Distribution of Residual Stresses of Railway Steel Components after the Cold Rolling

Numerous research works and service observations show that from practical point of view, the most dangerous proves to be the maximum tensile stress which may accelerate the development of cracking process and cause permanent deformation of the steel components. It is believed that the fatigue crack growth in railway rails is greatly influenced by the residual stress states. The main sources of residual stresses in rails are: the manufacturing process. the rolling wheels of railroad cars and the transverse bending used in cold forming of switch blades and wing rail. The paper presents experimental and a simulation of the process of cold rolling leading to nonuniform plastic strains, and as a final effect residual stresses.