Deterioration of insulated rail joints – a three-year field study

Paper in proceeding, 2012

Four operational joints at the Swedish West Coast Line have been monitored in field from installation and during three years of operation to follow degradation. Even though operational loads were comparatively low, material damage was found to occur early after installation. All joints showed a similar damage pattern with dominating deformation on the side towards a nearby station. In addition some joints showed “cavity-like” damage on the off-station side. The paper reports observations on continuing degradation of the joints as well as hardness evolution and increased joint dip over time.