Construction Fixings

In railway bridge construction, the decision to change a fastener system can improve the whole reliability of a construction. In 2016 a freight train fell into the Tolten River, in Chile, after the railway bridge collapsed. In 2020, J. LANFRANCO & Cie supplied over 37,000 ESL self-locking nuts for the restoration project.

ESL self-locking nuts were selected due to the harsh environment factors – earthquakes, forest fires, floods, etc – as well as the constant vibration and movements of the Tolten Bridge, which could potentially loosen traditional nuts over time – once again putting the safety of the bridge at risk. ESL self-locking nuts are able to withstand high loads and stresses for structural integrity and vibration damping and can guarantee resistance to variable environmental conditions and dynamic load. 

Four types of nuts were used during this restoration project – ESL ⅝ inch nuts, ESL1½ inch nuts, ESL ¾ inch nuts and ESL ⅝ inch nuts, all in CL8 steel.

Another benefit to ESL self-locking nuts is at the bridge installation phase. In bridge construction the decision can be made to weld different parts together to save money and material weight. This leads to a lot of planning and special operations, such as road closures, transportation, etc, to get the bridge in place. The ESL self-locking nuts enabled the bridge to be brought to the site in parts and assembled, speeding up the operation and also allowing the nuts to be reused if necessary.

“Over the past five decades, our company has established itself as a major player in the field of safe fasteners. Our commitment to innovation and quality has enabled us to provide reliable solutions, such as our self-locking nuts, for such important renovation projects,” proudly commented J. LANFRANCO & Cie.