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Transient thermal stress analysis on rapid post-weld heat treatments applied to flash butt welded rails

Abstract A finite element (FE) model has been established to estimate the transient thermal stresses developed during rapid post-weld heat treatments (RPWHT) and post-weld quenching (PWQ) of rail flash butt welds. Rapid post-weld heat treatment parameters, such as heat flux intensity, location and heating duration, were varied. Altering the PWQ initiation times was also studied. The sequentially coupled thermomechanical FE model incorporated rate independent plasticity with a constitutive linear kinematic hardening rule. This described the inelastic behaviour of the rail material caused by post-weld thermal cyclic loadings. Representative temperature dependent thermal and mechanical properties including the pearlitic transformation behaviour of rail steel were also used in the FE model. Significant reduction of local tensile residual stresses in the web region of the weld was obtained by RPWHT applied to the entire foot region. RPWHT applied to both the web and the foot regions of the weld resulted in further reductions in vertical tensile residual stresses but a lesser effect on the longitudinal tensile residual stresses. A series of PWQ conditions, which were initiated after completion of the austenite–pearlite phase transformation, had significantly affected residual stresses. Numerical predictions revealed that PWQ initiated after transformation induced higher tensile residual stresses in the web region of the weld with respect to normal cooled welds, without affecting the microstructure.