Welding repair process of vanadium steel grooved rails and its validation by means of finite element modelization (FEM).

Abstract

Arc welding repair procedures are widely used to increase the life service of grooved rails on trams. However, the new polymeric embedments used with these rails limit the temperature that can be achieved during the repair process, as these materials degrade when they are heated above 170 °C. To avoid this problem, an optimum weld repair procedure must be developed to ensure an economically and fast weld without exceeding the limited temperature of the embedment. In this study, the repair of the new R290V rail steel (vanadium alloyed) was carried out with an austenitic stainless-steel consumable and a flux core arc weld-ing technology (FCAW). The procedure was designed and validated using a finite element simulation and it was proved that it is possible to repair these rails without even attaining above 140 °C in the embedment and without the formation of martensite.