Fatigue limit of induction hardened railway axles

Abstract

A new surface induction hardening technology was designed for the purpose of increasing the resistance of railway wheelsets to fatigue damage. This paper gives a detailed presentation of the technological aspects of induction hardening of axles. The increased fatigue resistance in hardened surfaces compared with standard heat treatment of EA4T steel was verified using tensile test specimens, press-fitted wheel seat/axle joints at 1:3 scale and press-fitted wheel/axle joints at actual size. The 70% increase in the fatigue limit of induction hardened EA4T steel specimens compared with material subjected to standard heat treatment clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of this technology.