Some years ago, we were approached by the Indian Railways as part of the Make in India initiative. As an RDSO approved manufacturer of PTFE bearings, our name had come up as a potential vendor for the indigenisation of a high value imported insulation assembly.

We were asked to visit Kuppam Railway Station (about three hours from Bangalore) and meet with technical personnel. There, we were shown an inconspicuous looking installation, perched far above within the high-tension electrical cables that supply the trains with power. A spare assembly was shown to us at ground level, and we were asked whether we could manufacture the same thing in India.

The short neutral section, as it is known, serves a very important purpose in ensuring that power is delivered to the trains without disruption. Power to overhead electrical lines are provided by substations. These substations are often located at intervals of about 100Km along railway lines. It is also likely that their phases are different and hence essential that their currents are kept insulated from each other. Short neutral sections are insulating members that connect the lines between two sub-stations. The pantographs feeding off the overhead wires for current will pass over the neutral section in order to switch from one substation’s power to the next.

The short neutral section – or SNS – is comprised of 4 different insulating elements made with PTFE based compounds. These are mounted on insulating rods and supported mechanically with copper conductors and stainless-steel fasteners. 

The assembly is required to be mechanically strong (the tension in the overhead wires can be significant), electrically resistant, and capable of taking high wear loads, as the pantographs will repeatedly rub over the PTFE elements, causing a gradual wearing off. As a result, the PTFE elements need to be rotated once in every 2-3 months and have a life of only about 15-18 months in total. 
The issue the railways was facing was the following:

1. The SNS assemblies were being imported from Germany at a very high cost

2. The nature of the design meant that once the PTFE insulators wore off, the entire assembly needed to be replaced

3. Maintenance and repairs were expensive

4. With the growing need for electrification, the railways needed a more cost-effective solution for the SNS assemblies

At Poly Fluoro, our experience with large-walled PTFE tubes and with mechanical assemblies meant that we were able to reverse engineer the arrangement. We had already developed thick-walled PTFE tubes for the use in railway pantographs, so this was an extension of an already successful project for us. However, while our existing tubes were only being used for pneumatic and electrical applications, the SNS would also experience significant mechanical loads. 

Care needed to be taken to ensure that we were replicating the original material with PTFE compounds of equal or better performance. We extruded 7-8 different formulations of PTFE until we found one that worked best.

One of the other key elements was the crimping of SS collars to the insulator rods. The assembly would experience tensions in excess of 10 tonnes, so the crimping needed to be strong enough to withstand this over the long term.

Finally, the design was also altered to allow for only the insulators to be replaced. The copper and other steel elements experience nearly no wear and tear during the course of the 18 months, so expecting that the whole assembly should be replaced when the PTFE wore out was needlessly expensive. With a new coupling arrangement, railway maintenance could replace only the PTFE elements, leading to a lower down time and far lower costs.

Even after construction, the SNS assembly needs to go through significant rounds of testing at CPRI before it is ready for field action. Poly Fluoro extensively tests its materials in house, so that the risk of any failure either on the field or in a third-party lab is minimal.

Using only the finest quality resins and state-of-the-art processing equipment and techniques, Poly Fluoro is on its way to be an integral part of the Make in India initiative, as well as India’s own growth and development story.

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1. Case Study - Expanded PTFE (ePTFE) Tubing

2. Case Study - Cross Directional Expanded PTFE Gasket Tape

As mechanical technologies continue to advance, there is an increasing need to push for higher speeds, loads, and outputs. The result is that moving parts within an equipment are not only subjected to more wear and tear, but the nature of the system’s construction calls for components that can operate for years without the need for external maintenance.

To keep up with these requirements, engineering polymers have also continued to advance in performance. Existing polymers have benefitted from an increased understanding on how to blend them with other materials to enhance their properties. At the same time, new polymers have entered the market, having hitherto been either in a purely development stage or else being manufactured at such low scales that there was no commercial viability to mass usage.

While a truly comprehensive list of all the polymers used in seals, valves, and seats would require a much longer write-up, the most popular polymers and their benefits are given below:

1. PTFE

The preference of PTFE as a sealing material is well known. Items such as seals, ball-valve seats, and sealing tapes are manufactured using PTFE. The material exhibits certain key properties that make it invaluable in sealing applications. PTFE has the lowest coefficient of friction among any commercially available materials. Against polished stainless steel, PTFE exhibits a ‘near rolling’ coefficient of as low as 0.03.

In addition to this, the ability of the material to withstand high temperatures and resist very corrosive chemicals makes it both durable and maintenance free.

PTFE can be used both in virgin form or compounded with fillers such as carbon, bronze, and glass to enhance properties for a given application.

Areas of application include:

1. Ball valve seats

2. Valves/conduits for semi-conductor manufacturing

3. Gaskets and gasket tapes (ePTFE)

4. Lip seals and rotary seals

5. Chevron seals (V-packings)

6. Hydraulic and pneumatic seals

7. Bellows and manifolds for pumps

8. PTFE ferrules

9. Sealing guides and strips

10. Spring-energised seals

2. Peek

PEEK is one of the most robust polymers available. It exhibits a tensile strength in excess of 100Mpa and is a hard material that is easily machinable to very close tolerances. Unlike PTFE, which is softer and can be prone to deformation under high loads and temperatures, PEEK has excellent dimensional stability across a huge range of temperatures. As a result, PEEK valves are used in high temperature fluid applications. PEEK is also chemically strong and only succumbs to sulfuric acid.

While PEEK is effective and versatile in its virgin form, the addition of carbon, glass, graphite, and PTFE micropowers can greatly enhance it and add self-lubricating properties to the base material.

Areas of application include:

1. Ball valve seats
2. Valves/conduits for high temperature fluids (eg: coffee machines)
3. Chevron seals (V-packings)
4. Hydraulic and pneumatic sealing rings
5. Pump manifolds
6. Rotary seals
7. PEEK ferrules
8. Spring-energised seals

3. POM/Polyacetal/Delrin

POM is a lightweight, durable polymer that lends itself very easily to machining. The ability to attain close tolerances and high finishes makes this a very popular choice for sealing applications. POM has excellent dimensional stability, but its inability to withstand temperatures above 150°C limits its use to applications where very high temperatures are not present.

Cost-wise POM is far cheaper than both PTFE and PEEK, which makes it preferred in automotive applications and high-volume applications. Further, POM can be both easily machined and easily injection moulded. In applications where volumes are huge, POM can be moulded rather than machined, allowing for superior savings while not compromising on dimensional parameters.

While POM is usually used in its virgin form, the addition of PTFE to this polymer can create a compound with superior lubricity.

Areas of application include:

1. Ball valve seats

2. Valves/conduits for electrical and mechanical applications

3. Chevron seals (V-packings)

4. Hydraulic and pneumatic sealing rings

5. Rotary seals

6. POM ferrules for cable end-fittings

4. Nylons/Polyamides

While nylon is a well know polymer, nylons or polyamides are actually a family of polymer grades, each with its own properties. The common grades of nylon include PA6, PA66, PA11, and PA12. PA6 and PA66 are mechanical grades, exhibiting higher tensile strengths and wear resistance. PA11 is primarily used in coatings while PA12 is used to make extruded tubes and profiles.

For most sealing applications, PA6 and PA66 are commonly used. Nylons are easily machinable and are soft polymers that create very effective seals when under pressure. The material is not prone to cracking, so the sealing is effective over the long term. One disadvantage of nylons is that they have high water absorption, causing the parts to swell. As a result, their use in humid/wet conditions must be limited.

Nylons work especially well when blended with MoS2. The addition of MoS2 greatly enhances both the strength and the wear resistance of the material.

Areas of application include:

1. Hydraulic and pneumatic sealing rings

2. Pump manifolds

3. Nylon bobbins

4. Sealing guides and strips

5. Polyurethane

Among all the polymers, polyurethane is unique in that it behaves most like an elastomer (rubber). The nature of PU is such that the material feels almost elastic and has a lot of ‘bounce back’. Despite this, the polymer machines easily and is among the most widely preferred sealing materials.

Like POM, PU also has a limitation on temperatures and can deform when subjected to very high loads. However, the ability of the material to regain its shape and to create seals against even uneven surfaces makes it a very special sealing material. Further, the option to injection mould PU means that sealing strips and elements can be made in large volumes and at a relatively low price when compared with other polymers

Areas of application include:

1. Hydraulic and pneumatic sealing rings

2. Sealing guides and strips

3. Chevron seals (V-packings)

4. Ball valve seats

5. Spring-energised seals

6. UHMWPE (Ultra-high Molecular Weight Polyethylene)

While UHMWPE is mostly used for its high wear resistance, there exist a few areas where wear must be combined with good seal-ability. Along with high abrasion resistance, UHMWPE is also known for a very low coefficient of friction (second only to PTFE on this list). These characteristics make it an ideal low-cost candidate for low temperature applications where movement is high and there is the need for a soft polymer seal.

UHMWPE is also the lightest polymer in this group, with a specific gravity of only 1. It is extremely useful as a rotary seal material where lubrication is difficult and where high movement requires a material that can withstand the same.

Areas of application include:

1. Rotary seals

2. Sealing elements

3. Sealing strips and guides

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1. High Performance Polymers in Railway Applications

2. Polymer Sealing Solutions – High Performance Seals, Valves, and Seats

3. Polymer Wear Plates - Grade Selection and Key Advantages

The growth of the railways sector has been as pronounced in the developed world as it has been in emerging markets. While emerging markets have focussed on expanding their networks and increasing electrification, developed countries have invested significantly on technological advancements, which offer higher speeds, higher load carrying ability, and a more comfortable ride.

As anyone who is familiar with engineering can guess, these improvements in efficiency often come with the incorporation of new materials such as high-performance polymers. Polymers such as PTFE, Nylon, UHMWPE, and Polyethylene are finding higher levels of penetration in a growing array of applications within the railways space. These applications make use of a myriad of properties including, but not limited to, wear resistance, electrical insulation, coefficient of friction, and compressive strength.

Poly Fluoro – with an already strong portfolio in the polymer space – has had the opportunity to not only engage in the manufacture of such key materials, but to also work on R&D for new areas and reverse engineer existing products to introduce improvements and enhance cost-effectiveness.

Gliding Plates

Also known as skid plates, sliding plates, slide plates, and Gleitplatte (German), these flat plates are used in vibration dampening and to allow for the smooth sliding of metal plates without causing excess heat and/or friction. The plates are made from either PTFE, Nylon, UHMWPE, or HDPE. These polymers all have high self-lubricity and are capable of taking heavy loads without deformation. In the case of PTFE – which tends to be heavier than the other polymers mentioned, but also more robust – the plate can also withstand temperatures of up to 250°C.

Gliding plates have certain features, which are machined into the plates:

1. Oil grooves – to allow for even smoother sliding, the plates have grooves machined into the surface for oil to rest in

2. Dimples – some plates have dimples machined into the surface. This again forms pockets for oil, grease, or any other lubricant to sit within

3. Holes – plates need to be machined with counter sunk holes to allow them to be bolted

4. Flatness – the flatness of the guide plate is essential, as it allows for maximum surface-to-surface mating with the other sliding parts

5. Chemical treatment – mainly for PTFE, the plates may sometimes need to be chemically etched so that they can be bonded to other substrates

Rail guides

Alignment is crucial in the railway industry. Efficient function depends on parts aligning exactly, even over considerably long distances. Components such as guide rails, conduits, and guiding ledges are essential in railways systems. They employ a variety of polymers such as Nylon 6.6 (PA66), Nylon 12 (PA12), POM (both virgin and with glass fillers), and Polypropylene. These can be either machined or injection moulded, or both. Accuracy is paramount, since tight tolerances are needed to ensure that parts stay aligned. The presence of vibration in railway systems means that parts need to be robust enough to withstand mechanical loads, while also being able to accommodate smaller vibrations without cracking.

Rail guides can be used to channel elements such as cables and sliding members. They can also be moulded as conduits or clamps that can be used to hold elements in place.

Pneumatic Tubes for Pantographs

PTFE tubes are challenging to make and there exist only a handful of manufacturers worldwide that can effectively extrude high-quality tubes.

The pantograph is a very vital equipment on all railway systems, as it takes electric current from overhead lines into the train itself. As such, the materials involved need to be both mechanically strong and highly resistance to heavy voltages and currents. PTFE thick-walled tubes are used in these arrangements as they meet both these criteria. Tubes are made using high-purity fine powder resins and are blended with fillers – including pigments – to allow for colour coding.

Thick-walled tubes have service pressures of up to 35Bar, with burst pressures in excess of 100Bar. In addition to this, the high dielectric strength of PTFE allows for breakdown voltages in excess of 50Kv/mm. 

As the demand for electrification increases across the developing world, pantograph demand is expected to skyrocket. High-quality PTFE tubes would be essential to support this demand.

Short Neutral Sections

Power to overhead electrical lines are provided by substations. These substations are often located at intervals of about 100Km along railway lines. It is also likely that their phases are different and hence essential that their currents are kept insulated from each other. Short neutral sections are insulating members that connect the lines between two sub-stations. The pantographs feeding off the overhead wires for current will pass over the neutral section in order to switch from one substation’s power to the next.

The short neutral section – or SNS – is required to be mechanically strong (the tension in the overhead wires can be significant), electrically resistance, and capable of taking high wear loads, as the pantographs will repeatedly rub over this element, causing a gradual wearing off.

PTFE with special wear increasing fillers is used in this application, which also incorporates metal elements, including copper and stainless steel. The importance of this assembly cannot be overstated, as it ensures the smooth supply of current to the railway engine and constantly endures many different forces – including the weather.

Again – PTFE thick-walled tubes are needed in this application. They are challenging to manufacture and go through multiple tests before they can be approved for usage on the field.

Above are only a few applications of high-performance polymers in railway applications. In truth, there are literally hundreds of different products used today that incorporate the unique and long lasting properties of polymer materials.

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1. Polymers in Ventilators

2. Polymers in Fluid Transfer Applications

3. Polymers in Renewables - The Rising Role of High-Performance Plastics in Renewable Energy