Minimising damage when transporting steel coils

Inspection proves the long-term effectiveness of polyurethane transport protection

28.03.19

Buers (AT). Steel coils are often transported on freight cars over long distances and are repeatedly damaged in transit. Recently, based on a long-term reference, Getzner was able to demonstrate that its Sylomer® transport protection for steel sheets remained undamaged and has the same effect even after almost ten years.

The impetus for Getzner developing a transport protection solution for steel coils came from a problem faced in the industry. A manufacturer of steel sheets, who is a customer of the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), had struggled for years with the fact that its steel coils were repeatedly being damaged in transit over longer distances. Its coils are frequently transported across Europe on freight cars, exposing the outermost layers to damaging impacts and shocks. The purchasers of steel sheets will not accept transport damage – stringent material requirements usually rule out damaged deliveries. The steel manufacturer was also not prepared to bear the costs for replacing the worn outermost layers of the sheets. This is a challenge faced by a number of transport companies. Conventional protective supports are an insufficient solution to the problem. The ÖBB responded by commissioning the Austrian vibration protection experts Getzner to equip some carriages with the Sylomer® Steel Coil Bearing (SCB) – transport protection made from the polyurethane material Sylomer®. The plan came off: “The transport damage to the steel coils and the maintenance work required have been reduced to a minimum. In addition, Sylomer® is displaying next to no wear after nine years and can continue to be used in the future without any problems,” says Stefan Luif, Head of Maintenance at Rail Cargo Wagon-Austria GmbH. “The elastic bearing means the steel coils can even be transported over longer distances without becoming worn. This results in huge cost savings,” explains Harald Steger, a product manager at Getzner.

Transport protection for 200 steel coil carriages
In 2010, the ÖBB commissioned Getzner to equip a total of 200 carriages from the Slovakian manufacturer of rail freight vehicles, Tatravagonka, with the transport protection solution for steel coils. The role of the protection was to isolate the vibrations generated by the vehicle’s underbody and to minimise the number of impacts on the material. The vibration protection experts matched their in-house developed Sylomer® material precisely to the weight of the steel coils. In addition, a compact wearing coat was applied to the Sylomer® mats. “This surface protection layer prevents any sharp edges on the steel coils damaging the polyurethane material and increases the service life of the bearings too,” summarises Harald Steger.

Evidence of the long-term usability of this transport solution
Last autumn, after nine years of use on freight cars on long-distance lines, the Sylomer® transport solution on the 200 freight cars was examined again in detail to check its fitness for purpose. “Testing revealed that the material thickness of the transport protection had not changed over the years and the material remained undamaged. We can therefore conclude that the current material properties of the SCB are almost identical to when it was installed. The tests provide further evidence of the consistent long-term quality and effect of the Sylomer® SCB solutions from Getzner,” emphasises Harald Steger.

Sylomer® Steel Coil Bearing (SCB)

• Protects against transport damage
• Provides protection from wear
• Transport protection made from an oil and hydrolysis-resistant material
• Maintenance-free: proven long-term behaviour
• Customised manufacturing as required