Reduction of rail track contamination from iron ore and coal dust
The Australian railway industry contributes an estimated $30 billion to the Australian economy with utilisation expected to increase in the future. To maintain freight networks, personnel rely heavily on automated inspection equipment to routinely perform measurements to analyse the condition of rail networks.
Within the resources sector, contamination of networks due to dust and/or material build-up prevent equipment and personnel from detecting corrosion and fatigue of rail infrastructure. This project aims to develop a strategic operation plan to reduce track contamination from iron ore/coal at Train Load Out (TLO) systems.
The project will provide the following high-level outcomes:
- Improved understanding of the causal factors involved in TLO track contamination.
- Prolong life of rail in highly corrosive environments.
- Determine protocol to detect rail foot defects from corrosion.
The outcomes of this project will provide insight to Australasian Rail infrastructure system owners and operators to support future efforts in designing for resilience and climate change adaptation.
Project background
With the increasing demand for resources, utilisation of bulk materials that have unfavourable flow properties, which would typically be disregarded, must be considered. These bulk materials are problematic due to the excessive adhesive and cohesive characteristics attributed to the excessive inherent moisture. In real world rail freight terms, these materials can lead to track contamination at Train Load Out (TLO) systems due to poor flow characteristics (caused by inadequate design) and dust related issues during transportation.
TLO track contamination can be either attributed to dust on the rail infrastructure from highly friable bulk materials or from build-up of Wet and Sticky Materials (WSM) adhering to the rail infrastructure. In extreme cases both instances may occur which will be evident at TLO systems closer to ports which can handle a significant range of commodities.
This project aims to develop a strategic operation plan to reduce track contamination from iron ore/coal at TLO systems applicable to industrial systems throughout Australasia. The approach is to gain an improved understanding of the causal factors involved in TLO track contamination leading to prolonged life of rail infrastructure in highly corrosive environments.
The first stage of the project considers a literature review and visit to industrial TLO operations to gain a fundamental understanding of the cause of the track contamination (i.e. is the problem associated with dust or WSM).
The second stage will consider baseline testing of rail coatings which aim to reduce track contamination.
The final stage will be the development of a pilot scale testing facility to replicate site conditions where it is anticipated that the results will be directly transferable to industry. By determining a protocol which reduces the contamination of TLO systems, the detection of rail foot defects from corrosion can be undertaken using Ultrasonic Testing (UT)/Ultrasonic Phased Array Testing (UPAT) techniques.
Project objectives
The key objectives of the research project are as follows:
- Determine the conditions leading to track contamination from iron ore/coal at Train Load Out (TLO).
- Undertake baseline friction and wear measurements to analyse the suitability of coating of the rail to reduce track contamination from iron ore/coal at Train Load Out (TLO).
- Determine the best method in reducing TLO contamination using a pilot scale testing facility that will be developed at University of Newcastle.
Project wrap-up
This project has been completed. A wrap-up of the project, including background, objectives, methodology results, and future directions for the work, can be found at: Measures to reduce iron ore and coal rail track contamination.
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