2025 Volume 4 Issue 1 Pages 308-317
An aluminothermic welding method was introduced in Japan from Germany in 1979 and is the most popular welding process on conventional lines. However, the bending fatigue strength of the aluminothermic welding method is lower than that of other welding methods, such as the enclosed arc welding method. For this reason, applying the aluminothermic welding method on the Shinkansen lines has been restricted. On the other hand, the enclosed arc welding method, an on- track welding method for the Shinkansen lines, faces issues such as a shortage of engineers. To introduce the aluminothermic welding method to the Shinkansen lines, we develop the aluminothermic welding method that can improve bending fatigue strength, and the develop aluminothermic welding method was laid on a trial basis on a high-speed section of the Shinkansen line. As a result, it was evaluated that the practical performance in the high-speed section of the Shinkansen was sufficient after about 72.5 MGT of accumulated tonnage.
