Chemical Element Contents of Steel Rails

On the manufacturing process of steel rails, the different contents of chemical elements can affect the quality of steel rails. Even for the same types of steel rails, the chemical element contents are also some differences due to the different furnace number and production batch number. In this paper, we will have an introduction to you the contents of chemical elements in steel rails.

• Carbon (C) is the main source of steel rail tensile strength. The general content is 0.65%, but it is generally less than 0.82%.
• Silicon (Si) is easy to combine with oxygen. It can remove air bubbles in steel and increase the density of steel iron. For example, if silicon content is high in steel rail, it can also improve the wear resistance of steel rail.
• Phosphorus (P) is a harmful component for steel rails. If there is too much phosphorus in the steel rail, there would be cold brittleness. In cold regions, it is easy to cause steel rail fracture.
• Manganese (Mn) can improve the strength and toughness of steel rail. Manganese can remove harmful iron oxide and sulfur inclusions on the manufacturing process of steel rail. For example, the content of manganese in steel is over 1.2%, which is called high manganese steel. Manganese can greatly improve the hardness, impact resistance and abrasive resistance of steel rail. However, high manganese content is not conducive for steel rail welding.

All in all, on the manufacturing process of steel rails, some chemical element contents are helpful for improving the quality of the steel rail, but some elements are harmful components, which would reduce the steel rail quality instead. Therefore, to keep the quality of steel rail products, the content of different chemical elements must be controlled well on steel rail manufacturing process. AGICO Rail is mainly engaged in the steel rail production and processing other railway components, such as railway switches, rail gauge rods, railway fish plates and so on. If you want to know more about our railway products, please don’t hesitate to contact us!