Flash butt welding of high manganese steel crossing and carbon steel rail

This study sets out to introduce the flash butt welding of high manganese steel crossing and carbon steel rail by employing an austenite–ferrite two-phase stainless steel insert. There are two flash butt welded joints for the connection of the high manganese steel and the carbon steel rail, one is the welded joint of the carbon steel and the stainless steel, and the other is that of the high manganese steel and the stainless steel. The mechanical properties and the microstructures of the welded joint are studied by means of static bending, three bend-fatigue and metallographic for the practical rail. There is no carbide precipitation on the austenitic grain boundary in the HAZ of the high manganese steel crossing subjected to jetting water cooling after the flash butt welding, and there is no martensitic transformation in the HAZ of the carbon steel rail subjected to annealing treatment by a special induction heat treatment device, which will avoid the brittleness of the welded joint effectively. The welded joint of the carbon steel rail and the stainless steel insert is annealed at 900 °C for 10 min, which will release the residual stress of the welded joint and thus enhance the strength of the welded joint. It is indicated that the flash butt welding of the high manganese steel crossing and the carbon steel rail via the austenite–ferrite two-phase stainless steel insert is feasible.