Recent trends in railway transportation emphasize the development of heavier axle loads and higher speeds, subjecting rail steel to severe operating conditions. A major objective in developing new rail materials is to improve wear performance. Head-hardened rails, when combined with an appropriate maintenance strategy, can significantly reduce total life-cycle costs. In addition to network extension requirements, there is a need for the installation of higher-quality rails, particularly for high-speed or heavy-haul transport tracks. India's first application of a breakthrough technology for rail head hardening was initiated at Jindal Steel and Power, Raigarh. The rail head hardening prototype system, also known as the rail cooling rig (RCR), was developed to optimize the properties of head-hardened rails. This paper explores the effect of heat treatment parameters on the properties of the 1175 HT rail grade. The experimental design initially used the Taguchi L9 orthogonal array, considering four process parameters: start temperature, top pressure, rebound temperature, and dwell time. Results indicate that the start temperature has the most significant effect, followed by dwell time, top pressure, and rebound temperature. The relationship between hardness and these process inputs was evaluated using Taguchi analysis and compared through contour plots. Further real experimentation on the RCR identified the parameters responsible for improving the properties of head-hardened rails according to Indian Railway Standards. This paper illustrates the key concepts of the head-hardening process and highlights outstanding operating and testing results. These findings contribute to stabilizing consistent commercial production of head-hardened rails, addressing the need for better-quality rails in high-speed and heavy-haul transport, thereby ensuring improved performance and cost efficiency in railway transportation.


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    Title :

    Optimizing Process Parameters for Head-Hardened Rail Steels: Development of a Heat Treatment Setup


    Additional title:

    Trans Indian Natl. Acad. Eng.


    Contributors:


    Publication date :

    2025-06-01


    Size :

    8 pages




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English




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