Robust, highly accurate, dynamic rail scales with modular weighing software – designed for the dynamic weighing of liquid gas wagons
ESSMANN | Waagen & Automation has expanded the existing track logistics in wagon handling for the Evonik Industries AG Group with a modern track weighing system consisting of two HE-DRS 3M dynamic track scales as a foundationless flat scales system and EWP-GW weighing software for a wide variety of train compositions.
Marl Chemical Park
Customer
The Marl Chemical Park is one of the largest chemical sites in Germany and also Evonik’s largest production site. The site covers an area of more than six square kilometers and provides around 10,000 jobs.
In addition to Evonik, its subsidiaries and affiliates, 17 other companies are located in the Chemical Park. The approximately 100 production facilities are closely linked in terms of materials and energy and are operated around the clock for the most part. More than four million tons of products are shipped from here to the whole world every year – often by rail. The energy requirements of the Marl Chemical Park are covered by the generation of electricity and steam using environmentally friendly combined heat and power generation. Two gas-fired power plants and one coal-fired power plant are operated for this purpose.
The main focus of production at the Marl Chemical Park is the conversion of petrochemical raw materials such as benzene, ethylene, propylene, methanol and phenol into basic, fine and specialty chemicals – from C4 cut to downstream products, from chlorine electrolysis to PVC, from acetylene to tetrahydrofuran, from fatty alcohols and ethylene oxide to surfactants and from acrylic acid to butyl acrylate, to name just a few examples.
We find all of these products in areas of everyday life. Whether wallpaper or paint, shampoo or hygiene products, latex mattresses or pharmaceuticals, components for car manufacturing and fuel additives as well as insulating materials for the construction industry – the product range is diverse. Even yoghurt and margarine cannot do without these powerful chemicals, nor can many sporting goods.
Requirements for wagon weighing
Evonik Industries AG purchased a dynamic rail scale from a competitor many years ago in order to realize the increasing delivery traffic of liquid gas via the track. However, the company was not satisfied with this weighing technology and the scales were eventually decommissioned.
Instead, two static track scales were installed. However, these were no longer able to handle the increased volume of traffic and a dynamic solution was sought to further optimize and modernize handling.
As ESSMANN | Waagen & Automation has already successfully installed dynamic HE-DRS rail scales at other Evonik Industries AG sites, the Marl site also became aware of this and requested the weighing technology, including software implementation in the rail transport system.
For the installation of the dynamic track scales from ESSMANN | Waagen & Automation, the two existing static track scales will be removed and scrapped. The track bed will then be prepared for the installation of the new dynamic scales in accordance with ESSMANN | Waagen & Automation’s specifications.
Technical solution
In joint project planning discussions, the appropriate system from ESSMANN | Waagen & Automation was selected on the basis of the wagon fleet, track plan, required accuracy and software.
The HE-DRS 3M rail vehicle scale is designed for the dynamic weighing (in-motion weighing) of coupled wagons in a train formation and of entire trains or for the static weighing of individual wagons. The system is controlled by a calibratable industrial weighing terminal in a robust stainless steel housing. The user operates/controls the system via a bright TFT color display with alphanumeric keypad. The weighing/delivery bills can be printed out via a connected printer. The scale can be operated remotely via the optional PC system with EWP-GW software.
The weighbridge is made up of weighing modules, with each module operating as an independent scale. Depending on the wagon to be weighed, the modules are automatically interconnected by the system so that each wagon is weighed as a whole. The scale can therefore also be used for weighing liquid goods in standard tank wagons, as both bogies or axles are weighed simultaneously (no load changes between partial weighings!). Depending on the length of the wagons, one or two modules are used for the weighing process.
The system weighs the wagons fully automatically. The weigher does not need to enter any data about the length and number of axles of the wagons before weighing. The scale is suitable for weighing all standard DB Cargo and VTG wagons (2-, 4-, 6- and 8-axle wagons) as well as for most special vehicles.
The HE-DRS rail vehicle scale for dynamic and static weighing of rail vehicles complies with the applicable DIN standards, the regulations of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and the OIML recommendations. ESSMANN | Waagen & Automation has been approved for this purpose by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB).
System details dynamic track scales
The scale is a solid welded steel construction and consists of one or more scale modules arranged one behind the other and bolted together with bridge girders on which the rails are mounted. The bridge girders are supported by load cells on the base frame, which is founded directly on a compacted ballast bed in the track system. No foundations or complex ballast bonding are required, which – compared to other solutions – also reduces the cost of on-site services.
All steel parts are steel blasted, the DIN parts are galvanized, all other parts are painted with a primer and top coat.
The rail superstructure, i.e. the bridge girders, consist of factory-new Vignol rails with a precisely fitting transition to the existing tracks. ESSMANN | Waagen & Automation also supplied the connecting rails, including the required mechanical safety devices and all necessary fastening components.
An EWS is used as a display and input terminal for signal processing. The program sequence is determined by the EWP-GW weighing software for track vehicles installed in the weighing terminal and on the scale PC. The legal-for-trade industrial weighing terminal EWS in a robust stainless steel housing is suitable for harsh industrial or outdoor use. The terminal is designed for demanding weighing tasks and yet is very easy to operate. In addition to the excellent visualization via a colour TFT display, the high processor and measuring speed, the EWS offers completely new possibilities for integration into control systems and/or networks.
Mounting the dynamic track scale
First of all, the track bed or excavation pit must be prepared by a track construction company in accordance with drawings and specifications from ESSMANN | Waagen & Automation. This can be commissioned by the customer or by Essmann. In any case, ESSMANN | Waagen & Automation will accompany and supervise the work to ensure that the scales can measure with the required accuracy at the end.
The three-module track scales are assembled using a crane. The modules are delivered individually on trucks and lifted into the excavation pit by the crane using the crane eyes provided. This solution makes it easy to move the scales to a different location at a later date.
The individual modules are screwed together, aligned and wired after craning.
The control components are installed in a control cabinet housing with a glass door, which also houses the server components for operating the EWP-GW weighing software.
Of course, the scales are also commissioned by service technicians from ESSMANN | Waagen & Automation. The scale modules are interconnected and the dynamic rail scale is fully configured and adjusted.
Calibration of a dynamic track scale
The dynamic rail scales from ESSMANN | Waagen & Automation are calibrated in two stages. First, the scale is calibrated statically. For this purpose, calibrated weights are applied to the rails and the modules and the scale is first adjusted and calibrated like a static track scale. The calibration weights are transported to the location of the track scale by means of a calibration train and not by several trucks with loaded calibration weights. This saves fuel, protects the roads and is better for the environment.
The track scales are then dynamically calibrated. For this purpose, a reference train is weighed on the statically calibrated scales and then dynamically weighed. The dynamically determined weights of the individual wagons may then only deviate from the statically determined weight by a certain value, depending on the accuracy class.
Weighing software
The dynamic track scale is operated via the EWP-GW software package. This makes it easy to record and edit weighing data for any number of clients and plants. With the tools for recording (first and second weighing, gross, tare and net weighing via stored or tare weight), weighing operations can be carried out quickly. First weighings from the train list can be visualized, revised, planned and managed up to the second weighing. The EWP-GW software also contains improved solutions for displaying weighings and creating weighing tickets.
In this case, EWP-GW was equipped with an additional module that enables an interface to the higher-level railroad software. This was implemented in a joint effort between ESSMANN | Waagen & Automation and EVONIK. Wagon data is provided by the EWP-GW software (e.g. wagon sequence with UIC numbers). The weight data is automatically assigned to the corresponding wagons after recording. The weighing result is then transferred back to the higher-level software.
Products in this article
ESSMANN dynamic track scale HE-DRS
