Thermal Stress Measurement in Continuous Welded Rails Using the Hole-Drilling Method

The absence of expansion joints in Continuous Welded Rail has created the need for the railroad industry to determine the in-situ thermal stress levels for rail buckling and breakage prevention. This paper explores the hole-drilling method as a possible solution to this problem. A new set of calibration coefficients to compute the stress field relieved by fine hole depth increments required by the high strength steel was determined. The new calibration coefficients were experimentally validated on an aluminum plate subjected to a known uniaxial load. The thermal stress levels of constrained rails were estimated after compensation for the residual stress components, based on statistical relationships developed experimentally between the longitudinal and the vertical residual stresses. The results showed that the hole-drilling procedure, with appropriate calibration coefficients and residual stress compensation, can estimate the in-situ rail thermal stresses with an expected accuracy that is within the industry acceptable levels.