The influence of technological parameters on the thermal cycle at butt flash welding of rails

The article shows that the continuous rail track is obtained by welding rails between each other. Butt flash welding via a continuous or pulsed arcing is used for the main track. Utilization a combination of these methods–pulsating and continuous–for increasing the mechanical properties and improving the metal structure in the joint area is proposed. A method for calculating the distribution of temperatures and thermal cycles is proposed for further evaluation of the structure of the weld metal and the heat affected zone. Using this methodology, numerical experiments were carried out that made it possible to evaluation the effect of changes in the welding current strength on the welding time, thermal cycles, and cooling rates after welding. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.