National Projects
Hybrid technology to produce standard-gauge rails with increased service life, considering future trends in the development of rail transport
Title:
Hybrid technology to produce standard-gauge rails with increased service life, considering future trends in the development of rail transport
Program Name: Applied Research Programme
Financing institution: National Centre for Research and Development
Co-financing for Łukasiewicz – GIT: PLN 1,120,962.00
Total value of the project: PLN 4,330,000.00
Start: 01.11.2015 / End: 31.10.2018
Consortium:
- Łukasiewicz Research Network – Upper Silesian Institute of Technology [Leader],
- AGH University,
- ArcelorMittal Poland S.A.,
- Silesian University of Technology,
- Warsaw University of Technology
Project Manager: Roman Kuziak, PhD, DSc, ProfTit
Tel.: 32 2345 241
E-mail: roman.kuziak@git.lukasiewicz.gov.pl
Objective:
The main objective of the project is to develop a hybrid technology to produce standard-gauge rails with increased service life under the conditions of Arcelor Mittal Poland, Branch in Dąbrowa Górnicza, including various material solutions as well as unique methods of heat treatment immediately after rolling.
The practical goal will be to produce, at AMP, and test rails with increased service life (‘premium’ rails) in field conditions. A distinctive feature of the solution proposed in the project will be the possibility of flexible adaptation of material and technological solutions to shape the desired functional properties of the rails, which, as the experience of railway companies shows, must be adapted to the conditions of use of the tracks. To understand the essence of the project, it should be noted that the service life is not only a feature of the rail but is the result of a complex set of interactions. The basis of the project is the statement that the diverse nature of the factors affecting the durability of the rails requires the adaptation of material solutions to the operational conditions of the trackbed.
The basics of the technology of heat treatment of pearlitic steel rails and the chemical composition of bainitic steel for rails with increased service life were developed as a result of the project. An experimental heat was made and a demonstration batch of 60E1 rails was produced, which was installed at AMP’s industrial track in Dąbrowa Górnicza. After 6 years of operation, negligible wear of the rail’s rolling layer was observed.
