Trains and railways

REQUIREMENTS

For maintenance and repair, typically heat exchangers, brakes, compressors, etc. must be cleaned under the trains and railways or under the wagons.

PREVIOUS TECHNIQUE

For cleaning trains and trams, usually high-pressure cleaners are used. This regularly causes the following problems:

• High water consumption;
• Splash effects and damage: the water is distributed all around;
• One stands at an angle to the traction unit, i.e. one does not fully reach the heat exchangers, for example;
• Certain parts such as heat exchangers can be bent or even irreparably destroyed by high pressure.

OUR SOLUTION

With the low-pressure hot cleaning process, greasy and oily parts - here the trailer couplings of the wagons of the Paris Metro - are cleaned with medium at up to 95°C and low pressure (up to 7.5 or up to 14 bar).

For this purpose, the couplings were cleaned in the pit with our alkaline cleaner B1200 while mounted on the wagon. The very cramped conditions and the necessity to collect the cleaning liquid with the help of a special 1000 KW collector did not make the task easy. Nonetheless, after the first cleaning from the outside, almost all grease and dirt was removed.

In a second step, the lubrication nipples on the couplings were removed and prepared for the ph-cleantec spray gun by means of a previously made adapter. In this way, the coupling pin could be rinsed from the inside with our B1200 cleaner (3% dilution) and hot water. This pushed most of the dirt and grease out of the coupling from the inside.

With the coupling cleaned from the inside, it was possible to check whether and where the fresh grease escaped during lubrication. Without this possibility, the complete towing device had to be dismantled, which meant an effort of approx. 8 - 9 hours of assembly per wagon.

Thus, low-pressure hot cleaning offered the ideal solution here:

• Excellent cleaning quality, as even interior spaces that could not be reached by hand could be ideally cleaned and rinsed out at 95°C.
• Thanks to the adapter, very good results even in areas that are otherwise inaccessible, here the inside of the coupling pins.
• Work in and around the pit is possible without any problems.
• Due to the mobility of the equipment, work can be done directly on the respective wagon or coupling; no transport of the wagon to separate washrooms, thus no travelling time.
• All in all, huge savings in working time and much more efficient work.
• No damage to sensitive parts due to low pressure of 3 - 7.5 bar.
• Minimum water consumption: Only 1.8 litres/minute (7.5 bar) or 2.8 litres/minute (14 bar).
• Adding a maximum of 1 - 3% alkaline cleaner B1200 means minimal amounts of chemicals at 1.8 or 2.8 litres/minute, i.e. low costs and minimal environmental impact.
• Low investment, low operating costs.

YOUR ADVANTAGES

• Efficiency/quality: Very substantial time savings, at the same time thorough cleaning results:
  • High temperature and sufficient pressure enable fast and complete cleaning in a minimum of time, especially of oily and greasy contamination.
  • Thanks to various lances and nozzles, efficient cleaning even of areas that are difficult to access, here the inner areas of the coupling pins.
  • No damage to sensitive parts.
• Optimum accessibility, hardly any space requirement: Devices and collectors are mobile and self-sufficient, so cleaning is possible directly on the wagon. No separate washrooms required, and no transport to separate washrooms.
• Minimal splash-back effects, no clouds of droplets, no aerosols, thus ideal in workshops or depots.
• Cleaning medium: Hot water without chemicals, or with minimum addition of chemicals (1-3%). Therefore minimal costs for procurement and disposal. Also, used medium can be recycled multiple times, thus reducing costs even further.
• Considerably more pleasant, faster and more efficient work than by hand, with a cold wash table or similar.
• Occupational safety and environmental protection: No or minimal chemicals means improved environmental compatibility, high occupational safety and significantly lower costs.
• In summary: Low investment, minimal space requirement, hardly any operating costs, but high efficiency and quality as well as enormous time savings.