Alumino Thermit Welding

Content
Para no Topic/ sub topic details
1.0 Basic description of work
2.0 Planning – Traffic block duration & labour
2.1 Time Planning
2.2 Labour Planning
2.3 Material Planning
3.0 Preliminary work for AT welding
4.0 Welding Process
4.1 Preparation of rail ends to be welded
4.2 Gap Creation
4.3 Aligning of rail ends with straight edge
4.4 Pre-fabricated Dry Mould
4.5 Fixing of mould
4.6 Alumino Thermic welding portion
4.7 Pre heating of rail ends
4.8 Ignition of portion
4.9 Trimming & Grinding of weld
4.10 Painting of weld collar
4.11 USFD testing of new Weld
4.12 Marking
4.13 Guarantee
4.14 Precautions
1. Basic description of work
A.T. (Alumino-Thermic) Welding is an in-situ method of welding of rails which is adopted
universally all over the world. When a mixture of finely divided Aluminium and Iron Oxide
powder called “Thermit Portion” is ignited, a chemical reaction takes places. The
reaction is ‘exothermic’ with evolution of heat (about 2400°C) producing molten Iron &
separation of slack (Aluminium Oxide).
Fe2 03 + 2Al = Al2 03 + 2Fe + Heat
(Iron Oxide) + (Aluminium) = (Aluminium oxide) + (molten Iron) + Heat.
The Iron released from reaction in a crucible is in molten condition which flows into the
moulds where it fuses with preheated rail ends and fills the gap between rails to form a
continuous fusion welded joint. The Aluminium Oxide being lighter floats on top and
forms the slag.
The process of AT weld involves:
Preparation of rail ends including end cleaning (50 mm on both sides), creating pre-
defined rail gap, aligning of Rail ends with straight edge. Fixing of Pre-Fabricated Dry
Mould using luting sand, Fixing of Single Shot Crucible Fitted with Auto Tapping Thimble
Preheating rail ends with Air Petrol / Compressed Air Petrol / Oxy-LPG, pouring of
Alumino Thermic Welding Portion in the crucible & Ignition of Portion. Waiting for welding
reaction & Tapping (manual / auto tapping thimble), Weld trimming, weld grinding with
profile weld grinding machine, Checking weld geometry, painting of weld collar & USFD
testing of new AT weld
2.0 Planning – Traffic block duration & labour
2.1 Time Planning: This is a work which is carried out under traffic block under the
personal supervision of JE / SSE / P. Way. A minimum traffic block of 70-75 minutes
duration, depending upon the type of preheating technique adopted, should be
obtained for complete operation of welding of joint & to ensure good quality of A.T.
weld.
2.2 Labour Planning: The work of AT welding shall be carried out only by a trained and
certified Welder, duly assisted by a set of trained skilled / Semi-skilled staff as under:
Composition of Thermit welding team (compressor tank-wise)
Designation Welder Grade Welder Grade Helper Khalasi
I/Grade II III/Skilled Artisan /Khalasi
Numbers 1 2 5
Additional Trackmen shall be required as per site conditions for rail cutting if required
for creating of correct gap / pulling / moving of rail panels / using tensors etc. The
Welder shall be in procession of a competency certificate as under:
Certificate
SN Welder/Supervisor Validity Issued by
Type
100 joints or 06 months whichever is
earlier and defective weld percentage
Departmental Provisional TPP/LKO or
1 is less than 01 % by the welder. (with
Welder (TW1) (Two Weeks) TWC/BZA
successful completion of minimum 50
weld within 06 months )
2 Departmental Regular TPP/LKO or
02 years
Welder (TW2) (One Week) TWC/BZA
Welding Supervisor Regular 05 years TPP/LKO or
3 (TW3) (One Week) TWC/BZA
Refresher Course
Regular 05 years TPP/LKO or
4 for supervisors
(TW4) (Two days) TWC/BZA
Directorate/M&C,
5 Contractual Welder Provisional 02 years RDSO
Directorate/M&C,
6 Contractual Welder Regular 05 years
RDSO
2.3 Material Planning:
1. Complete set of welding equipment including matches etc. as described in detail
under Annexure 2 of ‘Manual for Fusion Welding of Rail by AT welding process’ shall
be arranged at site of work, in time.
2. Apart from the above, Small Track Machines such as abrasive rail cutter, trimmer,
grinder etc. shall also be arranged at site.
3. Consumables such as Welding portions, Petrol / Kerosene for fuel shall be arranged.
3.0 Preliminary Work for AT Welding
In case of in-situ welding the rail fastenings for at least five sleepers on either side of the
proposed weld shall be loosened. The sleepers adjacent to the joint to be welded shall be
shifted to obtain a clear working space of 250 mm on either side to accommodate the
moulds, clamps, preheating equipment, etc. The rails shall then be properly aligned, both
horizontally and vertically.
4.0 Welding Process
The process of AT welding shall be carried out under full block with protection arrangements
as specified. The various activities are sequence as under:
4.1 Preparation of rail ends to be welded
The rail end face and adjacent sides at foot (top and bottom), web and head up to 50 mm
shall be thoroughly cleaned using kerosene oil and brushing with wire brush to remove all
dirt, grease and rust before welding. Any burrs at the rail ends shall be removed by chiselling
or grinding. Normally, no Alumino-Thermic welded joint shall be located closer than 4 m
from any other welded or fish plated joint.
Gap Creation
Ensure stipulated gap as specified for a particular welding technique i.e. for –
1) Nominal Gap Welding (SG) – 25 mm ± 1 mm
2) Combination Gap Welding – 50 mm ± 1 mm
3) Wide Gap Welding – 75 mm ± 1 mm

The gaps shall be checked using the tapered gauge.

4.3 Aligning of Rail Ends with Straight Edge
Align the rail ends in both horizontal & vertical planes as per dimensional limits indicated
below –
To be measured on 1m straight edge -
1) Lateral Alignment: ±0.5 mm when checked with a 1.0 mm straight edge at rail ends
2) Vertical Alignment: The joint shall be kept higher by 3 mm to 4 mm for 72 UTS rails and
2 mm to 2.4 mm for 90 UTS & higher Rails
4.4 Pre-Fabricated Dry Mould
The Mould is made up of Silica Sand, Sodium Silicate, Iron Oxide and Zircon wash. This is
formed around the rail ends that need to be welded. The Mould receives the molten metal.

One set shall comprise three pieces of Mould parts, two on the sides (identical pieces) and
one top cover slab piece. Before mounting on the rail ends to be welded, each pair of moulds
shall be examined for defects, dampness, cracks, blocked vents, etc. and defective moulds
discarded. The prefabricated moulds shall be handled with care as they are fragile and liable
to breakage.
4.5 Fixing of Moulds
1) Moulds to be used shall be of correct size to that of rail section to be welded.
2) During fixing, it shall be ensured that the centre line of the rail gap coincides with the
centre line of the mould to avoid the cross joint.

4.5.1 Mould Shoe

1) Mould shoe to be fixed with mould should be correct size & free from geometric
distortions. It should be ensured that the Mould Shoe is flush fitting with the pre-
Fabricated Dry Mould
2) The mould shoe shall be tightened by the application of adequate pressure. Excessive
pressure may cause breakage of mould & dropping of sand inside the mould cavity.
3) It is essential for the mould to fit flush to each other across the bottom of the rail flange
which can be checked by feeling with fingers across the junction of two halves of the
mould and by looking down the riser aperture. Care should be taken to ensure proper
fixing of bottom plate to avoid formation of fin at the edges of bottom flanges of weld.
4.5.2 Luting Sand/Paste
For Luting Sand, prior to beginning of the work, dry sand is mixed with water in proper
proportion of about 6% moisture content.

1) After fixing the mould shoes, the junction of the mould and gap between mould and
rail shall be packed firmly with luting sand to prevent the leakage of liquid weld metal,
starting from the underside of the rail foot & continuing on both sides towards the head
of the rail.
2) To avoid any sand particle dropping in to the mould, a luting cover may be placed
over mould aperture.
3) To protect the rail top table from metal splashes during reaction, the adjacent rail
surface on either side of moulds shall be covered with metal cover or smeared with
luting sand up to 15 cm on either side.
4.5.3 Universal Mounting Kit & Slag Container
Universal Mounting Kit is the fitting that holds the Mould Shoe in which Mould is flushed in.
It is tightened properly so that Mould assembly will remain intact during the entire Thermic
Welding reaction.
Slag Container set includes 2 containers mounted with Mould Shoe and used to collect the
slag produced out of the Thermic Weld reaction.
4.5.4 Welding Crucible
The welding reaction takes place in a vessel called as Crucible. The crucible is charged by
placing the correct quantity of thoroughly mixed thermic weld Portion in it. There are two
Type of Crucibles used on IR:
1) Multi Shot Crucible with Shell, Charge and Auto Tapping Thimble

The Multi Shot conventional crucible is cost effective and designed to be used several
times. It is lined with refractory material and fitted with bottom stone and thimble. Slag
need to be cleaned from the crucible after each reaction.
2) Single Shot Crucible Fitted with Auto Tapping Thimble
a. Single Shot Crucible is designed for one-time use. It is lined with refractory lining
and Auto tapping Thimble is fitted at the bottom of the crucible which provides a
passage through which the molten steel is discharged in to the Mould.
b. The thermic factor of this crucible is better than conventional crucible and its use
results in cleaner steel, consistent weld quality & light weight (14.5 Kg).
c. The need for accurate adjustment of crucible on its frame is eliminated.
d. The Single-shot crucible comes from factory packaged with the portion, crucible and
automatic thimble. By having a constant & reliable crucible to produce the weld
metal, quality of weld is increased substantially mainly because of the fact that the
thermal balance of alumina-thermic reaction always remains same.
e. It also ensures highly uniform tapping temperature, which is one of the key quality
parameters for AT welding as for any steel production process.

4.6 Alumino Thermic Welding Portion

Thermic welding Portion is a mixture of aluminium powder, iron oxide and various other
alloying materials which has a strong exothermic reaction after initial ignition. The high heat
of the reaction makes it possible to produce liquid steel at up to 2,500°C without using
external source of energy, as a result of which the ends of rails can be welded together.

4.6.1 Colour Coding of AT Welding Portions

SN Rail Grade Colour
For 52 kg & above Rail sections
1 72 UTS Red
2 90 UTS Green
3 R260 Violet
4 1080 HH Yellow
5 1175 HT Blue
6 R260 with 90 UTS Orange
7 R260 with 1175 HT Pink
8 1175 HT with 90 UTS Brown
For Rail Sections below 52 Kg i.e.90R,75R & 60R White
4.6.2 Shelf Life of Portion
No specific shelf life has been indicated for AT welding portions. Life of portion would
depend upon quality of packing and storage conditions. AT welding portions are sensitive
to moisture. If packing is intact and there is no entry of moisture, the portion can be used
even after a long time. However, procedure mentioned in AT Welding Manual shall adopted
for permitting use of portions beyond two years after the date of manufacturing.
4.7 Pre-heating of rail ends
After fixing and luting of the moulds, the rail ends shall be uniformly pre-heated throughout
the rail section with the specially designed torch known as ‘Pre-heating torch’. Pre-heating
techniques adopted in Indian Railways so as to achieve a minimum temperature of around
650°C. Temperature range of about 650°C – 850°C is normally observed in various RDSO
approved A.T. welding techniques. –
a) Air Petrol mix Pre-heating.
b) Compressed Air Petrol mix Pre-heating.
c) Oxygen-LPG Pre-heating.

The Pre-heating shall be done from the top of the mould box for stipulated period for welding
technique adopted, so as to achieve a temperature of around 650°C - 850°C. Compressor
tank pressure & Pre-heating time for various per-heating techniques
SN Pre-heating Technique Compressor tank pressure Pre-heating time
1 Air Petrol 7+0.70 Kg/cm2 10 to 12 min
2 Compressed Air Petrol 0.2 – 0.3 Kg/cm2 4 to 5.5 min
Oxy-LPG
3 Oxygen Pressure 7.0-8.0 Kg/cm2 2 to 2.5 min
LPG Pressure 2.0-2.5 Kg/cm2
4.8 Ignition of Portion
Igniter is used to ignite the thermic weld mixture for exothermic reaction. These are long
sparklers for Safety & Efficient Ignition. Igniter sticks should be stored at dry area which is
free from moisture. The sparkler shall be ignited and inserted in the portion at the centre top
to start the reaction.

4.8.1 Welding Reaction & Tapping

a) The reaction is initiated using igniters inserted centrally in the Thermit portion. After
reaction, the portion melts and the slag separates at top, enabling tapping of the
crucible to pour the molten metal into the mould.
b) Tapping time is very important for the final weld quality. It is defined as total time, from
the time the portion is ignited, till the molten metal weld begins to pour into the mould
cavity. If tapping is done prematurely, slag separation will not be completed and if
tapping is delayed weld steel may lose heat which may cause inadequate fusion.
c) On Indian Railways, two methods of tapping are used, namely:
(i) Manual Tapping
The exothermic reaction takes about 20±3 seconds and the pin is tapped manually
(ii) Self-Tapping or Auto Tapping Thimble
The thimble is a fusible plug located by a refractory/magnesia sand body in the throat of
crucible. Its job is to hold the portion/weld metal in the crucible until such time as reaction
is complete with the slag separated, and then release it smoothly in to the moulds through
poring hole.
The use of auto thimble ensures that the pouring commences at the correct temperature. It
allows tapping at pre-determined temperature thereby eliminating errors associated with
manual tapping. It also ensures safety of personnel as no person is required near the
crucible thus eliminating chances of injury.

4.9 Trimming & Grinding of Weld

4.9.1 Mould Waiting Time & Weld Trimmer
a) After pouring, the molten metal is allowed to cool and solidify with the mould intact for
a period of mould waiting time. The mould waiting time is generally 5 to 7 minutes for
25 mm gap joints and 10-12 minutes for 75 mm gap joints.
b) After the mould waiting time is elapsed, trimming of mould is done by Weld trimming
(shearing off) machine which removes extra weld metal from the head (top and sides)
of an Alumino-Thermic welded rail joint.
c) During the trimming operation, it shall be ensured that the wedges used in aligning
are in their proper places without loosening, and they are not removed for at least 20
minutes after stripping. The runner and riser must not be removed until cold, and that
too only by knocking towards the rail.

4.9.2 Rail Profile Weld Grinding Machine

a) Geometry of the running surface of welded joints is very important. The finished welds
may be dipped, humped, or locally worn, called defectively finished welds. These
irregularities are either due to post grinding imperfections or due to use of weld metal
of incorrect composition. Hence all efforts shall be made to achieve high weld quality
and geomertry of rail welds.
b) After the excess metal is trimmed off, Rail Profile Grinder is used for de-burring, re-
profiling of rails after welding. In case of in-situ joints, the grinding shall commence
only after the sleeper fastenings are re-fixed and after the removal of wedges. The
rail Table shall first be ground down to original profile and checked by a one metre
straight edge. This should be followed by grinding of the side of the rail head. The
accuracy of grinding shall be checked by using 10 cm straight edge. While grinding,
only light pressure should be applied and grinding wheel should be moved to and fro
to avoid local overheating.
c) All the finished joints shall be checked for dimensional tolerances to ensure that the
joint geometry is within the tolerance limit laid down for finsihed welds measured on
1m & 10 cm staright edge.
4.10 Painting of Weld Collar
One coat ready mixed bituminous black paint is applied by brushing, conforming to IS: 9862-
1981 for normal corrosion and for severe corrosion apply one coat of high build epoxy paint
(two pack) conforming to RSDSO specification No. M&C/PCN-111/2018 or latest on the
welded area and 10 cm on either side. Paint shall be lead free, acid, alkali, water and
chlorine resisting.
4.11 USFD testing of New Welds
a) All the AT welded joints shall be ultrasonically tested as per the provisions of ‘Manual
for Ultrasonic testing of rails and welds’. This testing shall be completed as early as
possible but, in any case, before the welding team is shifted.
b) A Thermit weld done in-situ shall be joggle fish plated with two clamps and supported
on wooden blocks of 300-450mm length until tested as good by USFD.
c) Subsequent USFD testing of A.T. welds shall be done as per the provisions given in
Manual for Ultrasonic Testing of Rails and welds, Revised-2012
4.12 MARKING
Each joint shall have a distinctive mark indicating month, year of welding, agency and
welder/supervisor identification code number (as appearing on his competency
certificate) at non-gauge face side of A.T. weld on head as shown in Fig. below , given
below :
4.13 Guarantee:
Rail joints welded by a firm shall be guaranteed against failure which includes failures in
execution, acceptance, acceptance & regular ultrasonic testing and during service up to 2
years from the date of welding the joints in track or from the date such welded joints made
‘on cess’ and inserted in the track are open to traffic. Any such welded joints which fail in
the criteria given above within the guarantee period shall be re-welded free of cost by firm.
4.14 Precautions:
While carrying out welding at site, the following precautions shall be observed:
(i) It should be ensured that the portion being used matches with type and chemistry of
rail.
(ii) Rail ends should be square.
(iii) Alignment of rail ends should be perfect as checked by straight edge.
(iv) Rail ends should be properly cleaned with kerosene oil and wire brushes.
(v) Stop watch should be provided to the welding supervisor at each welding site.
(vi) Pressure in the tanks/cylinder should be properly maintained during pre-heating. 19
(vii) Correct gap between rail ends at head, web and foot shall be ensured.
(viii) Correct preheating time for rail ends shall be ensured.
(ix) Tightness of clips fitted with hose connections to compressor tank and burner shall
be checked before commencing preheating.
(x) Nozzles of burners shall be cleaned periodically to avoid back – fire.
(xi) The compressor tank shall be kept at least 2 to 3 m away from burner to prevent fire
hazard.
(xii) The tapping shall be done within the time specified for that particular technique or
automatically. For special type of welding i.e.75mm gap, combination joint etc. the
time of reaction and tapping shall be as stipulated by RDSO for that particular
welding technique.
(xiii) Arrangements for giving first aid shall be available at site.
(xiv) Welders should be provided with gloves and coloured glasses.
(xv) Boiling portion shall be out tapped.
(xvi) No moist portion/ torn bag portion shall be used for welding.
(xvii) Dampness in mould can lead to porosity and early fatigue failure of welds. (xviii)
Only those contractual agencies as have clearance from the RDSO/Railway Board
can execute welding work. Supply of portions must be from sources approved by
RDSO/Railway Board.
(xviii) Many weld failures show evidence of badly cut rail ends. The evenness and
verticality of a rail cut depends solely upon the skill of the welder. With portable disc
cutters, very little skill is required to produce good cut.
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