Rail Pads

1 Reducing Life Cycle Costs, Loads
and Emissions

Reducing railway superstructure costs
Passenger traffic and freight traffic
are both enjoying worldwide growth.
The more traffic there is on a givenroute and the greater the tonnagetransported over it, the sooner wearof the superstructure components
sets in.

Getzner Werkstoffe has developeda range of high-performance elastic
rail pads for all stiffness requirements
and various application areas – fromtrams through standard-gauge railways to heavy haul lines – that areavailable in many different versions.

ompared with straight sectionsof track, this wear manifests itself very quickly, particularly in tightcurves and on routes carrying heavy
traffic. Adopting the correct measures for long-term cost reductions andextending the service life of the track
reduces the life cycle costs of thesuperstructure significantly.

Elastic rail pads – lower loads
and emissions

CLowering the life cycle costsof railway track
When it comes to reducing the life
cycle costs of railway track, the outgoings associated with maintenance,repair and possession are always atthe forefront. How long a section of
track can be used depends above allon the condition of the superstructure.
Special attention has to be paid tothe most heavily loaded components:
ballast, sleepers and elastic rail pads.

In addition to a sustainable life cycle
strategy, the requirements placed ona modern rail network also include
effective protection against vibrationand structure-borne noise. Speciallyequipped rail fastenings with outstanding dynamic damping properties
reduce vibrations right at their source.
Getzner elastic rail pads possess adefined stiffness and demonstrablyincrease the elasticity of the track
superstructure. Improved load distribution results in a more comfortableride and less wear and tear of thesuperstructure. The higher level ofelasticity also contributes towards
the quiet running of the rolling stock,helping to meet today‘s acoustic requirements – after all, railway lines
and residential areas are moving evercloser together.

32 Elastic Rail Pads
from Getzner

Zw 700a

Properties of Getzner rail pads
— High mechanical loading capacityand defined elasticity— Outstanding performance over along period— Standard materials with a stiffness ofbetween 30 and 200 kN/mm – depending on application and geometry— Compatible with other supports fromvarious manufacturers— Satisfies all the testing criteria laid
down in the relevant standards

RailFastening screw

Rail clamp

Angle guide plate

Schematic showing a support
with an elastic rail pad

4Rail padZw 900b

Zw 1000

Arguments for Getzner
rail pads

Reducing life cycle costs— Longer service life for rail pad and superstructure components— Less wear of rails, sleeper and fastening(rail breakages, working of the rail into the sleeper etc.)— Less rail corrugation on the railhead (short and long wave)— Longer maintenance intervals— Fewer possessions and service disruptions, hence greater
track availability
Lower loads and emissions— Vibration damping effect— Reduction of forces acting on superstructure— Decrease in acoustic emission thanks to improved contact surfaces
between wheel and rail (less corrugation on the railhead)Can be retrofitted during maintenance and repair

Types ofrail pads

5

3 Rail Pads inTight Curves

High-end solution fortight curves
branch lines. The quality of the track
bed deteriorates significantly, particularly on the outer rail, as the wear of
the rail pads averages out at around20 percent higher. The rails on theinside of the curve frequently exhibit
long wave rail corrugation. Track wornin this way can also be up to 15 dB(A)louder.

In order to be able to route a line
so that it follows the terrain as
closely as possible, the topographyof many countries dictates that ahigh proportion of the track has
to be laid with tight radii – a factor
that places an additional load on
the track structure.
he resulting lateral forces andbending moments in the curves
cause a disproportionately high increase in the load placed on trackcomponents. In tight curves with aradius of less than 600 m and traffic
volumes of at least ten million tonnes
a year, increased wear of the elastic
rail pads is apparent on both setsof rails – on main lines andT

Another negative effect: worn railpads cause the rails to work into thesleeper and result in damage to thefastening system and the rail bed
areas. Damage like this reduces theservice life of the superstructure
significantly.

1QQYY

Tipping of therails often occurs
in curved track, as
the resultant of
the vertical (Q) andlateral forces (Y)lies outside thecore area of therail pad.

Rail pad
1/3

Core area

6

Pressure distribution

Picture: 1 Dissertation „Zur Verschleißreduktion von Gleisen in engen Bögen“ Page 3 – DI Dr. Florian Auer

Rail corrugation (long wave)

Counteract damage,increase service lifeof superstructure
Reducing the stiffness of the track
structure using elastic rail pads (witha stiffness of up to 200 kN/mm)
protects all fastening components,
the rails, the sleepers and thesubstructure.

The first results from test lines withtight radii (< 300 m) in the ÖBB rail
network show that Sylodyn® HRB HS(High Strength) is ideal for use as a rail
pad – especially where requirements
are more stringent.

he result is less corrugation of therails. Passengers and train personnel alike will notice a far more comfortable ride: irritating vibrations in
the vehicle are reduced, as there isless interaction between the train andthe superstructure.

TRail pads
in use74 Rail Pads for Heavy
Haul LinesHigh-end solution forheavy haul lines
Destroyed ballast, damaged rail
fastenings and rail breakages due tolack of elasticity in the superstructure cause extremely high maintenance costs and can, under certain
circumstances, result in long line
closures – this is particularly true
for the heavy haul sector where
axle loads exceed 26 tonnes.

he train operators, frequently
private companies, depend on highlevels of track availability in order to
run their businesses profitably, especially in the heavy haul sector.

TElastic rail pads – like sleeper pads –are an extremely suitable and economical way of counteracting the overloading of the superstructure caused byhigh tonnage. After just one year in
use and a load of 140 million tonnes,
rail pads made from the newly developed Sylodyn® HRB HS material
demonstrated that they can successfully balance the combination of higher

elasticity and maximum mechanicalresistance: There have been no instances of rail breakages, nor any
damage to the supports, the sleepers
or rail pads anywhere along the testlines.
For train operators in the heavy haulsector, elastic solutions from Getzner
are therefore proving themselves to be
an excellent way of optimising the life
cycle costs of the superstructure.

95 For Heavily used Superstructure:Sylodyn® HRB HS

High-end material for
modern superstructure
Getzner developed the newSylodyn® HRB HS material to satisfy
the steadily increasing demands
placed on modern superstructure.
This is a further development of thealready well-es-tablished Sylodyn®
material, which has been the choiceof countless rail operators for morethan 20 years.

Getzner services
in detail— Initial installation, retrofitting, modification and repair of elastic components
for rail fastening systems— Forecasts for deflectionand effectiveness— Measurements using ourown large-scale testingrig (long term properties
and fitness for purpose)— Dimensioning and on-site
supervision— Special solutions (togetherwith customer) andresearchased on polyurethane – and proven for almost 50 years of use inrailway superstructure – Getzner has
been able to improve its properties
even further in this new development.
All the testing required by the standard (EN 13481-2) for the use of this
newly developed high-end material asa rail pad and baseplate pad are
already in place. For the Zw 700 and
Zw 900 rail pads, all the approvals
required for the operational trials have

Bbeen obtained from the German
Federal Railway Authority.
Sylodyn® HRB HS has been developed
especially for heavily loaded superstructure in the standard-gauge railway and heavy haul sectors. In thelight rail sector, Getzner customers
continue to put their trust in theproven Sylodyn® solutions.

Branches in:— Bürs, Austria— Berlin, Germany— Munich, Germany— Stuttgart, Germany— Lyon, France— Paris, France— Tokyo, Japan— Pune, India— Beijing, China— Charlotte, US— Melbourne, Australia

Getzner branches
Getzner distribution partners
Reference countries

10Getzner projects
speak for themselves
lastic solutions from Getzner canbe found in the railway, construction and industry sectors all over theworld – as can the Getzner team. With
numerous branches and sales partners,
the company serves all the strategicallyimportant markets across the globe.
Getzner is a long-standing and valued
partner of leading rail operators, suchas the ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways)
and Deutsche Bahn (German Railways –Q1 supplier).

EReferences— Wiener Linien – Vienna,
Otto-Probst-Str. (AT)— ÖBB – Attnang-Puchheim (AT)— ÖBB – Unzmarkt-Scheifling (AT)— ÖBB – Brennerstrecke (AT)— ÖBB – Ybbs-Amstetten, track 4 (AT)— VAG – Nuremberg (DE)— BVG – Berlin (DE)— RNV – Heidelberg (DE)— MVB – Magdeburg (DE)— Rheinbahn – Dusseldorf (DE)11Getzner Werkstoffe GmbHAm Borsigturm 11
13507 Berlin
Germany
T +49-30-405034-00
F +49-30-405034-35info.berlin@getzner.com
Getzner Werkstoffe GmbH
Grünwalder Weg 32
82041 Oberhaching
Germany
T +49-89-693500-0
F +49-89-693500-11
info.munich@getzner.com
Getzner Spring Solutions GmbH
Gottlob-Grotz-Str. 1
74321 Bietigheim-Bissingen
Germany
T +49-7142-91753-0
F +49-7142-91753-50
info.stuttgart@getzner.com
Getzner France S.A.S.
Bâtiment Quadrille
19 Rue Jacqueline Auriol
69008 Lyon
FranceT +33-4 72 62 00 16
info.lyon@getzner.com
Getzner France S.A.S.
19 Rue Hans List
78290 Croissy-sur-SeineFranceT +33 1 88 60 77 60

Getzner Vibration Solutions Pty Ltd
Unit 1 Number 2-22
Kirkham Road West,
Keysborough Victoria 3173
Australia
Getzner India Pvt. Ltd.
1st Floor, Kaivalya
24 Tejas Society, Kothrud
Pune 411038, India
T +91-20-25385195
F +91-20-25385199
info.pune@getzner.com
Nihon Getzner K.K.
6-8 Nihonbashi Odenma-cho
Chuo-ku, Tokyo
103-0011, Japan
T +81-3-6842-7072
F +81-3-6842-7062
info.tokyo@getzner.com
Getzner Materials (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
No. 905, Tower D, the Vantone Center
No. Jia 6, Chaowai Street, Chaoyang District
10020, Beijing, the P.R.C.
T +86-10-5907-1618
F +86-10-5907-1628
info.beijing@getzner.com
Getzner USA, Inc.
8720 Red Oak Boulevard, Suite 460
Charlotte, NC 28217, USA
T +1-704-966-2132
info.charlotte@getzner.com

www.getzner.com

B ZW en © Copyright by Getzner Werkstoffe GmbH | 07-2023

Getzner Werkstoffe GmbH
Herrenau 56706 Bürs
Austria
T +43-5552-201-0
F +43-5552-201-1899
info.buers@getzner.com