Aimplas has contributed to the recently completed European Mat4Rail project, under which new materials and components were developed to design the railway of the future. The aim was to reduce the weight of railway vehicles by replacing metal structural components with those of composite materials and increase vehicle capacity and passenger comfort.
The project, which involved use of smart modular interior design, began in 2017 and was coordinated by CIDETEC.Aimplas has contributed to the recently completed European Mat4Rail project, under which new materials and components were developed to design the railway of the future. The aim was to reduce the weight of railway vehicles by replacing metal structural components with those of composite materials and increase vehicle capacity and passenger comfort.#
Aimplas’ role was to develop new hybrid resin formulations with improved resistance to flame propagation to be applied in fibre-reinforced polymers. Results are promising and the new formulations are expected to be of use in other sectors such as construction, the automotive industry and aeronautics.
The properties of these new materials were evaluated in structural parts in order to replace metal components. To this end, collaborative work was done to improve specific regulations on calculating fatigue requirements for trams. The work involved participating in processes to standardise the design and calculation of trams by means of sensor monitoring. Joins between dissimilar materials (composites and metals) were evaluated with the aim of improving them.
The project also involved modifying the design of cabins and seats to create the cabin of the future by incorporating new technologies and communication systems. The goal was to increase safety, detect the presence of extraneous objects on the tracks and improve vehicle intercommunication. Modular carriages were also developed to enable a range of configurations thanks to multifunctional panels with different connections for devices.
The new seating design will accommodate more passengers with greater comfort while offering more seating arrangement options.
Implementation of this project is expected to improve railway infrastructure in terms of costs, operations, reliability, punctuality, increased capacity and energy efficiency, and reduced life cycle costs.
Aimplas plus 15 other research centres, SMEs, major companies and one university from seven different European countries took part in the Mat4Rail project. The project was funded by the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking (S2R JU), a public-private partnership in the rail sector established under the European Union Research and Innovation programme Horizon 2020.
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