Papers Published

1. Gerstle, F. P. Jr. and Follansbee, P. S. and Pearsall, G. W. and Shepard, M. L., THERMOPLASTIC SHEAR AND FRACTURE OF STEEL DURING HIGH-VELOCITY SLIDING., Wear, vol. 24 no. 1 (1973), pp. 97 - 106 [0043-1648(73)90206-8] .
   (last updated on 2007/04/10)

   Abstract:
   A steel rail, severely gouged during a rocket-sled test, was the focus of an investigation of the microstructural changes which occur during high-velocity, sliding contact. Metallographic analysis of the damaged rail indicated that the mechanism of gouging probably was a crude machining process in which the sled shoe played the role of a tool. Cracks in bands of martensite and severely distorted pearlite regions were the principal microscopic features of the subsurface damage; the overall configuration of the pattern of cracks and martensite bands suggests that they formed as a result of a catastrophic thermoplastic shear.

   Keywords:
   METALLOGRAPHY;FRICTION;METALS AND ALLOYS - Fracture;