Added value starts with product design

As technology leader in the field of rail infrastructure, Vossloh will be demonstrating its R&D capabilities at this year’s InnoTrans in a very special way. In its “Industrial Excellence & Innovations” area, the focus will be on innovative materials and designs which ensure an exceptionally high dimensional stability and longevity of smart product solutions – resulting not only in higher track availability but also in lower life cycle costs.

A special highlight of InnoTrans will be the novel composite called amalentic. The material is the basis of the production of eco-friendly sleeper solutions and combines a large number of superior properties such as isotropic behaviour, high UV resistance and low coefficient of thermal expansion. Thanks to the uniform industrial quality of the recycling material, variances in the material properties are excluded. amalentic can be recycled again and moreover allows full design freedom as regards the shape. So with an optimum design of the geometry, a variety of sleepers can be produced – conventionally in the shape of a wooden sleeper or in an innovative, weight-reduced design in combination with various fastening systems. This makes the polymer sleeper a true alternative to the wooden and plastic sleepers currently available in the marketplace.

Optimized for high-frequency high-speed traffic
Longevity and durability – these are the properties for which tension clamps made by Vossloh are renowned. For the extreme requirements on high-speed lines, the engineers have now developed a completely new tension clamp design for Vossloh’s rail fastening system 300 for slab track. Using a new calculation method which combines a Finite Element Model with Multi-Body Simulation, it was possible to obtain approval of this innovative fastening solution within a single year. The new SKL 15 HF tension clamp has a significantly higher natural frequency. As a result, it has an increased vertical fatigue limit, even in high-frequency high-speed traffic. The SKL 15 HF satisfies all requirements of the relevant technical regulations (China, EU, etc.) and is also available with the insulator IS 15 HF where required.

Perfectly protected steel components
The newly developed premium zinc coating Vossloh protect ensures long-lasting corrosion protection of all steel components of rail fastening systems, even under extreme conditions such as high temperatures or large temperature variations, aggressive salty sea air in coastal regions or industrial atmospheres with a high chemicals load. Offering the highest protection class C5-L according to ISO 12944, this premium coating can be safely applied all over the world. What is more, in addition to the classical barrier protection with increased resistance to chemicals thanks to top coating, this innovative coating also provides cathodic corrosion protection. This ensures that the steel components remain free of rust even after they have suffered damage e.g. by flying ballast.

For highest fitting accuracy, e.g. in case of bolts with a metric thread, Vossloh protect can be applied extremely thin. Moreover, this eco-friendly coating neither contains any heavy metals nor is there a risk of manufacturing-related hydrogen embrittlement. This is a kind of material fatigue resulting in hydrogen-induced cracks.

Extremely long-life rolled steel for crossing applications
Crossings (frogs) of turnouts or line intersections must satisfy special requirements because the short interruption in the rail surface inevitably produces impacts and hence increased wear and tear.

In order to achieve a substantially higher impact and wear resistance, Vossloh joined forces with ArcelorMittal Industeel and developed the heat-treated laminated steel CogX, contributing decades of know-how in the design and manufacturing of crossings to the project.

This extremely hard rolled steel has a hardness of 550 HB on the running surface and is therefore especially suitable for a wide range of crossing applications on all types of track. Thanks to the ideal processing characteristics, all geometries for switch blades and crossings can be cut and milled with utmost accuracy.

As a consequence of the positive test results in terms of stability of the profile and creep resistance, a first pilot project is now running in Sweden on a conventional track of the European Capacity4Rail project (C4R).

Contact data:

Press team Vossloh AG
Phone (+49-2392) 52-608
Email: presse@vossloh.com

The Smart Rail Track by Vossloh
As specialist and value creating partner for rail infrastructure, Vossloh will be showcasing its products and services at this year’s InnoTrans under the overarching motto “The Smart Rail Track by Vossloh”. New capabilities in the information and communications technologies and the targeted deployment of sensor and IoT technologies open up new avenues towards the objective of the smart track. Also novel materials and optimized designs of the track components are part of the new Vossloh world.