Caracterização de danos de fadiga de contato de rolamento em aços de trilho lubrificados por graxas de diferentes viscosidades

Abstract

The gauge corner, lubricated region of the railway and target of stress caused by the wheel-rail contact, may bring up a specific damage-type crack caused by rolling contact fatigue. These damages can evolve to a critical condition of complete failure of the railway. This article proposes a methodology of image analysis, through ImageJ and Photoshop software for rolling contact fatigue damage type characterization, on a sphere over plane test to establish a correlation between fatigue and viscosity of grease lubricant oil. This study also presents the theoretical basement of the concepts that encompass the test and the development of the methodology developed for a case study of greases with different viscosities and the results obtained to demonstrate the potential of the method. The tests for the viscosity analyses weren’t conclusive, though demonstrates the full potential of the methodology, that is not just capable of evaluates viscosity, but also any other property that can be studied by crack quantification, in a sensitivity analysis.