In recent years, joint types in railway superstructure have shifted to continuous welded rails (CWRs), which can be constructed by various welding techniques to form uninterrupted rails several kilometres long. Because of the numerous advantages of this method, CWR systems are highly preferred today for the construction of new railway lines. The increase in the number of trains in operation is inducing fatigue damages, linking to life‐threatening risks in the rails as well as in trains' wheels and axles. In this study, CWR specimens formed by the flash butt‐welding process are investigated. Specimens extracted from rail sections are subjected to four‐point bending fatigue tests to establish S–N curves under various loading levels. The surfaces of those specimens which fail are then investigated in detail in order to determine the initiation points of the failures. The findings provide experimental data on the dynamic life cycle of CWR and identify the failure mechanism of the CWR system.

中文翻译：

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连续焊接钢轨疲劳特性和可靠性的试验研究

近年来，铁路上层建筑的接头类型已转变为连续焊接的钢轨（CWR），可以通过各种焊接技术来构造该钢轨，以形成几公里长的不间断钢轨。由于这种方法的众多优势，因此，在新建铁路线方面，CWR系统如今已成为首选。运营中的列车数量的增加导致疲劳损伤，这与铁路，火车车轮和车轴中危及生命的风险有关。在这项研究中，研究了由闪光对焊过程形成的CWR试样。从钢轨截面提取的试样经过四点弯曲疲劳测试，以建立在不同载荷水平下的SN曲线。然后详细检查那些失效样品的表面，以确定失效的起始点。研究结果提供了有关CWR动态生命周期的实验数据，并确定了CWR系统的故障机理。