In the construction of railway turnouts, turnout sleepers are also one of the essential and important parts. There is no doubt that choosing the right wood is the key to ensure the durability and safety of railway sleepers. The choice of wood used for turnout sleepers directly affects the bearing capacity, service life and safety of turnout. The common turnout anti-corrosion sleepers are made of pine and oak, which have their own advantages and disadvantages. Today, Qingdao Tiehan will briefly analyze the differences between the two kinds of wood.
Pine is a common tree species. This material can be said to be an old minister in the production of railway sleepers. Its wide application benefits from its unique characteristics. The wood material is light, with good toughness and compressive strength, so it is more suitable for making turnout anti-corrosion sleepers. The anti-corrosion sleepers made of pine are more convenient in construction, which can be installed quickly and ensure the smooth operation of the turnout. In addition, pine has certain anti-corrosion performance, which is not as strong as oak, but it can extend the service life of anti-corrosion sleepers to a certain extent. In addition, pine is economical and relatively low in procurement cost, which is undoubtedly a major advantage for railway construction.
However, pine also has some small flaws. Its hardness is relatively low, and some deformation and damage will inevitably occur under long-term wheel rolling. In addition, the anti-corrosion property of pine is not as good as that of oak, which is relatively susceptible to moisture and mildew, affecting its service life as a railway turnout anti-corrosion sleeper, thus affecting the normal operation of the turnout.
Compared with pine, oak is a relatively solid wood with good compressive strength and bearing capacity, and can bear greater load in the turnout. The turnout anti-corrosion sleepers made of oak are relatively more durable and can ensure the long-term stable operation of the turnout. In addition, oak itself has strong corrosion resistance, which can effectively extend the service life of turnout anti-corrosion sleepers.
There are advantages and disadvantages, oak is no exception. It has just been mentioned many times that the oak wood floor is relatively solid, which also leads to more time-consuming and laborious in the process of making anti-corrosion sleepers, and it takes longer for the anti-corrosion oil to penetrate into its interior. Moreover, the construction is complicated and the installation time is relatively long. More importantly, the price of oak is high and the production cost is relatively high, which increases the investment cost of turnout construction. Even though the anti-corrosion ability of oak is relatively strong, it also needs regular maintenance, and the operation and maintenance cost is not much less than that of the turnout anti-corrosion sleepers made of pine.
To sum up, pine and oak have their own advantages and disadvantages. The choice of wood for making turnout anti-corrosion sleepers should be determined according to the specific situation. In general, appropriate wood can be selected to make turnout anti-corrosion sleepers according to the operating environment, load, budget and other factors of the turnout, so as to ensure the safe and stable operation of the turnout.
