Feasibility of Producing Reconstituted Railroad Ties on a Commercial Scale.
Abstract
United States railroads replace over 20 million ties each year for maintenance purposes. Rising costs and environmental restrictions on disposal have created the incentive to reconstitute new ties from the old ties. Work at the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) has shown that, with proper technology, high density flake-boards made from old tie material may be laminated into new ties having an effective modulus of elasticity (MOE) of 1.1 x 10 to the 6th power lb/sq in. and an average bending strength of 4,500 lb/sq in.. These property levels are estimated to be equivalent to a red oak tie containing near maximum defects as permitted by AREA 645 Chapter 3. Design specifications of the laboratory-made ties called for the outer or face laminations to comprise 40 percent of the total volume of the tie. Face and core materials were obtained by separating 0.040-inch-thick by random width by 2-inch-long ring flakes on a 1/8-inch screen. The larger flakes were used for the face laminations and were alined in the long dimension of the tie. Core boards were formed using a random flake distribution with the remainder of the material which had been screened on a 1/32-inch screen to eliminate very fine material. All layers were 60 lb/cu ft density (ovendry (OD) mat basis) and contained 5 percent phenoolic resin and 1 percent wax.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1982
- Accession Number
- ADA120111
Entities
People
- Robert L. Geimer
Organizations
- Forest Products Laboratory