The use of a bespoke bracket design helped solve an installation issue when our ARCOSYSTEM® cable containment system was clamped to a bridge in Germany.
The project was on the line running from the Garmisch Partenkirchen ski resort in southern Germany to the village of Griesen near the Austrian border. The ARCOSYSTEM® composite troughing was attached to several bridges along the route, but one bridge in Griesen required a design solution.
It was a steel girder bridge, and engineers are often reluctant to drill into the steel girder as it risks damaging the bridge. The installation team therefore decided to clamp special outhanging brackets from the front of the bridge for the troughing to attach to, ensuring the engineers didn’t need to drill. The bracket fittings and how they support the ARCOSYSTEM® troughing can be seen in the five images below:
ARCOSYSTEM® houses railway power, signal, high-voltage and digital communication cables, accommodating loads of up to 90kg/m. Manufactured from pultruded glass fibre-reinforced polymers (GRP/FRP), it sturdy construction offers long-term durability in all weathers and environments, providing a working temperature range of -40˚C to +80˚C. Its composite design also means it is lightweight, allowing enhanced flexibility when installing the system along a challenging route, especially in tight locations where lineside access can be difficult.
As well as bridges, ARCOSYSTEM® can be attached to other trackside furniture such as railings, noise barriers, HEA beams, rock walls and hillside slopes, or it can be post-mounted at six-metre centres.
The troughing comes in different cell sizes to suit a range of job requirements, while various designs of complementary steel bracketry — as seen in this case — are available to ensure a seamless fit.
Contact our technical experts at CCS for more information. ARCOSYSTEM® is manufactured by our Swiss partners Castioni Kabelführungssysteme GmbH, while the UK rail stockist for the product is Scott Parnell.
Further pictures of the Garmisch Partenkirchen to Griesen line installation of ARCOSYSTEM® can be viewed below:
This article was originally published by Complete Composite Systems.