Root Cause Analysis and Reliability Improvement of Steel Car Wheel Derailment in LD1 Steelmaking Operations

This paper presents a detailed root cause failure analysis (RCFA) of a derailment incident involving a Vessel-2 steel car at LD1 steelmaking operations. The derailment resulted in significant production loss and operational delay. Through systematic investigation involving mechanical inspection, dimensional analysis, metallurgical evaluation, and design comparison, the study identifies wheel collar damage induced by skewness, inadequate heat treatment, rail hardness mismatch, and legacy design limitations as primary contributors. Corrective, preventive, and long-term reliability improvement measures are proposed to enhance steel car performance and operational safety.