The effect of bidirectional traffic on the microstructure, mechanical properties and rolling contact fatigue defect formation of rail material

On the railway line between Zutphen and Hengelo in the Netherlands, rolling contact fatigue (RCF) defects are found at the surface of the rail. RCF is a known hazard to the safe operation of railways, the cracks can cause transverse rail fracture, which may result in derailment. Contrary to convention, the traffic on this particular railway is...

Opdrijven, opbollen, opbarsten: Improving the uplift model for the assessment of internal erosion

Internal erosion is a frequent cause of dike failure, also known as piping or backward erosion. Uplift is considered a submechanism of internal erosion, together with heave and piping, where all three submechanisms must occur for the dike to reach a failure condition. The principle of the uplift phenomenon is straightforward: it occurs when high...

Cracks formation in nickel-based single crystal alloy manufactured by selective laser melting

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of selective laser melting (SLM) process parameters on the formation of cracks in nickel-based single crystal alloy. Several sets of laser scanning parameters, with varied laser power, scanning speed and hatch distance, thus resulting in different volumetric and linear energy densities,...

The delamination process of the dross build-up structure on submerged hardware in Zn-Al and Zn-Mg-Al baths: An empirical study

Hot-dip galvanizing is a well-known process to increase the corrosion resistance of steel. As a by-product dross is formed in the Zn-bath. The dross particles are composed of Fe, Al and Zn in the form of Fe2Al5Znx and interact with the hardware that is submerged in the Zn-bath and eventually accumulate on the surface of the hardware. This...

Scheurvorming in tunnelvloeren

Bij de Hoogwaardig Openbaar Vervoer tunnel aan de zuidzijde van Schiphol (verder als HOV tunnel), zijn scheuren ontstaan in de constructievloeren. Deze scheuren veroorzaken lekkage van grondwater, die plassen vormen op de tunnelvloeren. Nadat de geconstateerde scheuren geinjecteerd waren, begonnen de scheuren weer te lekken. Tevens zijn er in de...

Smeared cracking, plasticity, creep, and thermal loading-a unified approach