Laboratories | GHH-BONATRANS

COMPREHENSIVE TESTING SYSTEM

TESTING IS PART OF OUR RESPONSIBILITY

Testing is a key part of development and production of railway wheelsets and serves primarily to verify compliance with standards, regulations, and customer requirements. Thanks to the fact that our testing laboratories are equipped with all the necessary equipment, we perform all tests of wheelsets and their components in-house. This allows us to provide testing within short periods of time, while reducing the carbon footprint associated with transporting samples and external testing.

GHH-BONATRANS has an ILAC-certified mechanical, metallographic, non-destructive, and fatigue testing laboratory. We also cooperate with a number of other renowned testing and research laboratories and institutes.

BONATRANS metallographic laboratory is accredited according to EN ISO/IEC 17025 as an independent testing laboratory. This testing laboratory provides its services to both GHH-BONATRANS and external customers.

Tests

MECHANICAL TESTS

Verification of mechanical properties of (our) products.

Brinell hardness test
Vickers hardness test
Rockwell hardness test
Charpy pendulum impact test
Tensile testing
Fracture toughness test

METALLOGRAPHIC TESTS

Verification of structure and cleanliness of material of (our) products.

Macrographic examination by sulphur print (Baumann method)
Etching method for macroscopic examination
Micrographic determination of the apparent grain size
Determination of volume fraction
Determination of content of non-metallic inclusions

NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING

These tests verify that the products have no surface or internal defects.

Ultrasonic test
Magnetic particle test

FATIGUE TESTING

Verification of material behaviour under dynamic loading including resistance of coating according to the standards for the railway industry.

Wheel fatigue test
Axle fatigue test
Wheelset fatigue test
Assessment of coating resistance to cyclic mechanical load
Assessment of coating resistance to impact
Assessment of coating resistance to stone chipping
Residual stress measurement by X-ray diffraction
Residual stress measurement by hole-drilling method

BRAKING TESTS

Verification of the wheels resistance to thermal loading during pads braking.

The braking test includes testing of two wheels, new one and maximum worn out.
Braking tests are performed according to EN 13979-1 or according to the specific customer’s specification and requirements.

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS

Determination of C, Mn, Si, P, S, Cr, Ni, Cu, Mo, V, B, Ti, Zr, Co, W, Nb, As, Pb, Sn, Al, by spark atomic emission spectrometry