Residual fatigue lifetime estimation of railway axles for various loading spectra

The knowledge of the residual fatigue lifetime of railway axles is very important for the safe operation of trains. The railway axles could include some defects like cracks, scratches or inhomogeneities which could contribute to the fatigue crack initiation and in the final stage to axle failure. The non-destructive testing methods are not reliable for detection of relatively short (circa 1–2 mm), but even dangerous cracks. For conservative...