Stress relief during annealing of railway wheel steel characterized by synchrotron X-ray micro-diffraction

Abstract Railway wheels in service experience rolling contact fatigue loading, but also need to resist frictional heating on braking, yielding temperatures up 500 °C. The combination of mechanical and thermal loads leads changes the properties material. focus this study is investigate effect annealing local microstructure residual stresses railway wheel pearlitic steel (medium carbon steels, ~0.55 wt.% C) using synchroton X-ray Laue micro-diffraction. It found that stress releases a large extent after at formation relief mechanisms their relationship are discussed.