Third Rail Insulator Failures: Current State of the Practice (2020)

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32 Case Example Questionnaire A P P E N D I X C TCRP Synthesis J-7/Topic SD-05/Third Rail Insulator Failures-Current State of the Practice This questionnaire is intended to gather information on Third Rail Insulator Failures-Current State of the Practice so that transit agencies can learn from these experiences. Responses will be used to inform a Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) synthesis that will document the current state of the practice in Third Rail Insulator Failures. We ask you to fill out this questionnaire as completely as possible. The survey requires about 10 minutes to complete. We encourage you to obtain input from others in your agency, as needed. It includes questions about the status of deployment of third rail insulators at your agency and best practice strategies used for the insulator systems. The research team would appreciate your recommendations of other agencies to be included in our sample, as well as your willingness to participate in a telephone interview if your agency is selected for a more detailed case study. Please complete this survey no later than August 31, 2019. If you have any questions, you may contact the project Principal Investigator, Dr. Sharareh (Sherri) Kermanshachi, at 817-272-2704 or sharareh.kermanshachi@uta.edu. Respondent Information 1. Please provide your contact information. This will only be used if additional information is requested about your survey responses. Individuals will not be identified in the final report. oName of Respondent:________________________________________________ oRespondent Title: ________________________________________________ oRespondent Email: ________________________________________________ oRespondent Telephone Number:________________________________________

Case Example Questionnaire 33 Agency Information and Size 2. Please tell us some basic information about your transit system. o Agency Name: ________________________________________________ oCity/State: ________________________________________________ 3. What is the approximate size of your transit system? oMore than 100,000,000 unlinked passenger trips/year o Between 50,000,001-100,000,000 unlinked passenger trips/year o Between 1,000,001-50,000,000 unlinked passenger trips/year o Between 500,001 to 1,000,000 unlinked passenger trips/year o Between 100,001 to 500,000 unlinked passenger trips/year o Less than 100,000 unlinked passenger trips/year 4. What mode(s) does your transit agency operate? Please select all that apply. ▢ Heavy Rail ▢ Light Rail ▢ Commuter Rail ▢ Other: ________________________________________________

34 Third Rail Insulator Failures: Current State of the Practice General Information About Third Rail Insulator[s] 5. How many of each type of insulator does your agency have in use in your system? How many are inside tunnels? # In Your System # Inside Tunnels Porcelain Epoxy Fiberglass Other 6. How many insulator failures does your agency have per year in tunnels and outside tunnels? o Less than Five o 6-10 o 11-15 o 16-20 oOther ________________________________________________

Case Example Questionnaire 35 7. What are the failure rates in insulators in your legacy track systems? o Less than Five o 6-10 o 11-15 o 16-20 oOther ________________________________________________ 8. Of the insulators employed in your system, what insulator type exhibits the least instances of fires? o Pin-type insulator o Post insulator o Suspension insulator o Strain insulator o Shackle insulator o Bushing oOther ________________________________________________

36 Third Rail Insulator Failures: Current State of the Practice 9. What are the clearance distances around and above the installation of the insulator? o Less than 5 inches o 6-10 inches o 11-15 inches o 16-20 inches oOther ________________________________________________ 10. How many passenger hours are commonly wasted per year due to third rail insulator failure? o Less than 1,000 o 1,000-5,000 o 5,001-10,000 o 10,001-20,000 oOther ________________________________________________ 11. Does your system of third rail have a safety cover, brackets, and anchors that limit the access to the insulators? o Yes oNo 11a. If yes, please describe how this limitation affects the access to the insulators. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

Case Example Questionnaire 37 12. What is the delay time accrued annually due to insulator failures? o Less than 10 hours o 11-20 hours o 21-30 hours o 31-40 hours oOther ________________________________________________ 13. What is the estimated operational and maintenance cost per insulator failure? o Less than 250 USD o 250-300 USD o 301-350 USD o 351-400 USD oOther Voltage of System 14. What is the nominal traction power system voltage of your third rail system? o Less than 600 V o 600-750 V o 751-1,000 V o 1,000-1,500 V oOther ________________________________________________

38 Third Rail Insulator Failures: Current State of the Practice 15. Does your system employ voltage regeneration? o Yes oNo 15a. If yes, what is the typical maximum voltage that can be exhibited on your system during operation, whether by regeneration or other? o Less than 600 V o 600-750 V o 751-1,000 V o 1,000-1,500 V oOther ________________________________________________ 16. What is the rated insulator voltage and its dielectric withstand for wet and dry over-voltage? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Features of Insulators 17. What are the mounting configuration(s) of insulators? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

Case Example Questionnaire 39 18. What are the makes/models of the third rail insulators used in your system? o Selco Manufacturing Corp. oHoward J. Moore Company, Inc. o Akron Porcelain & Plastics Co. oMar-Bal, Inc. o Franklin Fibre-Lamitex Corp. oOther ________________________________________________ 19. What type of contact rail(s) does your agency use and how many miles of each type? Include information on material type (steel, aluminum, composite, etc.) Steel Aluminum Composite Other Bottom-contact Top-contact Side-contact Total

40 Third Rail Insulator Failures: Current State of the Practice Cleaning Insulator Methods 20. Does your agency adopt any surface cleaning technologies? o Yes oNo 20a. If yes, please describe the adopted technologies in your agency. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 21. Could the insulator-cleaning device used in your agency be adjustable for different insulator sizes? o Yes oNo 22. Has your agency developed any cleaning system requirements? o Yes oNo

Case Example Questionnaire 41 22a. If yes, what cleaning system requirements were developed in your agency? ▢Allowable apparel during cleaning of insulator surface ▢Electrical safety ▢Health and safety ▢Cleaning performance ▢Other ________________________________________________ 23. Does your agency implement any method for cleaning insulators? o Yes oNo 23a. If yes, what type of method is implemented by your agency? ▢Pneumatic polishing with rice husks ▢Rotating brushes and pressure washing with tap water ▢Sodium bicarbonate and light grit ▢Deionized water ▢Other ________________________________________________ 24. If you clean insulators, what problems do you encounter immediately after cleaning them? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

42 Third Rail Insulator Failures: Current State of the Practice 25. How much time does it take to clean one insulator? o Less than 10 Seconds o 10-20 Seconds o 21-30 Seconds o 31-40 Seconds oOther 26. If the distance between the insulator and the tunnel wall is short, what issues does your agency encounter during cleaning activities? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 27. What are the drawbacks of the cleaning methods adopted in your agency? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

Case Example Questionnaire 43 Cost of Insulator Failure 28. What are the average costs of insulators of different materials? Less than 50 USD 50-100 USD 101-150 USD 151-250 USD 251-500 USD More than 500 USD Porcelain o o o o o o o Epoxy o o o o o o o Fiberglass o o o o o o o Other o o o o o o o 29. What is the annual electricity cost of leakage current in a third rail system? o Less than 5,000 USD o 5,000-10,000 USD o 10,001-20,000 USD o 20,001-30,000 USD oOther ________________________________________________

44 Third Rail Insulator Failures: Current State of the Practice Causes of Insulator Failure 30. What are the causes of failures, types of insulators, and estimated frequency of each type of failure? Failure Cause Insulator Material Frequency of Occurrence Cracking/fracture Dirt buildup Flashover/arcing Corrosion of fittings Vandalism Lightning Erosion Salt fog/air (near ocean)

Case Example Questionnaire 45 Defective product/material (like improper glazing) Mechanical stress System voltage fluctuations/Electrical stress Damage from impact Sunlight/UV Snow and ice accumulation Other

46 Third Rail Insulator Failures: Current State of the Practice 31. What are the failure rates of newer/replaced track systems installed with improved infrastructure designs, installation methods, and components? o Less than five failures in a year o 5-10 failures in a year o 11-15 failures in a year o 16-20 failures in a year o 21-30 failures in a year oOther ________________________________________________ 32. What type of environmental factor increases the rate of failures? ▢Hot/cold weather ▢Wet/dry weather ▢Aerial track ▢Other ________________________________________________ 33. Is water infiltration present in your tunnels? o Yes oNo 33a. If yes, please explain its impact on the insulators. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

Case Example Questionnaire 47 34. Does saltwater from deicing roads adjacent to the tracks or over bridges drip or splash onto the insulators? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 35. Do third rail cover boards have any impact on insulator debris buildup? o Yes oNo 35a. If yes, please describe how third rail cover boards affect insulator debris buildup. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 36. Is your agency able to identify insulators that are likely to fail in [the] near future? o Yes oNo 36a. If yes, please describe. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

48 Third Rail Insulator Failures: Current State of the Practice 37. Has your agency established a dedicated maintenance crew to clean tunnel walkways of debris? o Yes oNo 37a. If yes, please describe how frequently a maintenance crew cleans the tunnel walkways. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 38. What types of particles lead to failure of composite insulators? (Choose all that apply.) ▢ Iron particles ▢Rust particles ▢Carbon dust ▢Dirt ▢Grime ▢Other ________________________________________________ 39. Are there any other causes of failure for third rail insulators? o Yes oNo

Case Example Questionnaire 49 39a. If yes, please describe. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 40. Which of the following safety failure events have occurred in your transit system? (Choose all that apply.) ▢Smoke events caused by arcing insulators and traction cable fires. ▢An explosion caused by a flashover on porcelain insulators. ▢A high-intensity fire caused by an electrical short circuit that resulted in the total loss of a traction power substation and major service disruptions. ▢Damage to electrical propulsion equipment on dozens of railcars caused by spiking voltage that significantly impacted passenger service. ▢Poor track conditions exacerbated by electrolysis and corrosion from stray current that degraded anchor bolts and fasteners to the point of failure in a tunnel. ▢Other: ________________________________________________ Preventive Strategies for Insulator Failure 41. What methods does your agency employ to identify potential areas where insulators are prone to failure? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

50 Third Rail Insulator Failures: Current State of the Practice 42. What methods does your agency employ to predict failures of insulators? Identify any tests, inspections, procedures, technologies, etc. Provide a brief description of each. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 43. What new technologies are you aware of that are available to prevent insulator fires? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 44. What type of new technologies does your agency employ to prevent insulator fires? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 45. What does your agency do to minimize insulator failures? What maintenance and failure mitigation methods are implemented in your agency? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

Case Example Questionnaire 51 46. Does your agency conduct research and develop improved designs and materials that might reduce the maintenance requirements of the insulators? o Yes oNo 46a. If yes, how frequently are improved designs developed and/or are new materials selected? o Every year o Every 2-3 years o Every 4-5 years oOther ________________________________________________ 47. Does your agency implement any scheduling methods to prevent automotive train control maintenance from being routinely deferred? o Yes oNo 47a. If yes, what type of method does your agency employ? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 48. Are there any documentation procedures for preventive activities in your agency? o Yes oNo

52 Third Rail Insulator Failures: Current State of the Practice 49. Does your agency frequently update existing regulations? o Yes oNo 49a. If yes, please describe how frequently your agency updates existing regulations. o Every year o Every 2-3 years o Every 4-5 years oOther ________________________________________________ 50. Do the implemented regulations have any impacts on the safety program? o Yes oNo 50a. If yes, please describe how the implemented regulations affect the safety program. ________________________________________________________________ 51. Does your agency conduct safety compliance inspections and investigations? o Yes oNo 48a. If yes, please describe. ________________________________________________________________

Case Example Questionnaire 53 51a. If yes, please describe how frequently your agency conducts safety compliance inspections and investigations. oOnce in 6 months oOnce a year oOnce in 2 years oOnce in 3 years oOnce in 4 years oOther ________________________________________________ 52. Does your agency continue to use and update a risk-based model to guide inspections? o Yes oNo 52a. If yes, please describe how frequently your agency updates the risk-based model. o Every year o Every 2-3 years o Every 4-5 years oOther ________________________________________________ 53. Does your agency implement any risk-based inspection programs? o Yes oNo

54 Third Rail Insulator Failures: Current State of the Practice 53a. If yes, please briefly describe the programs. ________________________________________________________________ Replacements of Failed Insulators 54. Are there insulator materials or coatings that might be easier to maintain and clean? o Yes oNo 54a. If yes, please describe. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 55. Briefly describe the construction and installation processes used to manage potential impacts of vibration, friction, rubbing, etc., on traction power cables, and specify whether protective matting is used for cables lying along the ballast and tunnel invert. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

Case Example Questionnaire 55 ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Wrap-up, Future Case Studies, and Other Agencies 57. Is there anything else that you would like to tell us about third rail insulation failures and corresponding best practices for mitigating them? If so, please use the space below. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 58. Would you be willing to participate further as a case study? If selected by the TCRP Panel for this project, this would involve a telephone interview that goes into further detail on your agency’s experience. o Yes oNo 59. Is there another transit system that you suggest we include in this synthesis project? If so, please provide the name of the agency and contact information below. oName of agency: ________________________________________________ oContact name: ________________________________________________ oContact email: ________________________________________________ Consequences of Insulator Failure 56. What are the impacts of failure on your agency’s operations (e.g., manpower, costs, retention of customers, etc.)? ________________________________________________________________

56 Third Rail Insulator Failures: Current State of the Practice ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ If there are any files you can share, please upload here. If there are any files you can share, please upload here. If there are any files you can share, please upload here. If there are any files you can share, please upload here. Thank you for participating in this survey. If you have any questions about this survey or the TCRP Synthesis project, please contact Sharareh (Sherri) Kermanshachi at sharareh.kermanshachi@uta.edu. 60. Would you please introduce us to experts in third rail, if you know any? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________