Surface integrity during rail grinding under wet conditions: Full-scale experiment and multi-grain grinding simulation

Rail grinding will cause poor surface integrity when the critical grinding temperature is exceeded. To improve the grinding quality and explore the feasibility of grinding operations in rainy days, this study first investigated the surface integrity during rail grinding under wet conditions, including surface roughness, grinding burn, phase transition, residual stress, etc. Moreover, a grinding wheel finite element model was established considering abrasive grains' actual geometry and distribution, providing a novel thermodynamic coupling analysis method. As a result, it is revealed that the surface integrity is significantly improved under wet conditions, especially the grinding burn and white etching layer can be avoided, and residual tensile stress can be reduced by up to 45% since the thermodynamic coupling becomes less apparent.

Automated summary

The study revealed that rail grinding under wet conditions significantly improves surface integrity by avoiding grinding burn, white etching layer, and reducing residual tensile stress by up to 45%, due to a less apparent thermodynamic coupling.