Quantification of the effectiveness of low solar absorptivity coatings for reducing rail temperature : final report.

Details

• Creators:
  Ritter, George W. ; Al-Nazer, Leith
• Corporate Creators:
  Edison Welding Institute
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Railroad Policy and Development ; United States. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research and Development
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Absorption
  • Buckling
  • Coatings
  • Maintenance of way
  • Railroad tracks
  • Temperature
  • Temperature control
  • Track buckling
  • sun kink
  • rail neutral temperature
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT/FRA/ORD-15/37
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Final report; RPD31
• Contracting Officer:
  Al-Nazer, Leith
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research and Development
• Abstract:
  Due to the thermal expansion properties of steel, the risk that a track will buckle increases as the temperature of the rails increase. ; Therefore, it is desirable to keep rail temperature as low as possible, especially on hot summer days. Empirical data and modeling ; has shown that on such days, the peak temperature of the rail could reach as high as (or slightly exceed) 35 degrees Fahrenheit ; above the peak ambient temperature. If the peak ambient temperature for a given day is 100 degrees Fahrenheit, for example, then ; the peak rail temperature can be expected to be approximately 135 degrees Fahrenheit, provided there is little cloud cover and no ; precipitation. This project’s objective was to quantify the effectiveness of various low solar absorption coatings for reducing rail ; temperature, thereby reducing the risk of track buckling. The results indicate that some of the coatings tested can significantly ; reduce the temperature of a rail when the coated rail is compared to the temperature of an uncoated rail. However, further studies ; are needed to ensure the durability of these materials when applied to in-service track.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/31174/dot_31174_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.39 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection ; Federal Railroad Administration
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:3fd5d2da64bfa34338764212ec64ae7468bf83b2838f9c098c583cf9bd5a1551