Background

Corrosion causes considerable economic damage all over the world. Buildings, machines and vehicles must be protected against corrosion to a greater or lesser extent. The extent of this protection depends on the intended use, the expected duration of protection and, above all, the corrosivity category of the stationary environment.

Idea

The corrosivity category of the stationary environment is usually known or relatively easy to determine for various cities and regions. But: do the stationary values reflect the requirements of a moving system - i.e. a tram?

This consideration led to the co-operation between VCDB GmbH and the research company Institut für Korrosionsschutz Dresden GmbH. The aim of the project was to develop and verify for the first time a classification system in the form of corrosion classes for trams based on the (known) stationary corrosivity categories.

  • The right corrosion protection system saves money in the long term
  • Too much corrosion protection causes unnecessary costs
  • No applicable standards
  • The right corrosion protection system saves money in the long term
  • Too much corrosion protection causes unnecessary costs
  • No applicable standards
Proben unter der Straßenbahn

Procedure

Thanks to the support of the transport companies in Dresden, Mannheim and Gothenburg, it was possible to install newly developed standard samples for determining the localised corrosion rate on the trams there and to measure the corrosion load.

For reasons of experience, the measurement positions were deliberately split into the interior, roof and underside areas for each vehicle.

Analysis

After one year of storage, all test specimens mounted on the vehicles were chemically analysed with stationary reference specimens stored at all test locations at the same time.

With the results obtained, it was possible to define a system for a total of five corrosion classes based on the combination of stationary corrosion category, special load and vehicle movement. Based on the measured values, corrosion classes I and II could even be precisely derived for the vehicle areas underbody, roof and interior of the tram. It was taken into account that low vehicle movement, which is associated with less heating of the vehicle and less airstream, generally tends to have a negative effect with a higher corrosion load.

Doreen Fleischhauer

Conclusion

The technology developed in the research project with the newly developed standard samples and fastening systems is very suitable for correctly and reliably measuring the corrosion rate of trams over several years of weathering. In the course of this research, a reliable process for assessing the mobile corrosion load and corrosivity category of trams has been developed. It is essential to verify the defined corrosion classes with further measurement data and thus further consolidate the classification system.

Project partners:
IKS GmbH, VCDB GmbH

With the support of:
DVB, rnv, Göteborg Spårvägar, TUD

Runtime:
2020-2022

Storage locations:
Dresden, Mannheim, Göteborg

Funding information / Authors

The work on the topic: "Corrosivity categories on rail vehicles" was funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK) via EuroNorm GmbH in the INNO-KOM-MF funding programme with the project number: 49MF190153 on the basis of a resolution of the German Bundestag.