Advanced Materials in Railways to Improve Operational Efficiency

Automakers are now willing to spend millions of dollars to shed unnecessary pounds by replacing metal with composite materials and using lighter weight materials. The ultimate drivers are efficiency and the pressure to meet looming tailpipe pollution regulations of 95g-110g CO2 per kilometre travelled throughout a manufacturer's fleet. A massive task has been and will continue to be in front of us. However, it looks that any polluting industry is now on the verge of following suit, and even established sectors that have shied away from the cutting edge are being compelled to speed up their progress.

Materials, metal replacement, and light weighing – all of which have been demonstrated in the automobile industry – have become a priority for forward-thinking rail engineers who are attempting to reduce rolling stock weight while simultaneously improving efficiency.

Recycling carbon fiber:



World's first carbon fiber rail bogie (Source: Materials Today: Proceedings)

Railway Gazette: Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) bogies

While glass fiber composite materials are already well established in exterior rail parts and interior rail sections, the application of carbon fiber composite materials has been limited due to the high cost of raw carbon fibres in comparison to glass fiber composite materials. While there is no guarantee that light weighting would improve efficiency in the rail industry, it has been shown to increase payloads and reduce wear and tear on rail infrastructure by reducing the weight of auxiliary elements and boosting payloads. Recycled carbon fiber reinforcements are becoming an increasingly popular alternative in this context since they provide a potentially cost-effective and sustainable solution.

ELG Carbon Fiber, founded in 2011, recycles and repurposes the increasing volume of "waste" carbon fiber that is being produced. Coseley Carbon Fiber Recycling Plant, in the West Midlands, has been the world's largest carbon fiber recycling plant since its beginnings.

ELG Carbon Fiber CARBISO (Carbon Fiber Composite) It is possible to manufacture non woven mats from 100 percent recycled carbon fiber or from a blend of hybrid thermoplastic fibers that can be compression molded or processed as sheet molding compounds, or even as a prepreg. The flat panel portions such as floors, roof panels, and walls, as well as more complicated interior or external components, are particularly well suited to these materials.

With the Rail Safety and Standards Board, it has just begun a project to reduce vehicle weight while also optimizing vertical and transverse rigidity in order to reduce vehicle operating costs, infrastructure damage, and environmental effect.

Full composite train body

Full composite train body
It is not only Europe that is pushing the envelope in terms of using more modern materials into its rolling stock. CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles, a Chinese rolling stock manufacturer that is publicly traded, has made a big breakthrough in rail transit by constructing a carbon fiber train body for the first time.

In addition to exploring the direction and application of carbon fibre composites in rail-based applications, the whole composite material automobile body appears to be on track to reduce weight, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions. The body is composed of a thin-walled cylindrical load-carrying structure that measures 19 metres in length, 2.8 metres in width, and 3.5 metres in height. Although the body is essentially identical to the regular steel materials used, the company claims it weighs 35 percent less. It is possible to increase carrying capacity while simultaneously lowering energy usage, lowering lifetime costs, and reducing rail damage.
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