Rail Anchor Bolt Assembly with Elastomeric Shear Buffer
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing anchor-bolt assemblies for rail-transport applications fail to provide the necessary elastic response to accommodate both vertical and horizontal movements of rail plates while preventing over-deflection and maintaining track gauge, particularly under the dynamic loads of passing trains.
Innovation Solution
An anchor-bolt assembly featuring a resilient anchor bolt with an elastomeric buffer sheet between the rail plate and the base, an inner ring pressing against the base, and an outer ring bearing on the rail plate, with frustoconical surfaces to control vertical and horizontal displacements, ensuring minimal resistance to vertical movement and significant resistance to horizontal movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid anchor-bolt assembly is used to secure the rail plate to the base, then the structural strength is improved, but the ability to accommodate vertical and horizontal movements is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state and mechanical properties of the buffer material from rigid to elastomeric, enabling the assembly to deform elastically under load. This allows the structure to maintain strength while accommodating vertical and horizontal movements of the rail plate relative to the base.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchor-bolt assembly combines multiple materials with different properties: a rigid anchor bolt for structural strength, an elastomeric buffer for flexibility and movement accommodation, and a resilient nut for additional compliance. This composite structure resolves the contradiction between strength and adaptability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the anchor bolt is rigidly fixed to prevent horizontal movement, then track gauge stability is improved, but the ability to yield horizontally under dynamic loads is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The elastomeric buffer's material properties are selected to provide high horizontal stiffness to maintain track gauge while allowing controlled deformation under dynamic train loads. The parameter optimization enables simultaneous achievement of stability and controlled flexibility.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the buffer material is made highly resilient to allow vertical movement, then the ability to accommodate train passage is improved, but the control over vertical displacement is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The elastomeric buffer's durometer, thickness, and geometry are optimized to provide the precise balance between vertical compliance and displacement control required. The material parameters are selected so the buffer yields under train loads while preventing excessive deflection and bottoming of the rail plate.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The assembly allows controlled vertical displacement and limited horizontal movement, maintaining track stability and reducing the risk of over-deflection, while being more economical and easier to install compared to conventional designs.
Implementation Method 1
vertical displacement of the outer ring relative to the inner ring is resisted mainly as shear in the elastomeric body
Implementation Method 2
An annular elastomeric body between the inner and outer rings is bonded to the respective outer and inner surfaces thereof so that vertical displacement of the outer ring relative to the inner ring is resisted mainly as shear in the elastomeric body
Implementation Method 3
The inner and outer surfaces of the outer and inner rings are generally frustoconical and flare axially downward. Such a tapered formation ensures an increasing resistance to horizontal displacement of the outer ring
Data Source
AI summary
A rail-carrying plate lies on an upper surface of a base. An anchor-bolt assembly has an elastomeric buffer sheet between the rail plate and the base upper surface and a bolt set in the anchor sleeve passing through the rail plate. An inner ring surrounds the bolt, bears directly on the base surface, is pressed downward by the bolt against the base surface, has an annular outwardly directed outer surface. An outer ring is transfixed by the bolt, has an annular inner surface spaced outward from the inner-ring outer surface, and bears upward on the rail plate. An annular elastomeric body between the inner and outer rings is bonded to the respective outer and inner surfaces thereof so that vertical displacement of the outer ring relative to the inner ring tends to self-center the two rings.