Railroad thermite welding

Railroad thermite welding

Exothermic welding, also known as exothermic bonding, thermite welding (TW), and thermit welding, is a welding process that employs molten metal to permanently join the conductors. The process employs an exothermic reaction of a thermite composition to heat the metal, and requires no external source of heat or current. The chemical reaction that produces the heat is an aluminothermic reaction between aluminium powder and a metal oxide.

Exothermic welding is usually used for welding copper conductors but is suitable for welding a wide range of metals, including stainless steel, cast iron, common steel, brass, bronze, and Monel.[4] It is especially useful for joining dissimilar metals.[5] The process is marketed under a variety of names such as AIWeld, American Rail Weld, AmiableWeld, Ardo Weld, ERICO Cadweld, FurseWeld, Harger Ultrashot, Quikweld, StaticWeld, Techweld, Tectoweld, TerraWeld, Thermoweld and Ultraweld