Crack Growth Studies in Railway Axles under Corrosion Fatigue: Full-scale Experiments and Model Validation

Crack initiation and growth in full scale railway axle in A1T mild steel have been studied, under three points rotating bending loading conditions and artificial rainwater as corrosive environment. A surface plastic replication technique has been used along with optical microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy to monitor the environment assisted fatigue at various stages. A modified Murtaza and Akid empirical model has been employed to predict the corrosion fatigue crack growth rates and a reasonable agreement has been found between experimental and calculated lifetime.