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A rail pad, also known as a rail rubber plate, is intended to be placed between the rail tie plate and the rail’s foot. It is formed of an elastic polyurethane mat and is placed between steel rails and tie sleepers to shield the top of the sleeper from abrasion and wear.
Its specified stiffness is employed to lessen shock and vibration in the rail system and to raise the elasticity of the superstructure of the ballast.
A more evenly distributed load will result in improved passenger comfort and reduced strain on the superstructure.
The improved elasticity has a favourable impact on the rolling stock and superstructure components’ wear. It is always secured within a system of fasteners using rail bolts or screw spikes inserted into the sleeper ties.
The Global Rail pads market accounted for $XX Billion in 2023 and is anticipated to reach $XX Billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of XX% from 2024 to 2030.
The development of rail pads made of recycled plastic for use in railroad tracks aims to lessen the environmental damage caused by the production of new materials.
This required the design and production of sustainable rail pads from two different locally recycled plastics: high-density polyethylene from plastic boxes and a blend of polypropylene and low-density polyethylene from recycled geomembranes.
Additionally employed as a reference material was a high-performance polymeric industrial resin. Along with these distinct plastics, various volumes and sizes of recycled tire crumb rubber crumb were blended.
Assessing the durability and environmental advantages of the best possible solutions, it also analyses the impact of pad composition and shape on the mechanical performance of the pads.
According to the findings, whereas low-density polyethylene produced values close to 150 kN/mm and the reference industrial binder produced intermediate values, the pads made of high-density polyethylene had static stiffness values about 800 kN/mm.
A variety of workable solutions, including some that reduced stiffness by more than 50%, were also produced by combining various amounts and sizes of crumb rubber.
A smaller carbon footprint was also provided by both recycled plastics when compared to traditional pads, albeit it did get smaller the more crumb rubber was added.
