Adiabatic shearing in railway wheel steel of high-speed train.

• Effects of the initial microstructure of the railway wheel steel on adiabatic shearing behavior is examined. • The localized deformation of proeutectoid ferrite is preferent to that of pearlite. • The localized deformation is more serious in the wide lamellar structure than in the narrow lamellar structure. • The rim is more prone to adiabatic shearing compared with the web. Adiabatic shearing behavior in the web and the rim of high-speed train railway wheel steel was investigated using a split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) with hat-shaped punch shear technique. Different initial microstructure characteristics were observed in the web and the rim specimens experiencing different heat treatment. For the first time we show that the pre-eutectoid ferrite deforms at first and pearlite interlamellar spacing has a significant influence on structural softening sequence during shear band evolution in the railway wheel steel, and shear bands are more prone to emerge in the rim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]