Macrostructural and mechanical properties of rails cladded by automatic flame treatment

This study aimed to determine the effect of surface treatment on the value of hardness and microstructure on the UIC R54 railroad. Surface treatment is carried out to increase the hardness of the railroad tracks’ metal surface, minimizing wear and tear. In this study, the surface treatment process was carried out using the automatic flame hardening method by utilizing the temperature and heat of oxy-acetylene flame welding. Heating is regulated with flame conditions with the same ratio of oxy-acetylene gas (neutral flame). The heating process is carried out on the surface of the railroad head with variations in the speed of the heating torch 0.027 m/s and 0.083 m/s and cooled quickly using water media. The results showed that the treated rail had a higher hardness value (313.6 BHN) when compared to the untreated rail (276.7 BHN). The same thing has also been confirmed by the results of micro-structure observations that there is a better crystal structure arrangement.