On the Effect of Hydrogen on the Wear of the Rolling Surface of Railway Tires and a Method for Improving Its Hardness

The effect of free hydrogen released during the decomposition of lubricant due to friction on the stress state of the locomotive wheel set tire is studied. Analytical solution was obtained and the stress-strain state of a locomotive wheel with a railway tire pressed onto it was calculated. Under the influence of hydrogen, a weakened layer is shown to form in the band, leading to an increase in stresses in the near surface rolling zone, which negatively affects the wear resistance of the band. The issue of increasing the hardness of the band’s rolling surface to reduce the intensity of wear after mechanical turning is also studied. A method of hardening it by rolling on a special installation is proposed. A model of force loading of the locomotive wheel set bandage in the form of a cylindrical striker hitting the surface of the bandage being hardened is proposed. For this model, a system of second-order partial differential equations was derived using the Hamilton–Ostrogradsky variational principle whose solution determines the effective hardening limit of the wheel tire material.