High Speed Grinding
Encyclopedia
High Speed Grinding is a rail
care concept developed by the company Stahlberg Roensch from Seevetal
, Germany
. It is based on the principle of rotational grinding and serves to grind rails at up to 100 km/h (62 mph).
, traffic obstructions, and ultimately a shortened rail lifespan. These increasingly common flaws are exacerbated by the growing density and speed of both freight and passenger traffic. The direct consequence of these problems is a growing need for rail maintenance.
The principle challenge for modern rail maintenance is the fact that less and less time is available for it due to the aforementioned higher traffic densities. Accordingly, conventional rail maintenance machines (e.g. rail milling, planing or grinding) working at speeds from 1 to 10 km/h (0.6 to 6 mph) can only work during possession time (track closure) which is in most cases only available at night.
HSG was developed in order to cope with these challenges. It allows for working speeds of up to 100 km/h (62 mph) and thus is deployable within regular traffic. As a normal train run HSG works between scheduled passenger and/or freight trains.
Two things are achieved through the combination of pulling and rotating motion: First, the required material removal rate is obtained through the relative motion between grinding stone and rail. Second, by rotating the stones, overheating, glazing and lopsided wear of the grinding stones is prevented.
The usual grinding speed on Deutsche Bahn's rail network is 80 km/h (50 mph).
rail networks.
Rail tracks
The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...
care concept developed by the company Stahlberg Roensch from Seevetal
Seevetal
Seevetal is a municipality in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 20 km south of Hamburg, and 15 km west of Winsen . Its seat is in the village Hittfeld...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is based on the principle of rotational grinding and serves to grind rails at up to 100 km/h (62 mph).
Background
Since roughly the beginning of the 1990s, rail network operators have experienced increasing problems with rail surface defects. Head checks, squats, corrugation and slip waves all contribute to higher maintenance costs, intensified noise pollutionNoise pollution
Noise pollution is excessive, displeasing human, animal or machine-created environmental noise that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life...
, traffic obstructions, and ultimately a shortened rail lifespan. These increasingly common flaws are exacerbated by the growing density and speed of both freight and passenger traffic. The direct consequence of these problems is a growing need for rail maintenance.
The principle challenge for modern rail maintenance is the fact that less and less time is available for it due to the aforementioned higher traffic densities. Accordingly, conventional rail maintenance machines (e.g. rail milling, planing or grinding) working at speeds from 1 to 10 km/h (0.6 to 6 mph) can only work during possession time (track closure) which is in most cases only available at night.
HSG was developed in order to cope with these challenges. It allows for working speeds of up to 100 km/h (62 mph) and thus is deployable within regular traffic. As a normal train run HSG works between scheduled passenger and/or freight trains.
Principle
HSG is based on the principle of circumferential grinding. Cylindrical grinding stones are pulled over the rail at a certain angle, inducing rotation as well as an axial grinding motion. The grinding stones are mounted on grinding units hauled by a carrier vehicle.Two things are achieved through the combination of pulling and rotating motion: First, the required material removal rate is obtained through the relative motion between grinding stone and rail. Second, by rotating the stones, overheating, glazing and lopsided wear of the grinding stones is prevented.
The usual grinding speed on Deutsche Bahn's rail network is 80 km/h (50 mph).
Implementation
Today two machines using HSG technology exist. Both are operated by the company Stahlberg Roensch. The larger machine RC01 has four grinding units, each carrying 24 grinding stones. A smaller machine using just one grinding unit with 16 grinding stones is also in use. RC01 is used on main line and high speed tracks of DB Netz AG, while the smaller version is deployed mostly on commuter and metroRapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
rail networks.
Application Areas
- Preventative rail grinding
- Low friction coating removal
- Acoustic grinding to reduce noise pollution emitted from the rail
- Removal of the decarb layer