Project Summary
University of Huddersfield’s Institute of Railway Research will design a novel sleeve for the foot of railway tracks to provide cost-effective corrosion protection. Railway tracks made from carbon-manganese steels are prone to corrosion. The presence of corrosion pits can lead to fatigue and possible transverse fracture of the rail following the continued passing of train axles. Protecting rails from such failures becomes more significant as the industry moves towards increasing asset life using more wear and fatigue resistant steels.
Project Achievements
The research has designed a novel composite rail sleeve that is capable of providing localised galvanic corrosion protection to the rail foot. A polymeric compound has been identified which achieves a high level of electrical conductivity when compared to a standard rail pad and generated a high % of dispersion, indicating that the compound provides consistency of properties within the batch. Through a range of static and cyclic tests, rail steel samples (with and without the polymeric sleeve) have been exposed to saline solution to simulate accelerated corrosion. This testing has demonstrated that the solution provides a good galvanic protection against corrosion.
Conclusions
The proposed innovation provides localised galvanic corrosion protection achieved through a novel composite rail sleeve that provides galvanic corrosion protection for the rail foot. The concept of incorporating a layer of high-purity zinc on a polymeric pad was demonstrated in earlier research. The proposed solution extends this galvanic corrosion protection technology by incorporating zinc into the feedstock of the sleeve manufacture. Initially, the proposed rail sleeves have been designed for the protection of rails in between sleepers but will subsequently be extended for the manufacture of rail pads to provide protection of the rail at the interface with sleepers.
Next Steps
The research has identified several next steps to develop the solution further these include: copyright of the polymeric compound and rail sleeve design; adoption of the polymeric technology in the manufacture of rail
pads; submit the results from the developments to potential end users to support more detailed assessment of efficacy of the corrosion protection through in-service trials on a test track or an appropriate commercial
track; assessment of the applicability of ultrasonic testing of rails fitted with the developed rail sleeves; dissemination of academic findings from the research within journal publications and presentation to key
stakeholders.
