Mass-Spring System - Railway Pro

7Requirements for anElastomer SupportMulti-facetedand provenFor more than four decades, thematerials Sylomer® and Sylodyn®have proven themselves to be effectiveprotection against vibrations andstructure-borne sound in railwaysuperstructures.Getzner materials contribute to theprotection of structures, improve thestability of railway tracks and reducethe dynamic load on the ballast,thereby lowering maintenance expensesas well. Even after 30 years or more,railway applications made of Sylomer®and Sylodyn® remain effective. Whensamples were removed and tested, theelastomer showed no fatigue evenafter many years of operation.For less than full-surface support, it isparticularly important to define therequirements for the support materialand the quality monitoring on aproject-specific basis.The standard DIN 45673-7, Mechanicalvibration – Resilient elementsused in railway tracks – Part 7: Laboratorytest procedures for resilientelements of mass-spring-systems,provides additional information onsuitability for use and testing of thestatic-dynamic stiffnesses.Conditions for functioning and long-lasting massspringsystems:— The static and dynamic stiffnesses must be evaluated in order todetermine the specifically required properties of the support.— Changes to the specific support properties due to operating loadsare tested with long-term vibration tests consisting of at least threemillion load changes.— Changes to the support properties due to environmental influences(e.g. ozone, water, oils, chemicals) must also be evaluated.— Further tests determine the extent to which the track geometrychanges due to creeping, operating loads and environmentalinfluences.— The quality of the support is carefully monitored even beforeinstallation.13