IFB 141F-24 Specification.pdf

MBTA M.O.W. Division Material Specification July 2021

Bonded Insulated Joint Plug Rail – Page 1 of 3

MASSACHUSETTS BAY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY

MAINTENANCE OF WAY DIVISION

TRACK MATERIAL SPECIFICATION

Bonded Insulated Joint Plug Rail July 6, 2021

MATERIALS

Insulated joints shall be in conformance with the AREMA Manual for Railway Engineering, Chapter 4, Part 2, Section 2.8, Specifications for Quenched Carbon-Steel Joint Bars.

Rail shall be No. 1, fully heat-treated, high strength premium steel rail (no “A” rails accepted). Rail shall conform to the MBTA Specification for Fully Heat-Treated 115 RE Rail in the MBTA M.O.W. Division Book of Standard Track Material Specifications.

DESIGN

The joint bars used in bonded insulated joint plug rail shall be 36”, full-face contact design, conforming to 115 RE rail per the AREMA Manual for Railway Engineering.

Joint bar assembly shall consist of joint bars, end posts, bushings, bolts, nuts, washers and insulated polyplate tie plates (when specified on the order). Joint bars shall be as manufactured by Portec or Allegheny.

MANUFACTURE

Rail - Plug shall consist of two pieces of 115 RE rail, as specified herein, jointed to form one bonded insulated joint plug rail. The web of each rail where the joint is to bonded shall be ground free of brandings to provide a full contact fit.

Joint Bars – Joint bars shall be smooth and straight with all burrs removed. The inside face of the joint bars facing the rail shall have all insulating material pre-bonded and shall be free of stamping or branding. The fabrication tolerances shall be:

Fishing Height – Plus or minus 1/64” Straightness – Plus or minus 1/32” in 36” Length – Plus or minus 1/8”

Joint bars shall be designed so that when fully assembled and bonded to the rail, ¾” of the rail base on each side of the rail shall be exposed to allow for the installation of rail fasteners.

Insulation – Insulation materials shall be high-pressure laminated design, impervious to oil, grease and water. The material shall have electrical resistance characteristics

Material Specification July 2021

Bonded Insulated Joint Plug Rail – Page 2 of 3 equal to or greater than fiber insulation meeting the requirements of the AAR Manual, Part 116, Signal Section Specification 216-46. End posts shall be manufactured to fit ball, web and base and shall be 3/16” thick and shall project ¼” plus to 1/16” minus below the base of rail.

Fasteners – Insulated bonded joints shall be bolted together with six high-strength 1” bolts. The bolts shall be in conformance with ASTM Specification A490 having Class 2A and 2B thread fit. The fastener provided must provide a positive means for maintaining the tension in the bolts by a lock-nut complying with Industrial Fastener Institute Standard IFI-100 and IFI-101, or an approved equivalent. Flat washers, if required, shall be hardened A0325 or A-490 quenched and tempered carbon steel.

Adhesive – The adhesive shall have a shelf life of at least one year when stored in a protected, weather-tight location at reasonable storage temperatures and shall withstand the requirements of the prescribed mechanical testing.

TESTING

The manufacturer shall perform and certify, in writing prior to shipment, that three assembled joints, representative of the joints to be supplied, have successfully passed the Rolling Load Test and the Longitudinal Compressive Strength Test.

Rolling Load Test – The rail joint shall be mounted on a 33” stroke rolling load test machine, supported on 36” centers, with the joint centered between the supports. A 44,400 pound wheel load shall be applied on the rail for 2,000,000 cycles and the resultant deflection at the centerline of the joint shall be measured and recorded to the nearest 0.001”. The deflection at the ends of the joint shall also be measured at every 500,000 cycles. The wheel path shall travel from a point 6” from the center of the joint to a point 9” outside the opposite end of the joint. Total range of deflection of the joint shall not exceed 0.065” during the test and the joint shall show no evidence of failure by bending. The electrical resistance test shall then be performed and the test results shall be within the acceptance criteria specified.

The Longitudinal Compression Test shall then be performed on the test specimens and the results shall be within the acceptance criteria specified.

Longitudinal Compression Test – The assembled joint shall be sawn in half where the rails are joined together in a manner which will prevent overheating and damage to the epoxy bond. The cut shall be perpendicular to the centerline of the top of the rail.

A fixture or device shall be used so that the reaction at the sawn ends occurs only on the face of the joint bars when a load is applied to the centroid of the rail at the opposite end.

The load shall be applied in increments of 25,000 pounds, maintaining each load increment until the deflection of the rail stops before increasing the load. The load shall be increased to 650,000 pounds and a record of loading and differential movement of the

Material Specification July 2021

Bonded Insulated Joint Plug Rail – Page 3 of 3 rail, measured to 0.001” shall be measured for each increment. The joint shall show no indication of slippage prior to reaching a compressive load of 650,000 pounds and the movement shall be less than 1/8” in any direction. The relative position of the rail and joint bar shall be within 1/32” of its original value when the load is removed.

The manufacturer shall perform and certify in writing, prior to shipment, that each assembled BONDED INSULATED JOINT PLUG RAIL to be supplied has successfully passed the Electrical Resistance Test.

Electrical Resistance Test – A rail joint shall be assembled in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations and supported on non-conducting material. With 500 volts DC applied to the rail across the bonded insulated joint for a duration of three minutes, the current flow through the joint should be measured to the nearest 0.1 microampere. The minimum acceptable resistance for the test shall be 10 megaohms.

With 50 volts AC applied to the rail across the bonded insulated joint for a duration of three minutes, the impedance shall be measured with an accuracy of 20+/-. This test shall be repeated three times, once with a frequency in the range from 10Hz to 100Hz, again with a frequency in the range from 200Hz to 1000hz and again in the range from 2000Hz to 10KHz. The minimum acceptable impedance for any of these tests shall be 10,000 ohms.

FABRICATION

All bonded insulated joint plug rails shall be fully shop assembled, tested and ready for installation prior to shipment.

Plug rails shall be in accordance with MBTA M.O.W. Division Standard Plan No. 325 to the lengths specified.

SUBMITTALS

Prior to shipment, the supplier shall submit shop drawings showing materials and fabrication tolerances and certified test results for the tests required under the TESTING section of this Specification.

All submittals shall be made to the MBTA M.O.W. Division Manager of Track Engineering for review and approval.

INSPECTION AND DELIVERY

To be accepted, the Bonded Insulated Joint Plug Rails delivered to the MBTA shall conform to these Specifications in all respects. Plug Rails are at the supplier’s risk until accepted at the specified delivery site by an authorized representative of the MBTA.

Plug Rails rejected for non-compliance with these Specifications will be returned to the supplier wholly at the supplier’s expense.

M.O.W.

DIVISION

115 RE BONDED INSULATED JOINT