Greasing the wheels
Business profile
Greasing the wheels The appropriate lubricant for railway switches can help Toc’s improve the reliability of railway switches while decreasing maintenance costs. Thomas Kamprath explains how getting the right formula comes down to more than cost
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mong the most important maintenance tasks railway and infrastructure operators carry out is ensuring the trouble-free functioning of switches. They are key to a smooth and punctual operation and must always function reliably under any weather condition. The lubricant always plays a key role when it comes to friction reduction; suitable high-performance switch lubricants increase the reliability of switches and have a positive effect on total costs. Switches require manual lubrication The cost of employing staff to apply the lubricant are often considerably higher than that of the lubricant itself, meaning that one of the most important attributes of a lubricant is long relubrication intervals. Operators increasingly consider costs as a whole rather than individually, in the past lubricant costs and staff expenses used to be regarded as individual cost factors, wheras the total cost of ownership (TCO) is now the decisive factor. Cost factors have a reciprocal effect on one another, calling for decision makers capable of cross-departmental thinking. Improved cost management What this means with regard to the lubricant is that a low price does not necessarily decrease total costs. On the contrary, personnel costs are an increasingly important factor when it comes to relubrication so a more expensive lubricant that offers better performance and longer relubrication intervals may turn out to considerably decrease maintenance costs. Costs for delays caused by defective railway switches can also be reduced; highperformance switch lubricants can considerably increase the switches’ reliability. Lubricant requirments A lubricant must have certain characteristics to ensure long relubrication intervals, including a low friction coefficient, high corrosion and wear protection, good adhesion to the slide plate, very high water and UV resistance and easy application – even at Page 146 February 2015
low temperatures. An important aspect of modern lubricants is the continuously increasing environmental protection requirements; however, conventional biodegradable lubricants often do not perform as well as standard mineral oil lubricants. The key challenge for the development of railway switch lubricants is to combine biodegradability with high performance; all Klüber Lubrication railway switch lubricants are now biodegradable, according to OECD standard 301.
Tested performance The most important task of a highperformance railway switch lubricant is to ensure low switch positioning forces for a long period of time. Measuring positioning forces on a real-life switch over a long period of time is a difficult process; Klüber Lubrication has developed a specially designed test rig to simulate actual conditions and to measure the forces in each setting cycle. Various test cycles can be run and specific operating conditions simulated;
Business profile
lubricants are tested for temperatures between up to +80 °C – making them suitable for countries with prevailing high temperatures. UV radiation also plays an important role, all Klüber lubricants are tested for use under strong UV radiation. The arctic test cycle, which is relevant for countries with prevailing low temperatures, determines the positioning forces at temperature stages as low as -35 °C. Test cycles are also performed for rainfall, with the test rig simulating rain after every 8,000 positioning cycles to see the lubricants resistance to rain water washout. If lubricant is washed off the slide plate corrosion quickly forms on the surface, leading to an increased friction coefficient in the following 2,000 positioning cycles. Lubricants for all climates Klüber Lubrication uses its test facilities to continuously optimise railway switch lubricants. This optimisation process has led to the development of a range of products that comply with the varying requirements of railway operators. Klüberrail AL 32-2000 is a railway switch lubricant spray for low temperatures that can be applied with portable spraying devices. Klüberbio ALO 32-4000 is a highly-viscous railway switch lubricant for use in warm climate zones, which is best applied by brush. Unlike the light-coloured 32-2000 and ALO 32-4000 lubricants, Klüberbio LO 32-2500 contains solid lubricants and is the ideal lubricant for warmer climates. Also applied by brush, Klüberbio LO 32-2500 performs particularly well in
environments with low precipitation – such as underground train systems. Finding the ideal railway switch lubricant for a particular application requires detailed analysis of stresses and requirements. In addition to the switch lubricants described, Klüber Lubrication has an extensive product portfolio of rail-specific products that include
gear oils, greases for traction motors, wheel bearings, curved gear couplings, joints, doors and screw pastes, as well as lubricants for many other components.
Thomas Kamprath is market manager rail at Klüber Lubrication
Tel: 01422 205115 Email: [email protected] Visit www.klueber.com
February 2015 Page 147
Greasing the wheels The appropriate lubricant for railway switches can help Toc’s improve the reliability of railway switches while decreasing maintenance costs. Thomas Kamprath explains how getting the right formula comes down to more than cost
A
mong the most important maintenance tasks railway and infrastructure operators carry out is ensuring the trouble-free functioning of switches. They are key to a smooth and punctual operation and must always function reliably under any weather condition. The lubricant always plays a key role when it comes to friction reduction; suitable high-performance switch lubricants increase the reliability of switches and have a positive effect on total costs. Switches require manual lubrication The cost of employing staff to apply the lubricant are often considerably higher than that of the lubricant itself, meaning that one of the most important attributes of a lubricant is long relubrication intervals. Operators increasingly consider costs as a whole rather than individually, in the past lubricant costs and staff expenses used to be regarded as individual cost factors, wheras the total cost of ownership (TCO) is now the decisive factor. Cost factors have a reciprocal effect on one another, calling for decision makers capable of cross-departmental thinking. Improved cost management What this means with regard to the lubricant is that a low price does not necessarily decrease total costs. On the contrary, personnel costs are an increasingly important factor when it comes to relubrication so a more expensive lubricant that offers better performance and longer relubrication intervals may turn out to considerably decrease maintenance costs. Costs for delays caused by defective railway switches can also be reduced; highperformance switch lubricants can considerably increase the switches’ reliability. Lubricant requirments A lubricant must have certain characteristics to ensure long relubrication intervals, including a low friction coefficient, high corrosion and wear protection, good adhesion to the slide plate, very high water and UV resistance and easy application – even at Page 146 February 2015
low temperatures. An important aspect of modern lubricants is the continuously increasing environmental protection requirements; however, conventional biodegradable lubricants often do not perform as well as standard mineral oil lubricants. The key challenge for the development of railway switch lubricants is to combine biodegradability with high performance; all Klüber Lubrication railway switch lubricants are now biodegradable, according to OECD standard 301.
Tested performance The most important task of a highperformance railway switch lubricant is to ensure low switch positioning forces for a long period of time. Measuring positioning forces on a real-life switch over a long period of time is a difficult process; Klüber Lubrication has developed a specially designed test rig to simulate actual conditions and to measure the forces in each setting cycle. Various test cycles can be run and specific operating conditions simulated;
Business profile
lubricants are tested for temperatures between up to +80 °C – making them suitable for countries with prevailing high temperatures. UV radiation also plays an important role, all Klüber lubricants are tested for use under strong UV radiation. The arctic test cycle, which is relevant for countries with prevailing low temperatures, determines the positioning forces at temperature stages as low as -35 °C. Test cycles are also performed for rainfall, with the test rig simulating rain after every 8,000 positioning cycles to see the lubricants resistance to rain water washout. If lubricant is washed off the slide plate corrosion quickly forms on the surface, leading to an increased friction coefficient in the following 2,000 positioning cycles. Lubricants for all climates Klüber Lubrication uses its test facilities to continuously optimise railway switch lubricants. This optimisation process has led to the development of a range of products that comply with the varying requirements of railway operators. Klüberrail AL 32-2000 is a railway switch lubricant spray for low temperatures that can be applied with portable spraying devices. Klüberbio ALO 32-4000 is a highly-viscous railway switch lubricant for use in warm climate zones, which is best applied by brush. Unlike the light-coloured 32-2000 and ALO 32-4000 lubricants, Klüberbio LO 32-2500 contains solid lubricants and is the ideal lubricant for warmer climates. Also applied by brush, Klüberbio LO 32-2500 performs particularly well in
environments with low precipitation – such as underground train systems. Finding the ideal railway switch lubricant for a particular application requires detailed analysis of stresses and requirements. In addition to the switch lubricants described, Klüber Lubrication has an extensive product portfolio of rail-specific products that include
gear oils, greases for traction motors, wheel bearings, curved gear couplings, joints, doors and screw pastes, as well as lubricants for many other components.
Thomas Kamprath is market manager rail at Klüber Lubrication
Tel: 01422 205115 Email: [email protected] Visit www.klueber.com
February 2015 Page 147
