Railway tank and its types

Railways are the main industrial artery of any developed country. It is difficult to imagine modern life without them. Railway transport bribes with its cheapness and the ability to transport massive cargo. Therefore, they found such wide application in the industrial sector, allowing large enterprises to save huge sums.

Railway tank - one of the varieties of rolling stock. It is used mainly to transport petroleum products, acids, alkalis and other aggressive substances, as well as flour, cement, liquefied gas, milk.

Types

There are different types of rail tank cars:

• Tank of general purpose. In such cases, petroleum products are transported most often.
• Tanks are special, designed for the transport of strictly defined cargo.

The rail tank car can be designed for both ordinary, not particularly fastidious liquids, and for those that are under pressure. The container for the transport of liquefied gases and other goods requiring high pressure is called a vessel. When you need to observe certain storage temperatures, you have to use cryogenic types. If necessary, the internal walls of the tank can be protected by a special coating, which prevents corrosion.

General Purpose Tank

Most of the tanks that raid the railways are of general-purpose types. They are much cheaper than their specialized "colleagues" and are ideal for transportation of liquid petroleum products that do not require heating during draining or filling. Usually general-purpose cisterns have the simplest design and are not equipped with sophisticated measuring equipment or other technological innovations.

Special tank

Special species are encountered much less often than conventional ones, and they are needed mainly by organizations that use transported liquids in their production. Such a railway tank can be quite complicated, it can be used for transportation of liquefied gases under pressure, for transportation of acids and alkalis, various toxic and corrosive substances.

Tanks of special purpose are often equipped with complex technical devices, therefore, each is written with a separate instruction manual. It considers the correct discharge of railway tanks, as well as design features, rules for the maintenance and operation of this product.

Constructions

Modern rail tank cars come in a variety of designs, but two main types can be distinguished - with and without frame. Differences in structure do not affect the volume of the railway tank. The construction with the frame differs only in that the load passing through the cars is transmitted along the frame, excluding the tank itself.

The frameless version, on the contrary, allows traction and shock loads to be transmitted through the tank, which plays the role of a frame. If the volume of the railway tank is too large, then it is securely strengthened with steel rings on the outer or inner side.

The design of railway tanks also differs in the number of axles. You can find four-, six-, eight-axis variants. The higher their number, the greater the volume of the product. Also, on the body must necessarily be ladders and manholes for draining the liquid.

Loading

Before loading the liquid, the tank-wagon must undergo appropriate maintenance and preparation for loading. For specialized types of loading procedures, the load can vary significantly, but there are several general rules that apply to most tanks.

First of all, you must wait for the complete stop of the rolling stock, then clean the stairs and hatches from dirt or snow, if any. Then you need to unscrew the pressure relief valve to make sure that there is no pressure in the tank. Then, open and secure the hatch covers securely. After making an inspection of the inside of the tank and remove from there any foreign bodies. Then all structural elements are inspected, all parts and components are checked. Particular attention is paid to the presence of rotary disc gates and bolts, which fix the airdrome to the flanges of cone bunker cones.

When all the necessary procedures are completed, the tanker will start loading. Once it is fully completed, the hatches must be tightly closed and sealed. The last steps are cleaning the outer part of the tank from the cargo parts that have fallen on it.

Draining of liquid

After loading the liquid into the railway tank, accompanying documentation is attached to it and a sealing of the container is made. Upon arrival, it is by the presence of the seal that you can make sure that everything is in order with the cargo. Discharge of oil products or other dangerous liquids should be carried out in special warehouses or access roads. In places of general use, the discharge can only be carried out after coordination with the chief of the railway department and firemen.

It is necessary to remove any dirt or snow from the surface of the tank. After this, it is possible to discharge the cargo. Unloading can be done from three bunkers at once, or from each in turn. In order to avoid problems with pressure, you must constantly monitor the readings of the manometer. After unloading it is necessary to make sure that there are no leftovers in the boiler. If they are, they must be removed. Then it is necessary to seal all hatches and install seals on them, after which the railway tanker is returned to the sender.

The composition may consist solely of cisterns. But sometimes railroad cars are added to them. Tanks after draining the transported liquid from them must be thoroughly washed. The procedure is carried out by machine or manual method. In this case, it can be produced by ordinary water or with the addition of special detergents.