Armand de Mestral of Canada in 2007. He is married to Rosalind Pepall, a curator at the Musée de Beaux Arts and they have two sons Philippe and Charles. He is the nephew of George de Mestral the inventor of Velcro. Armand de Mestral Armand de Mestral, (born 17 November 1941) is a Canadian academic and international arbitration expert. Born in Montreal, Quebec, de Mestral is a law professor at the McGill University and an expert in international law. He also teaches courses on constitutional law and the law of the European Union. He has an undergraduate and master's degree from Harvard University,
Rail fastening system is a bolt inserted through a hole in the sleeper with a fanged nut that bites into the lower surface of the sleeper. For fastening flat-bottomed rails, an upper-lipped washer can be used to grip the edge of the rail. They are more resistant to loosening by vibrations and movement of the rail. They are thought more effective than spikes and screws and so are used in positions such as switch (point) tieplates and on sharp curves. Spring spikes or "elastic rail spikes" are used with flat-bottomed rail, baseplates and wooden sleepers. The spring spike holds the rail down and