Effects of Rail Wear Evolution on Mixed-Mode Subsurface Crack Stress Intensity Factors in A Curve

Effects of Rail Wear Evolution on Mixed-Mode Subsurface Crack Stress Intensity Factors in A Curve | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Effects of Rail Wear Evolution on Mixed-Mode Subsurface Crack Stress Intensity Factors in A Curve Alireza Kardanian, Parisa Hosseini Tehrani This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9364786/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Rolling contact fatigue (RCF) and wear degrade railway rails, particularly in curved tracks with high axle loads. While surface-initiated RCF is well-studied, subsurface crack behavior in worn rails is not well understood. This study numerically investigates how worn rail profiles impact subsurface cracks. A freight wagon model is used to obtain realistic wheel–rail forces for varying rail wear. These forces are applied to three-dimensional finite element models of cracks under mixed-mode loading. Rail wear stages are analyzed, and crack behavior is evaluated across rail zones. Stress intensity factors (Modes II and III) are extracted using the contour integral method, and extensive parametric studies assess crack orientation, size, aspect ratio, and wheel-rail friction. The results demonstrate that rail wear redistributes stress fields, making gauge areas of high rails more critical. Worn high rails exhibit high stress intensity factors, particularly for subsurface cracks in the gauge zone, whereas low rail wear shows negligible influence on crack severity. The findings offer insights into the interaction between rail wear and subsurface fatigue damage, influencing rail inspection, maintenance, and life-cycle management of curved track infrastructure. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9364786","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":634275113,"identity":"2786a347-ca12-4601-bf5e-d45128acff9f","order_by":0,"name":"Alireza Kardanian","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Iran University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Alireza","middleName":"","lastName":"Kardanian","suffix":""},{"id":634275114,"identity":"81c753d8-748c-4c71-b3ca-95a0ba5a6c82","order_by":1,"name":"Parisa Hosseini Tehrani","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACAyjJw8DAfOAATPQADtVoWtjYEg7A+ERoAQE2HgMUPk5gzt7++MOHgjsyDPI9Hw/z/PnDwN9+gPFwBR4tlj1nzCRnGDwDOox3w2HeNgMGiTMJDAfP4HPYjRw2Zh6Dw1AtDUCH3WBgONiAV0v6489/wFp4HgAdZsAgT1hLgoE0A0QLw2EeNgOgCCEtZ4B+6QFrSTM4OLfNmMfwTGIDfi3HgSH2489hewbmw48/vPkjJyd3/PDhj/i0wIH9AQgNTAaMRGkYBaNgFIyCUYAHAADQ9Uu6HUkwoAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Iran University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Parisa","middleName":"Hosseini","lastName":"Tehrani","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-09 07:38:23","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9364786/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9364786/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108805356,"identity":"af3a82f8-8563-4e0b-96a4-63e4ca6a5c88","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-08 15:25:40","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":3263383,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"paper3rev51.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9364786/v1_covered_cd070a09-7142-45a9-960c-892dd123414f.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Effects of Rail Wear Evolution on Mixed-Mode Subsurface Crack Stress Intensity Factors in A Curve","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9364786/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9364786/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eRolling contact fatigue (RCF) and wear degrade railway rails, particularly in curved tracks with high axle loads. While surface-initiated RCF is well-studied, subsurface crack behavior in worn rails is not well understood. This study numerically investigates how worn rail profiles impact subsurface cracks. A freight wagon model is used to obtain realistic wheel\u0026ndash;rail forces for varying rail wear. These forces are applied to three-dimensional finite element models of cracks under mixed-mode loading. Rail wear stages are analyzed, and crack behavior is evaluated across rail zones. Stress intensity factors (Modes II and III) are extracted using the contour integral method, and extensive parametric studies assess crack orientation, size, aspect ratio, and wheel-rail friction. The results demonstrate that rail wear redistributes stress fields, making gauge areas of high rails more critical. Worn high rails exhibit high stress intensity factors, particularly for subsurface cracks in the gauge zone, whereas low rail wear shows negligible influence on crack severity. 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