|
|
Article: A new spin on cleaning subway insulators--cleaner is greener.(Maintenance Matters)
- Article from:
- Mass Transit
- Article date:
- November 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Cygnus Business Media. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Dirt on third rail insulators can cause serious problems, including electrical arcing, smoke and fires and system shutdown. Rail rapid transit systems have tens of thousands of insulators in a variety of shapes, materials and sizes. The most common materials include fiberglass and ceramic. If the insulator is made of fiberglass, it can burn. Although ceramic insulators do not burn, they become very hot and may cause a wood-supporting tie to catch fire. At the point of failure, the outer surfaces of ceramic insulators become extremely hot instantaneously, reaching thousands of degrees in temperature while the rest of the body is just warm. On rare occasions ceramic ...