FY13 Development and Evaluation of Continuous Welded Rail-Joints, Phase 3

The purpose of the research is: 1. Develop a novel technique to allow for continuous welding of two rail sections. 2. Perform welding on various sections of pearlitic rail steels with different weld geometry and filler materials. 3. Investigate the microstructure, mechanical performance, fracture resistance and fatigue damage tolerance of Continuous Welded Rail-Joints (CWR). The mechanical performance of the CWRs will be studied under overloading and static fracture tests. The fatigue damage tolerance will be evaluated using fatigue crack growth experiments.