Railroad tracks

Understand how train tracks are maintained

Since its first construction in Brazil, railroads have become an important means of transportation and supply of cargo and goods for various commercial sectors. It is on the railroads that the trains, full of wagons that allow the transport of the most varied items, travel the long extensions of tracks that make up the railroad networks. To understand how the train tracks are maintained, it is important to know more about the possible wear and tear that this material can have over time, and you can check it here on this here

When a railroad track is built and mounted on a railroad line, it is necessary that all specifications are available for analysis, such as the type of material, the size of the track, calculations on durability, among other details. Having specific information about this tool allows greater ease in the execution of Maintenance of train tracks, since the data allows predictive and preventive maintenance to be carried out on this equipment, which are among the most important care for any structure. 

The two types of maintenance mentioned above are essential, since they are carried out before there is a need to completely change the material or even before the rail is no longer in a position to be used. Predictive maintenance is the treatment and complete analysis of the data collected, in order to predict when some type of correction will be necessary. Preventive maintenance, in turn, is the execution in practice of the study of predictive, that is, from the understanding of when it will be necessary to carry out some repairs, even if there is not actually any problem, preventive maintenance is applied which, as name suggests, prevents major complications in the materials that make up the track. 

Maintenance of train tracks is essential for the proper functioning of the railroad lines. The wear and tear that a track can suffer, if not controlled, can be extremely harmful, especially for trains. For this reason, the companies that hold the concession for a railroad line must constantly perform the necessary maintenance.

There are different ways to carry out Train Track Maintenance, each according to the problem that the track presents. In the following, we will present some ways of maintenance work on the tracks, aiming at the full functioning of the railroad and sustaining the durability of the trains on these railroads. 

Content Index

Cleaning the structure

Cleaning the structure

Firstly, we will talk about a part that is not necessarily effectively a form of maintenance of train tracks, but that is also important so that trains can transit the railroads in a safe way.

The obstruction of the tracks is one of the most dangerous ways to make the trains suffer when making their trajectory, which can even cause the wagons to derail. The blockage of the tracks can be caused by several factors and elements of nature, such as foliage, snow, sand, earth and others. Therefore, it is very important that these elements be removed.

Many companies in the market provide vehicles for the railroad sectors, specialized in removing these elements from the railroad lines. In this way, the path is clean and completely free for the wheels to move on the rails, ensuring greater safety for the railroad trains. 

Ultrasound ultrassom

Ultrassom

The use of ultrasonic machines is one of the forms of Maintenance of train tracks. The traffic on the highways is constant and the weight loaded inside the train cars, which reach a high number of tons, causes the pressure of the trains on the tracks to be quite high, causing the wear of the track. But, these imperfections are only noticeable when they reach the ends of the surface of the train material, on the skates, web and billet. Ultrasound machines have the function of determining wear within the track through the presence of vibrations that are only noticeable with the use of the equipment.

Finding this type of internal wear is fundamental for taking measures and applying maintenance. If the material is already deficient internally, it is natural for the surface to show inaccuracies over time. 

Billet grinding

Billet grinding

If you are not familiar with the compositions of a railroad track, we will make a brief explanation about the topic. The type of track most used today in Brazilian railroads has the Vignole profile and consists of three fundamental points: the skids (the lower part that supports the structures), the billet (the upper part that has direct contact with the train wheels) and the alma (central part that connects the skates to the boletos). 

As the boleto is the point that has direct and constant contact and friction with the train wheels, it is naturally the most susceptible to visible wear. These wears range from grooves and frictions to cracks and fractures. It is essential to prevent the billet from arriving until the moment it breaks completely and is no longer in use.

The grinding of the billet is a technique of Maintenance of train tracks that, in a preventive way, through the use of grinders, seeks the elimination of small fractures in the billet of the tracks. The method used to remove these fractures is abrasion.

Naturally, if a part of the track shows apparent wear, the next step is for these defects to spread throughout the track structure, as there will be a natural unevenness of the material. Through the application of the grinding of the billet, it is possible to control the exact point at which the track is most worn, preventing this interaction from spreading over the entire length of a railroad track structure. 

Manutenção de trilhos de trem por Welding

Manutenção de trilhos de trem por soldagem

The welding of materials is a very common practice in several sectors, such as industries. For the maintenance of train tracks it also has its importance. The function of welding is to fuse train tracks together so that they become a continuous part. In addition, the use of welds on the rails is also a way of eliminating fractures and harmful components to the train structures. This practice makes it easier to travel, as it eliminates the action of changing rails. 

Technical assistance on railroad scales

Technical assistance on railroad scales

railroad scales are very important equipment for determining the weighing, both of the tracks and of the train cars. There are rules and regulations that must be applied in order to determine the weight limit supported by a railroad. For this reason, it is essential that the railroad tracks have railroad scales, whether they are mobile or static models. 

The use of railroad scales ensures that the weight of the wagons is adequate and that the trains have full capacity to travel that way, reducing the need for maintenance of train tracks. 

But, just as the rails require maintenance of train tracks when they show wear, the scales must also receive the necessary technical assistance, so that they are always functioning properly.

Conclusion

We could see throughout the text the importance and the need for constant maintenance, from the railroad tracks and the weighing tracks to the railroad scales. When it comes to weighing scales or rails, you will find the best options and the most diverse specifications on the Massa' blog. 

Complementary sources:

http://www.aeamesp.org.br/biblioteca/stm/21smI26rl.pdf

https://teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/3/3133/tde-13072018-103942/publico/LucasPintolNishikawaCorr18.pdf

https://www.mrs.com.br/post-newsletter/ultrassom-manutencao-previa-garante-confiabilidade/

http://www.pasa.com.br/ndtdobrasil/ultrassom_ferroviario.asp

https://www.brferrovia.com.br/post/combate-a-defeitos-em-trilhos-atrav%C3%A9s-de-esmerilhamento

1 comments

  1. Fay
    25 de March de 2021 at 14:59

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    Keep up the great writing.

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