IMPROVING IN-TRACK RAIL

WELDING

Rainer Wenty, Plasser & Theurer

Vienna, Austria
 Continuous welded rail
a success story
Continuous welded rail - standard practice on todays
railways
Axle loads in excess of 30 tonnes and speeds up to 575
km/h (French world record) would not be possible on
traditional jointed track
such extreme loads and speeds pose a great challenge
for welded joints
durability of welded rail joints still needs improvement
reported e.g. at Heavy Haul Congresses in India[1]

[1] IHHA 10th International Conference in New Delhi, February 4th-6th 2013
 Mobile Flash Butt Welding
the Start
1960ties: Paton Institute in the Ukraine starts the
development of a mobile flash-butt welding unit
1973 K 355 of Plasser & Theurer at Austrian Federal
Railways (OEBB)
 K 355 PT
first Machine at Austrian Railways
 Further Developments
Integration of trimming unit into the welding head
Change the dimensions of the welding head so that
the trailing edge of the rail foot is lower than the
bottom of the jaws
Rail/road machines
Integration of an automatic high capacity rail pulling
device into the mobile welding machine
Control of the operation by a microprocessor
Computer-controlled recording and analysing
system
 The Challange of High Axle Loads
AAR Test Center (TTCI) Study 1988-1990
Table 1: Failure rates of aluminothermic welding
Failure rate
Axle Load Traffic load
Outside rail Inside rail

33 t 65 Mio tons 29% 0%

39 t 65 Mio tons 67% 13%

39 t 82 Mio tons 83% in 5 curve, 92% in 6 curve -

39 t 144 Mio tons - 75%

Table 2: Failure rates of stationary flash butt welding

Failure rate
Axle Load Traffic load Curvature
Outside rail Inside rail

33 t 160 Mio tons 5 3% 8%

33 t 160 Mio tons 6 2% 2%

39 t 145 Mio tons 5 5% 9%

39 t 145 Mio tons 6 - 4%

Mobile flash butt welding: Due to the small number of welds no statistical
statements could be made, however clear positive trends were detectable
 A New Welding Machine why?
High demands on welded joints
Europe: new standard EN 14587-2 (2009)
Heavy Haul: weld defects
Improved alignement of welded joints
Improved thermal process
Head hardened rails
High alloy rails
Improved butting process
Uniform quality without human influence
Increased work performance
Execution of closure welds
 Welding head designed by Plasser
Expierience in flash butt welding since 1973
120 Machines
Integration of expierience and improvements in this
40 years in a complete new design
The new APT 1500 Robot
 Trafos Air amplifier nozzles

Auxiliary lifting clamp

Clamping cylinders
 Power supply line

Shearing device
Pulling cylinder 200mm/1500kN
Rail alignment
 Head Parameters
Fully integrated automated welding process
Integrated auxiliary lifting clamps
Automatic alignment vertical and horizontal
Automatic measuring device for alignment
and level
DC-Current head rectified 1000 Hz AC
Controlled cooling process by
Integrated temperature measurement
Integrated controlled post heat
Integrated air quenching nozzles
 Head Parameters
Integrated pulse welding with reduced rail
consumption
Specific clamping jaw no removal of rail
branding necessary
Production sign
 Head Parameters
Integrated pulse welding with reduced rail
consumption
Specific clamping jaw no removal of rail
branding necessary
Certified already by leading European bodies
Pull-in range 200 mm (8)
Max. pulling force 150 200 tons
Enables closure welds
Closure welds
Welding Robot
WELD QUALITY
Weld Quality
HARDNESS
Train passing bad joint
Hardness Test
 Temperature in C

Time
Min
Sec
 Temperature in C

Time
Min
Sec
Weld Quality
STRENGTH
Bending Test
Bending/ breaking force standard
welding procedure
Bending/ breaking force new pulse
welding procedure
Weld Quality
CONTROLLED BUTTING PROCESS
Weld Quality
CERTIFICATION
Welding Robot
MACHINE IN ACTION
Welding process
 Variants
Track bound machine
Road mobile machine
Container
 Summary
Premium Rail Welding
Premium metallurgic quality
Premium hardness pattern
Premium weld geometry
Premium output
Premium operating comfort
Thank you!

Rainer Wenty
Plasser & Theurer
A-1010 Wien, Johannesgasse 3
Tel.: +43 (0) 1 515 72-0
Fax: +43 (0) 1 513 18 01
E-Mail: export@plassertheurer.com
www.plassertheurer.com

Illustrations and descriptions may contain optional equipment.

We reserve the right to make alterations in line with further technical developments.