Structural degradation of heterogeneous welded joints

Developing the techniques of welding materials with higher dynamic strength onto the rolling surfaces of rails is one of the options for increasing their operational endurance. The subject of this paper is an analyses of heterogeneous weld interfaces experimentally manufactured by welding medium-carbon austenitic steels onto high-carbon unalloyed pearlitic steels. The analyses focus on examinations of the marginal mixing of the materials at the weld interface and the circumstances under which intercrystalline cracks form in the weld deposit layers. Structural analyses, chemical microanalyses and a hardness assessment were performed in order to identify the corresponding structural changes. The proportion of zonal vs. interdendritic segregation of the alloying elements in the degradation of the welded joint was distinguished. We described the nature of the structural heterogeneities produced, locally connected with the martensitic transformation. The chemical heterogeneity leading to the formation of martensite at grain boundaries was identified as the limiting effect