On fatigue crack growth of railway rails under mixed-mode loading conditions

The aim of this paper is to investigate the stress intensity factors and fatigue crack growth path in railway rails under the influence of mixed-mode loading conditions. In order to achieve the expected results, mechanical properties tests were carried out on railway rail specimens and then fatigue crack growth tests were performed. Due to the importance of the crack growth problem in railway rail specimens, having geometric and physical parameters of the problem, the goal is to achieve the exact path of fatigue crack growth in rail specimens. Fatigue crack growth tests were performed using standard CTS specimens from railway rail. Stress intensity factors for different loading modes were determined using the boundary element method. According to the results, it can be concluded that the mixed-mode loading conditions have a significant effect on the fatigue crack growth.