Image analysis to reveal crack development using a computer simulation of wear and rolling contact fatigue

Plastic flow of near-surface rail material under contact loading is a feature of rail wheel contact, and severe flow typically leads to both wear, and the initiation and development of small surface-breaking cracks. This paper presents results from a ratcheting based computer simulation, which has been developed to allow the simultaneous investigation of wear, crack initiation and early crack propagation. To identify repeatably small crack-like flaws, image analysis is applied to the visual representation of the wearing surface generated by the model. This representation shows a good similarity to traditional micrographs taken from sections of worn surfaces. The model clearly reveals the interaction of wear with crack development, processes which are linked because wear truncates surface-breaking cracks, and can completely remove small surface-breaking cracks.