THE MOST IMPORTANT ADVANTAGES OF VALTHERMO® The VALTHERMO® contact wire has been used by the Deutsche Bahn network as an alternative to other materials since 2014 and since then many other railway operators have begun using it commercially. The VALTHERMO® has two major advantages compared to Cu ETP contact wire:
» its service life expectancy is more than twice as long » around 1:3 to 1:2 lower creep strain THAT MEANS:
» »
A saving of one or a number of contact wire replacements over the system‘s life. T he cost of adjusting the initial contact wire installations is reduced, or even avoided altogether. VALTHERMO® exhibits exactly the same creep strain as CuAg0,1. The adjustment cost savings mean that VALTHERMO® pays for itself in the very first year. The remaining installation characteristics are the same as for Cu-ETP and CuAg0,1. A survey conducted in April 2017 on the installation properties of VALTHERMO® contact wires confirms that in practice application is comparable to Cu-ETP and has a slight edge over Cu-ETP and CuAg0,1 contact wire.
» Significant economies in term of operating and maintenance.
A Life-Cycle Cost evaluation carried out by Dresden University of Technology using the Net Present Value method, showed that a mainline overhead contact wire system can be operated for more than 70 years without replacement. This economic benefit was also confirmed for local transport by Dresden University of Technology in 2015.
»
CONSIDERABLY LONGER SERVICE LIFE
The longer service life and lower adjustment cost translates into significantly higher contact line system availability.
SOMETIMES INVISIBLE, YET ALWAYS PRESENT Cu ETP CuAg0.1 VALTHERMO®
LOWER CREEP STRAIN BY A FACTOR OF 1:3 TO 1:2
» VALTHERMO® contact wires are mechanically (tensile strength, hardness,
modulus of elasticity, torsional characteristics, coefficient of expansion etc.) and electrically (conductivity, thermal coefficient of electrical resistance) fully compatible with Cu-ETP and CuAg0.1-contact wires. The clamps and other accessories used for Cu-ETP and CuAg0.1 can also be used unchanged for VALTHERMO®
» VALTHERMO® contact wires comply with EN 50149.
Furthermore, Deutsche Bahn has evaluated the field test, technically approved VALTHERMO® and adopted it into the Ebs-Zeichnungswerk (set of standard drawings for German railways).
Cu ETP CuAg0.1 VALTHERMO®
Elcowire Rail GmbH Lichtlöcherberg 40 D-06333 Hettstedt, Germany elcowire.com
VALTHERMO
®
CONTACT WIRES AND STRANDED CONDUCTORS
THE ECONOMIC ALTERNATIVE
”
TO CU- AND CUAG OVERHEAD CATENARY SYSTEMS
°
VALTHERMO® is an innovative material from Elcowire Rail. Copper and copper-silver contact wires as well as stranded conductors can now be replaced by the VALTHERMO® economic alternative.
The sustainable solution for our environment.
”
The permissible constant temperature of 80 °C for Cu-ETP can be increased to a minimum of 100 °C in the case of VALTHERMO®, just as it can be done in the case of CuAg0,1 without any thermal softening.
Compared with copper contact wires, VALTHERMO® provides higher wear resistance, higher thermal resistance and lower creep strain while achieving the same high level of conductivity as copper and copper-silver contact wires.
Its heat resistance to thermal pressure, and to localised overheating in particular (e.g. with a stationary pantograph) is significantly higher than it is for Cu-ETP.
A WIDE RANGE OF APPLICATION AREAS FOR VALTHERMO®
IN LINE WITH YOUR SUSTAINABILITY GOALS: LASTS LONGER AND SAVES RESOURCES
VALTHERMO® is used as a cost efficient alternative to CuAg0,1 and Cu-ETP while fully complying with EN 50149. Field test results show that VALTHERMO®contact wire has a longer life expectancy compared to both Cu-ETP and CuAg0,1, when used either with alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC).
In the long term, other products made of VALTHERMO® such as messenger wire, are also the preferred economic alternative when compared to copper or copper-silver cables, because of their high thermal resistance and lower creep strain.
VALTHERMO®contact wire is a sustainable product: Based on the produciton volume to date (2019) we have saved around 120.000 tonnes CO2 emissions1) . This is the same as the average annual consumption of a small European town of around 14.000 people.2)
VALTHERMO®-CONTACT WIRE: IN COMMERCIAL USE SINCE 2012
» Order volume of over 2.200 tonnes - 80 customers in 10 countries » Direct- and alternating current » Local and mainline traffic, used in trolley buses » Agreements on (long-term) framework contracts, projects, maintenance requirements. VALTHERMO® has already been used successfully in railway electrification: Deutsche Bahn, ÖBB Infrastruktur and SBB Infrastruktur, as well as many other rail operators in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and other countries, recognised our benefits and choose VALTHERMO®.
Saving on contact wire changes and reduced wear conserves resources thanks to lower Cu- and energy-consumption and Cu input into the environment.
CANADA
FINLAND ESTONIA
Due to more stringent requirements on contact line system availability and power transmission capability, replacing copper contact wires (Cu-ETP) with VALTHERMO® is also strongly recommended.
In comparison to Cu-ETP contact wire. Over the total lifetime of 70 years considerable CO2 savings have been achieved due to wearrelated lower cross-section of the contact wire, which as a result reduces losses in electricity. (Projection data sources: Study of TU Technical Univeresity Dresden, Professorship chair for Electrical Railways and Professorship chair ® for Traffic Ecology; Calculation of CO2, emission balance when using new Valthermo contact wire materials (27.07.2018).) 1)
GERMANY
CZECH
FRANCE BOLIVIA SWITZERLAND
AUSTRIA
Annual tonnage of CO2 equivalent per capita in the European Union (28) was 8.4 tonnes in 2016. (Source: European Environment Agency (EEA), EEA greenhouse gas-data viewer http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/data-viewers/greenhouse-gases-viewer (04.08.2018).) 2)
AUSTRALIA
In the last four years, VALTHERMO® has been used in the following projects: » GZU Freight train bypass of St. Pölten in Lower Austria on the western line of ÖBB Infrastruktur » SBB-PROJEKT FFWF - Contact wire renewal Frauenfeld- Weinfelden » Alp-Transit-Gotthard AG used in Ceneri- base tunnel Use in conductor bars » Elektrification of the “Südbahn Ulm-Friedrichshafen Lindau“ under construction » New line Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe AG from Radebeul-West to Weinböhla / using Valthermo contact wire AC-100 mm2 and Valthermo-Stranded conductors 150 mm2 -37x2,25 mm » Tallina Linnatranspordi AS, expansion of the largest tram network in Estonia » VALTHERMO® 177.3 mm2 in accordance to ASTM for the light rail in Edmonton / Alberta, Canada » Various uses in France in Grenoble local transport network, Strasbourg, Saint-Etienne and Lyon » Australia - Canberra Light Rail » Construction of a new high-tech tram network in the up-and-coming Bolivian metropolis of Cochabamba
PREVIOUS MILESTONES SEPTEMBER 2012
PROFILE/NOMINAL CONSTR.CROSS SECTION MM/MM2
TENSILE STRENGTH
MIN. BREAKING LOAD
N/MM2
KN
BREAKING ELONGATION %
AC 80
≥ 375
≥ 29.1
3–8
AC 100
≥ 375
≥ 36.4
AC 107
≥ 360
AC 120
1)
% IACS
ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY M/(Ω X MM²)
≤ 1.777
≥ 97
≥ 56.3
≤ 0.229
5
≥6
710
≥ 300
3–8
≤ 1.777
≥ 97
≥ 56.3
≤ 0.183
5
≥6
890
≥ 300
≥ 37.4
3–8
≤ 1.777
≥ 97
≥ 56.3
≤ 0.171
5
≥6
952
≥ 300
≥ 360
≥ 41.9
3–8
≤ 1.777
≥ 97
≥ 56.3
≤ 0.153
5
≥6
1070
≥ 300
BC 100
≥ 375
≥ 36.4
3–8
≤ 1.777
≥ 97
≥ 56.3
≤ 0.183
5
≥6
890
≥ 300
BC 107
≥ 360
≥ 37.4
3–7
≤ 1.777
≥ 97
≥ 56.3
≤ 0.171
5
≥6
952
≥ 300
BC 120
≥ 360
≥ 41.9
3–8
≤ 1.777
≥ 97
≥ 56.3
≤ 0.153
5
≥6
1070
≥ 300
CF 100
≥ 375
≥ 36.75
2,5 – 7
≤ 1.777
≥ 97
≥ 56.3
≤ 0.183
≥5
≥6
889
≥ 300
CF 120
≥ 370
≥ 43.5
2,5 – 7
≤ 1.777
≥ 97
≥ 56.3
≤ 0.153
≥5
≥6
1067
≥ 300
BC 150
≥ 360
≥ 52.4
3–8
≤ 1.777
≥ 97
≥ 56.3
≤ 0.122
5
≥6
1333
≥ 300
19x2.52 95
≥ 460 1)
≥ 41.0
≥ 96
≥ 55.7
≤ 0.19
5
≥6
859
≥ 250
) Single strand (prior to stranding)
ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY 10 –8 Ω X M
ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE Ω/KM
TORSION
BENDING TEST
WEIGHT
HALF-HARD POINT
KG/KM
°C
Field testing in the DB Netz area (VALTHERMO® compared with Cu, CuAg0,1 und CuMg0,2)
AB JANUAR 2013
DECEMBER 2016 Included in the ÖBB framework agreement
JULI 2017 Semitag (Grenoble) is switching over from Cu-ETP to
Component compatibility testing (system-specific)
VALTHERMO®
MAI 2014
JULI/AUGUST 2017
First comparative wear measurement as part of field testing
AUGUST 2014: Approval by DB Netz, inclusion in the Deutsche Bahn EbsZeichnungswerk
JANUAR 2015 1st Deutsche Bahn project delivery
SEPTEMBER 2016 VALTHERMO® considered for the Deutsche Bahn Innovation Award (VALTHERMO® positioned in the top 10 innovations)
First installation of 95 mm2 VALTHERMO®messenger wire in Switzerland
NOVEMBER 2017 Major product changeover at SBB Infrastruktur to VALTHERMO®
2018 Infrabel in Belgien and SNCF France are planning field trials
JUNI 2019 First installation of VALTHERMO®stranded conductors 150 mm2 -37x2,25 mm in direct current application at Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe AG