Material Optimization of Rail Track Welding and Validation using Finite Element Simulation

Abstract

Railways provide a long and continuous journey for passengers and goods at an affordable cost. The rails and rail joints should be of high quality to ensure a safer transportation of people and goods. The tracks (rail) are made of alloys of iron and are fastened to other rails using fasteners. Nowadays, these fasteners are replaced with welded joints because of rising maintenance issues. Thermite welding is a globally adopted process for welding the rails. This article aims to best utilise the Aluminium composites for the welding of rails. The composites were prepared using stir casting route and a wear test was done on the casted samples to test their durability. Also, some of the mechanical properties of the composite material were found. The rail and track models were made and imported into ANSYS Finite Element Analysis software. The predicted results show that aluminium composites have considerable strength when compared to any other composite material.