FRP Composite Sleepers for Application on Rail Tracks & Girder Bridges

1. FRP Composite Sleepers for Application on Rail Tracks & Girder Bridges Developed by : Permali Wallace Pvt. Ltd.Bhopal, India

2. Structure of this Presentation • Background • Organisation Involved • About Us • Our Products for Railway Applications • The Advisory & Monitoring Commitee • The Project Timeline • The Final Design • Advantages of FRP Sleepers • Comparison with Sleepers of Other Materials • Photographs • Current Status & Conclusion • Acknowledgements

3. Background • Indian Railways : • Fourth Largest Rail Network in the World • Largest Network on basis of No. of Passengers carried per Km. • Route Length – 63000 Kms. • Track Length - Over 100,000 Kms • Almost 15,900 Girder Bridges using over 900,000 Wooden Sleepers

4. Background Need for a New Material was felt because :- • Though Wooden Sleepers had performed well all these years, but there is a shortage of wood due to ban on felling of trees in India for Environmental Conservation • Steel Channel (Metal) Sleepers were developed but had following disadvantages :- • Poor performance in Highly Vibrating Environment of Rail-Wheel Interaction • Poor performance and Need for additional insulation in Track-circuited Areas

5. Organisations Involved • R&D Establishment (Engineers), - R&DE • A laboratory under the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), Ministry of Defence involved in Structural Engineering and its scope of work includes developing new designs, materials etc for Bridges. The Research, Design & Standards Organisation (RDSO) • An autonomous body under the Ministry of Railways, Govt. of India • A single body responsible for maintaining and drafting standards for all the materials being used by Indian Railways. • Also involved in Research & Design for new materials, designs etc for the Railways. It has various directorate, each of which individually handles functions. • The Bridge & Structure Directorate of the RDSO was involved during the Project.

6. Organisations Involved • The Advanced Composite Mission, TIFAC (ACM) • An autonomous organisation under the Dept. of Science & Technology, Government of India. The ACM under the aegis of TIFAC is working on developing marketable and sustainable new products. • The project was presented to ACM by R&DE and was approved • Financial Assistance in the form of a soft loan was provided for the project and an Advisory & Monitoring Committee (AMC) was formed.

7. Permali Wallace Pvt. Ltd. • A pioneer in the Indian Composites Industry, established in 1961 at Bhopal in technical and financial collaboration with Permali Ltd., Gloucester, UK and Chase Lowe Ltd., Manchester, UK . • Manufacturer of Polymeric Composites like Wood based laminates, Fibreglass laminates, Fibreglass Tubes and Rings, Cotton Fabric Composites, Composites Composite, other composites using high tech fibres like Polyester, Kevlar etc. and Prepregs based on Nomex Paper, Glass Fibre Cloth, Ceramic Paper, Cast Epoxy Insulators and Bushings, Sheet and Dough moulding compounds and mouldings thereof. • We manufacture composite materials for application in a wide range of industries. • Chosen as the Industry Partner for this project

8. Electrical Equipment Industry Railways Defence Automobiles Foundries Chemical Petroleum Construction Atomic Energy Space Research Textile Machinery Telecom About Us – Product Applications

9. PWL in Railway Applications • Permali Fish plate • Polyimide Slot Wedges • Permali Cable Cleats • Permaglass Cable Cleats • Insulation material for Traction Equipments • Third Rail Conductor – Bracket Assembly • Coach Parts – Slats, Compreg, FRP parts • Breaker casings • FRP Gear Case • FRP Sleeper • Permaglass Fishplate …. and many others

10. Advisory & Monitoring Committee • The Project was presented to the ACM of TIFAC and was approved and then promoted by the ACM to the Railway. • Financial Assistance in the form of a soft loan was provided for the project • An Advisory & Monitoring Committee (AMC) was formed. • This powerful AMC comprised of • A Member of Railway Board • Senior officials from Bridge & Structures Directorate of RDSO, Indian Railways • Other senior officials nominated by Indian Railways • Senior Officials from R&DE • Officers from TIFAC • Personnel from PWL. • The responsibility of the AMC was to monitor the progress of the project and regular meetings were held to expedite the project.

11. The Project Timeline • 1997 : Project undertaken by RDSO and R&D Engineers, Pune with assistance from Advanced Composite Mission, TIFAC (Dept. of Science & Technology) to develop an alternative to Wood & Steel Sleepers • 1997 : Enquiry received by Permali Wallace Ltd. From R&D Engineers. After a series of Techno-commercial discussions, PWL was then chosen as the Industry Partner. The design was finalized after series of sessions by all the above. • May, 1998 : Formal PO for manufacturing 12 Sleepers received. • Aug.,1998 : 1st Prototype of the sleeper submitted to R&D Engineers . After initial inspection remaining 11 were produced and submitted

12. The Project • 1998-99 : These sleepers were given to RDSO for Extensive Static & Dynamic Testing by R&D Engg.. These sleepers withstood testing upto 2 million cycles and were then withdrawn. They were found to be in perfect state. • 2000 : RDSO placed an order for 44 nos. sleepers vide their order no. SP3/0062/B&S/0048 • 2001 : These were supplied to RDSO for extensive field trial between Feb. & May, 2001 • First 22 fitted by Northern Railway at Najimabad on 15/04/01 • Next 22 fitted by South Eastern Railway at Chengail on 8/6/01 • 2002 : The sleepers have given excellent performance to date – acknowledged by RDSO vide their letter to us and also recommended the product for approval vide their letter no. CBS/DSD dt. 31/5/02

13. Final Design

14. The Sleeper

15. Advantages of FRP Sleepers • Light Weight • Only 54 Kgs. + fittings (Net wt = 66 Kgs.) • Easy to Handle, Replace, Fit • Life of min. 40 to 50 years • Low Maintenance • Corrosion free • Unaffected by adverse environmental conditions & UV Rays • Insulating Material – extremely suitable for track circuited areas • Lowest Cost – on basis of Life Cycle Cost

16. Comparison

17. Comparison

18. Sleeper & Site Photographs

19. Side Section View

20. First Lot fitted at the Najimabad Bridge by Northern Railway

21. 2nd Lot fitted on Chengail Bridge by South-Eastern Railway

22. Site Inspection at Chengail Bridge

23. Chengail Site – Recent Picture

24. Chengail site – Recent Pictures

25. Signboard at the Chengail Bridge

26. Letter of Appreciation from RDSO

27. Our nomination during JEC Awards 2004

28. Conclusions • Lowest life cycle cost as compared to other sleepers • Number of other inherent advantages as discussed • Full scale commercial use by Indian Railways is on the anvil • Permali Wallace Pvt. Ltd. Is fully equipped to meet the Global requirement with necessary infrastructure for mass production in its place • The product was nominated in the Mass Transit Category during the JEC 2004 Awards • FRP Sleeper : A Solution for future

29. Our Other Products for Tracks • Permaglass Fishplates These electrically insulating Fish Plates are used in the marshalling yards of Railways where automatic track signaling is in use. The Fish Plates are mechanically strong and join the two rails and simultaneously insulate them electrically

30. Third Rail Current Collector Beam • An undercarriage Fitment, when assembled with other components is used on Metro rail. The assembly collects current, from the third rail laid next to the main rails, to be transmitted to the traction motors. This is a critical component since human safety is involved in the application.

31. Acknowledgment • Mr. Soumitra Biswas & the his entire team of Advanced Composite Mission, TIFAC, India • Mr. A. K. Harit, then Executive Director (B&S), RDSO, Indian Railways • Mr. R.P. Vyas, then Director (B&S), RDSO, Indian Railways and his entire team • Mr. Y.P. Pathak, Head, R&D Engineers, Pune, India • Mr. D.L. Sapra and their entire team from R&D Engineers, Pune, India • Mr. P.S. Subramanian • All the esteemed members of the Advisory & Monitoring Committee. • The Management, Officers & workers at Permali Wallace Ltd. – who worked on the project at various stages.

32. Our Contact Details: PWL Info Permali Wallace Pvt. Ltd. Hoshangabad Road Bhopal – 462011 India Phone : +91-755-2555633/2550508/5203333 Fax : +91-755-2550504 E-mail : info@permaliwallace.com mihir.merchant@permaliwallace.com permali@vsnl.com Website: www.permaliwallace.com

33. Thank You