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            Screw Spike and Spring Washer Hold-Down Force and Resiliency Investigation
      

      
  Document Series
              Research Results


      
  Author
          Federal Railroad Administration


      
Report Number
              RR 22-30

  Office
              RDI-21


      Subject
                    Track


      
  Keywords
              Screw spikes, spring washers, torque, broken spikes, elastic fasteners, longitudinal load, resiliency, track


      

      
      
              
                  
      
              
  Document
              Screw Spike Resiliency Investigation.pdf (471.94 KB)

      
              The Rail Transportation Engineering Center (RailTEC) at the University of Illinois (Illinois) is investigating spike failures in timber tie track to determine the root cause(s) and develop failure prevention strategies. This research is part of an ongoing investigation into spike failures sponsored by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) that began in 2018. Through modeling, laboratory, and field work, RailTEC has discovered that maintaining friction between tie plates and ties reduces the stress on spikes up to 80 percent (Dersch, 2022). Screw spikes installed with spring washers is one way to ensure that friction is maintained in the fastening system.
      
            
      
      
              Last updated: Tuesday, October 18, 2022 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

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