Doc No: DPD079.GN

Revision: June-09

© 2009

This document has copyright, which is owned by Sonneville International Corporation (SIC) and may not be reproduced,

in whole, in part, or in any form whatsoever without prior written authority from SIC. This document has been submitted

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LOW VIBRATION TRACK (LVT)

System description

SONNEVILLE INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION

8109 Tis Well Drive, Suite 513

Alexandria, VA 22306, USA

Tel. +1 703 619 1530

Fax +1 703 619 1534

E-mail mail@sonneville.com

www.sonneville.com

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Contents

1. General information

2. Technical description

3. Installation

4. Drainage

5. Transition zones

6. Homologations

7. System behaviour during use

8. References

9. Stages of development

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1. General information

TRIBETON®, the trademark for railway products by CREABETON MATERIAUX AG, has been the

licensee of the twin-block sleeper system by Roger Sonneville for Switzerland since 1953 and

since its further development also for the single-block system for use in the slab track by Bernard

Sonneville. Thanks to the successful and close collaboration with Sonneville International

Corporation, TRIBETON® is marketing the single-block system known as Low Vibration Track

(LVT) in Europe.

2. Technical description

The LVT-system consists of reinforced concrete blocks that are separated from the concrete slab

by a rubber boot specially developed for this purpose. This boot contains an resilient block pad

below the concrete block.

Individual concrete block

Resilient block pad

Rubber boot

This elastic support of the concrete block by means of a pad, which is individually designed for

each project, allows improved load distribution. Regardless of the type of fastening system used,

an elastic rail pad is used as this is decisive for one of the characteristics of this system - two-

stage elasticity.

LVT Standard

Longitudinal and cross section

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LVT High Attenuation (HA)

The LVT HA modification was developed to fulfil the high requirements with regard to vibration

attenuation in urban centres.

Due to its wider block (additional mass) as well as its softer pad, this system has a lower natural

frequency. It therefore bridges the gap between the LVT Standard and a floating slab.

With a view to reducing the application of an expensive floating slab to a minimum and

maintaining constant rail track rigidity for the entire project, LVT HA can replace floating slabs in

a certain frequency range.

LVT Standard LVT HA

Low Profile (LP) for LVT Standard and LVT HA

Depending on the conditions on site, LVT Standard or LVT HA supports with a lower profile can

be used.

280 mm

50 mm

For normal profile LVT Standard and LVT HA, the minimum distance from the bottom edge

of the rail foot (with a 10 mm rail pad) to the top edge of the 1st stage concrete is 280 mm.

240 mm

50 mm

For the low profile variant for LVT Standard and LVT HA, the cross-section can be reduced by

40 mm. The minimum distance from the bottom edge of the rail foot (with a 10 mm rail pad) to

the top edge of the 1st stage concrete is 240 mm.

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LVT for switches and crossings (S&C)

To achieve homogenous behaviour on the

entire track, the LVT S&C system was

developed with elastically mounted single

blocks. Any turnout or crossing geometry can

be reproduced with a combination of only five

different blocks. The exact S&C layout with

proper placement of the blocks is created in

close collaboration with the special trackwork

manufacturer.

Double crossover in Hong Kong, China

Fastening system

The LVT system can be set up with all customary fastening systems. It must be kept in mind that

a rail pad of cdyn = 150 kN/mm is required to achieve the desired two-stage elasticity.

3. Installation

"Top-down“ installation procedure guarantees excellent track geometry by placing the track

(with the pre-mounted LVT blocks) in its end position prior to embedding it in concrete.

Installation and production tolerances for individual blocks are therefore not critical.

Rhomberg Bahntechnik AG’s installation procedure Installation procedure using iron horses

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4. Drainage

Efficient surface drainage can be installed depending on the slope of the slab or specific

ground conditions in the middle or along the side. Drainage gutters can also be installed in

the turnout area up to the turnout's interior.

St. Louis open-air station, USA

5. Transition zones

LVT Standard – ballasted track

Transition zones from the slab track to the ballasted track are designed specifically for each

project respectively. The transition can be designed using a variety of approaches to the

problem, such as varying distances between support points, adjustments of block pad rigidity,

ballast mats, ballast bonding, additional mounted rails, etc.

The suitable procedure is selected in close collaboration with the customer and according to

country-specific regulations. Depending on the project, combinations of various solution variants

can also get a chance.

LVT Standard – LVT HA

To ensure a fluid transition of deflection from the LVT Standard to the LVT HA system, the

distances between supporting points can be modified, and the rigidity of the pads can be

adjusted in a stepwise manner.

6. Homologations

The LVT-system is registered in the following countries:

- Germany Federal Railway Authority (EBA)

- Switzerland Federal Railway Authority (BAV)

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7. System behaviour during use

The LVT-system has been used in Switzerland for more than 15 years without any maintenance

required. The precursor system had been installed in the Bözberg tunnel (Switzerland) as one of

the first slab track systems in the world and can thus show more than 40 years of maintenance-

free use. The SBB considers its experiences with the LVT-system to be very positive.

Even outdoors, the LVT-system displays very good performance when subjected to various

environmental influences. A variety of letters of reference can be obtained on request.

Copenhagen Metro, Denmark Porto Alegre, Brazil

8. References

The LVT-system is being used on more than 730 km of track throughout the world and

references are available regarding its performance in tunnels, at grade, and on bridges.

The list of references, which is available on demand, contains both metro lines as well as lines

that are used with an increased axle load of 36 tons (Pueblo, CO High Tonnage Loop). For this

purpose, the system is adapted to the operator's requirements by utilising a variety of pads.

Apart from the Eurotunnel, at 120 million gross tons per year the busiest tunnel in Europe, the

LVT-system can produce even further important references, all over the world: In addition to the

projects in tunnels and at grade the system is installed successfully on bridges and viaducts

especially in Asia (Honk Kong), Brazil (Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro) and England (London).

In Switzerland the Lötschberg base tunnel (max. speed permitted 250 km/h) was equipped with

LVT. The start of installation of the LVT-system in the Gotthard base tunnel (which is worldwide

the longest railway tunnel) is scheduled for 2010.

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Rubber boot depth = 100 mm

Rubber boot depth = 153 mm

9. Stages of development

The origins of LVT can be traced to the twin-block concrete sleepers developed in the 40s by

Roger Sonneville for ballasted track. Then in the 60s, a twin block sleeper with tie-bar was

developed for the ballast less track.

Twin block sleeper with tie-bar

The tie-bars would interfere in many projects and was therefore removed in a subsequent

development step which resulted in the development of the single block system LVT. By

dispensing with the tie-bar, it was possible to increase the rubber boot depth and therefore also

the embedment of the block by more than 50 %. This has positive effects on the track geometry

and the behaviour of the track.

Single block system LVT

Furthermore, leaving out the tie-bar effects improved behaviour for electrical insulation and

simplifies track cleaning. In addition, the track centre can be used as an escape route.