Investigation of the possibilities of surface hardening of heavily loaded metal elements made of carbon steels for various purposes

The interaction of the wheel and the rail, being the physical basis for the movement of trains, determines not only such important technical and economic indicators of railway transport as the weight of trains and their speed, the reliability and operational life of wheel sets, but also the basis of the foundations of railway operation - the safety of train traffic. Therefore, studies of the problems of interaction of the wheel-rail friction pair are relevant and in demand not only within the framework of a particular wagon or locomotive depot, but also in the country’s railway transport as a whole. In this regard, it is important to note that one of the main and most loaded elements of the undercarriage of locomotives and wagons that directly interact with the rails are railway wheels. An important factor in the development and implementation of new surface hardening technologies is: firstly, rising prices and corresponding costs for the production of metal products for wheels with high energy consumption, secondly, increasing costs for spare parts, maintenance and overhaul of wheel sets; thirdly, the rise in prices for energy carriers and transportation costs for their delivery; traditional heat treatment is almost impossible to achieve.