Protection for concrete supports
The requirement
The requirement is to protect concrete supports during the handling and installation of switches and crossings (ADV) on worksites, which are often damaged.
The solution
SATEBA has designed reusable booties in polypropylene, a material that has the advantage of being naturally flexible, to protect the ends of concrete supports during operations. The 4 mm and 5 mm protectors, reinforced with honeycomb cushions, are designed to reduce damage caused by shocks during handling.
SATEBA is an international group with operations in 10 European countries and 1,000 employees. Its expertise lies in the production and supply of reinforced concrete sleepers for rail networks (high-speed lines, conventional lines, underground railways, tramways).
Experimentation
On 15 March 2024, tests were carried out on the CDG Express site with two prototypes of 3 mm and 4 mm in order to compare them . This experiment enabled the protections to be tested with voluntary and exceptional impacts. The 3 mm protectors were found to tear on impact, while the 4 mm protectors held up better. The usefulness of these protections was nevertheless confirmed by the fact that the concrete support was damaged in their absence.
Learning
A protective prototype has been 3D printed to the correct dimensions, but the optimum material has yet to be defined. The expected gains are significant: avoid repeated breakage of the supports, which would lead to repair costs and delays, as was observed in Zone D of the CDG Express worksite.
The SATEBA group is the European leader in precast concrete solutions for rail networks.
The experience of more than a century of SATEBA France as well as its technical excellence have made it possible to participate in the largest high-speed line, metro and tram projects.
SATEBA is fully committed to a process of reducing the carbon footprint of railways as well as the consumption of natural resources. SATEBA wishes to strengthen its innovation approach and to do so, the operation of the Rail Open Lab makes it possible to capture needs simply through the various use cases proposed and to test solutions quickly on the national rail network.
