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KLP® Composite Sleepers still good after 321 million tonnes freight
Composite sleepers long term test programme
Lankhorst Rail has announced the first results of its long-term testing programme for the KLP® Hybrid Polymer Sleeper. After exposure to a cumulative 321 million tonnes of coal over a 13 year period, the composite sleepers are still within tolerance and with no maintenance required.
First installed in a coal mine in Germany in 2008, the KLP® Type 201 sleepers have been exposed to coal freight trucks rated at 25 tonnes axle load. The weathered sleepers were analysed by 3D scanning to assess the dimensional accuracy of the sleepers after 13 years compared with a new sleeper.
The 3D scans showed that after 321 million tonnes the sleepers are within tolerance of original specification. Functional areas such as the base plate are shown as very stable and with mirror/symmetrical geometry. In addition, the sleepers’ sides remain in line, and with minimal deformation.
“Trials of KLP® Hybrid Polymer Sleepers have consistently shown their durability, and outstanding bending stiffness and temperature resistance,” says Aran van Belkom, technical director, Lankhorst Engineered Products. “The long-term testing programme shows that these characteristics are maintained over the life of the sleeper as we would expect.”
KLP Type 201 Sleeper
The KLP® Hybrid Polymer Type 201 Sleeper is suitable for main track, switches and crossings with axle loads up to 25 tons in ballasted and unballasted track. All KLP® sleepers are manufactured from a high quality, ductile polymer with steel bars encased. This hybrid construction provides both high strength and excellent damping characteristics, as well as bending stiffness and low thermal expansion. In effect, it combines the best performance attributes of wooden and concrete sleepers.
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