metallurgy, Finite element method

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