A peridynamic model for rail crack initiation with cavity defect

Cavity defects can aggravate the rail crack initiation. To study their effect on rail fatigue crack initiation behaviour, a peridynamic model of rail crack initiation considering the characteristics of the cavity defect was proposed. First, based on the low-cycle fatigue test data, the bond failure criterion of the rail material was derived and verified to characterize the fatigue damage performance. Then, mathematical expressions for circular, triangular and rectangular defect characteristics were proposed, establishing a prefabricated method for rail cavity defects. Based on the ordinary state-based peridynamic fatigue theory, a rail crack initiation model with the cavity defect was constructed. Finally, the behaviour of rail crack initiation with the cavity defect was analysed.