Sonneville AG Industriezone 2 | 3225 Mntschemier | Switzerland Tel. +41 32 312 98 50 | Fax +41 32 312 98 88 mail@sonneville.com | www.sonneville.

com

LOW VIBRATION TRACK SYSTEM (LVT)

System description
2011 This document has copyright, which is owned by Sonneville AG and may not be reproduced, in whole, in part or in any form whatsoever without prior written authority from Sonneville. This document has been submitted on the understanding that it will not be used in any way against the interest of Sonneville. Doc no: Rev. date: DPD079.GN January 2011

Doc. no: Rev. date:

DPD079.GN January 2011

CONTENTS 1. General information______________________________________________________3 2. Technical description ____________________________________________________3 3. Installation _____________________________________________________________6 4. Drainage ______________________________________________________________7 5. Transition zones ________________________________________________________7 6. Homologations _________________________________________________________8 7. System behaviour during use ______________________________________________8 8. References ____________________________________________________________9 9. Stages of development __________________________________________________10

2/10

LOW VIBRATION TRACK SYSTEM (LVT) System description

Doc. no: Rev. date:

DPD079.GN January 2011

1.

General information

The Low Vibration Track (LVT) system has been one of the first slab track systems in the world and was evolved from bi-block ties for ballast track and slab track by Roger Sonneville. Going along with the design change from a bi-block tie to a single block system for slab track the system was redefined as LVT. Sonneville AG as licensor of the LVT system provides design for the LVT slab track components by working together with different licensees all over the world, ensuring a high quality standard of all components and providing technical support for contractors and clients. Thanks to the excellent performance today three of the four longest railway tunnels in the world are equipped with the LVT system.

2.

Technical description

The LVT-System consists of reinforced concrete blocks that are separated from the concrete slab by a rubber boot specially developed for this purpose. This boot contains a resilient block pad below the concrete block.

Individual concrete block

Resilient block pad

Rubber boot

This elastic support of the concrete block by means of a pad, which is individually designed for each project, allows improved load distribution. Regardless of the type of fastening system mounted, an elastic rail pad is used as this is decisive for one of the characteristics of this system the dual-level elasticity.

3/10

LOW VIBRATION TRACK SYSTEM (LVT) System description

Doc. no: Rev. date:

DPD079.GN January 2011

LVT standard

Longitudinal and cross section

LVT high attenuation (HA)

The LVT HA modification was developed to fulfil the high requirements with regard to vibration attenuation in urban centres. Due to its wider block (additional mass) as well as its softer pad, this system has a lower natural frequency. It therefore bridges the gap between the LVT standard and a floating slab. With a view to reducing the application of an expensive floating slab to a minimum and maintaining constant rail track rigidity for the entire project, LVT HA can replace floating slabs in a certain frequency range.

LVT standard

LVT HA

4/10

LOW VIBRATION TRACK SYSTEM (LVT) System description

Doc. no: Rev. date:

DPD079.GN January 2011

Low profile (LP) for LVT standard and LVT HA

Depending on the conditions on site, LVT standard or LVT HA supports with a lower profile can be used.

For normal profile LVT standard and LVT HA, the minimum distance from the bottom edge of the rail foot (with a 10 mm [0.4 in] rail pad) to the top edge of the 1st stage concrete is 280 mm (~ 11 in).

For the low profile variant for LVT standard and LVT HA, the cross-section can be reduced by 40 mm (1.5 in). The minimum distance from the bottom edge of the rail foot (with a 10 mm [0.4 in] rail pad) to the top edge of the 1st stage concrete is 240 mm (9.5 in).

LVT for switches and crossings (S & C)

To achieve homogenous behaviour on the entire track, the LVT S & C system was developed with elastically mounted single blocks. Any turnout or crossing geometry can be reproduced with a combination of only five different blocks. The exact S & C layout with proper placement of the blocks is created in close collaboration with the special trackwork manufacturer.

Double crossover at East London Line

5/10

LOW VIBRATION TRACK SYSTEM (LVT) System description

Doc. no: Rev. date:

DPD079.GN January 2011

Fastening system
The LVT system can be set up with all customary fastening systems. It must be kept in mind that a rail pad of cdyn = 150 kN/mm (856.5 kips/in) is required to achieve the desired two-stage elasticity.

3.

Installation

The "Top-down installation procedure guarantees excellent track geometry by placing the track (with the pre-mounted LVT supports) in its end position prior to pouring concrete. Installation and production tolerances for individual blocks are therefore not critical.

Rhomberg Bahntechnik AGs installation procedure

Installation procedure using installation bars

6/10

LOW VIBRATION TRACK SYSTEM (LVT) System description

Doc. no: Rev. date:

DPD079.GN January 2011

4.

Drainage

Efficient surface drainage can be installed depending on the slope of the slab or specific ground conditions in the middle or along the side. Drainage gutters can also be installed in the turnout area up to the turnout's interior.

St. Louis open-air station, USA

Hong Kong, China

5.

Transition zones

LVT standard ballasted track

Transition zones from the slab track to the ballasted track are designed specifically for each project respectively. The transition can be designed using a variety of approaches to this issue, such as varying distances between supports, adjustments of block pad rigidity, ballast mats, ballast bonding, additional mounted rails, etc. The suitable procedure is selected in close collaboration with the customer and according to country-specific regulations. Depending on the project, combinations of various solution variants can also get a chance.

LVT standard LVT HA

To ensure a fluid transition of deflection from the LVT standard to the LVT HA system, the distances between supporting points can be modified, and the rigidity of the pads can be adjusted in a stepwise manner.

7/10

LOW VIBRATION TRACK SYSTEM (LVT) System description

Doc. no: Rev. date:

DPD079.GN January 2011

6.

Homologations

The LVT-System has homologations in the following countries: Germany Federal Railway Authority (EBA) Switzerland Federal Railway Authority (BAV) It has been tested according to: EN 13481-5 und -6 EN 13230

7.

System behaviour during use

The LVT-System has been used in Switzerland for more than 15 years without any maintenance required. The precursor system had been installed in the Bzberg tunnel (Switzerland) as one of the first slab track systems in the world and can thus show close to 50 years of maintenance-free use. The SBB considers its experiences with the LVT-System to be very positive. Even outdoors, the LVT-System displays very good performance when subjected to various environmental influences. A variety of letters of reference can be obtained on request.

Copenhagen Metro, Denmark

Porto Alegre, Brazil

8/10

LOW VIBRATION TRACK SYSTEM (LVT) System description

Doc. no: Rev. date:

DPD079.GN January 2011

8.

References

The LVT-System is being used on more than 900 km (560 mi) of track throughout the world and references are available regarding its performance in tunnels, at grade, and on bridges. The list of references, which is available on demand, contains both metro lines as well as lines that are used with an increased axle load of 36 t (39.7 US t; Pueblo, CO High Tonnage Loop). For this purpose, the system is adapted to the operator's requirements by utilising a variety of pads. Apart from the Eurotunnel, at 120 million GT (132 million US GT) per year the busiest tunnel in Europe, the LVT-System can produce even further important references, all over the world: In addition to the projects in tunnels and at grade the system is installed successfully on bridges and viaducts especially in Asia (Honk Kong), Brazil (Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro) and England (London). In Switzerland the Ltschberg base tunnel (max. speed permitted 250 km/h [155 mph]) was equipped with LVT. The installation of the LVT-System in the Gotthard base tunnel (which is worldwide the longest railway tunnel) has started in 2010.

9/10

LOW VIBRATION TRACK SYSTEM (LVT) System description

Doc. no: Rev. date:

DPD079.GN January 2011

9.

Stages of development

The origins of LVT can be traced to the twin-block concrete sleepers developed in the 40s by Roger Sonneville for ballasted track. Then in the 60s, a twin block sleeper with tie-bar was developed for ballastless track.

Rubber boot depth = 100 mm (3.9 in)

Twin block sleeper with tie-bar

The tie-bars, which interfered in many projects, were therefore removed in a subsequent development step and resulted in the development of the single block system LVT. By dispensing with the tie-bar, it was possible to increase the rubber boot depth and therefore also the embedment of the support by more than 50 %. This has positive effects on the track geometry and the behaviour of the track.

Rubber boot depth = 153 mm (6 in)

Single block system LVT

Furthermore, leaving out the tie-bar effects improved behaviour for electrical insulation and simplifies track cleaning. In addition, the track centre can be used as an escape route.

10/10

LOW VIBRATION TRACK SYSTEM (LVT) System description