NATURALLY HARD BAINITIC RAILS WITH HIGH-T ENSILE STRENGTH

Microstructure and properties of bainitic rail steels, particularly st rength, wear and fatigue characteristics as well as weldability. Devel opment of a bainitic rail steel with increased silicon, chromium, mang anese and molybdenum content. Rail production. Material properties, es pecially strength, hardness and resistance to cracking. Weldability. O perating characteristics of the rails in use on the iron ore rail trac k from Kiruna to Narvik in northern Norway a section with steep gradie nts and tight bends. Improvement of rail life by a factor of 8 when co mparing bainitic rails to Grade 900 rails.