Innovative materials in a sustainable freight railway.

1. Innovative materials in a sustainable freight railway. Conor O’Neill Rail Vehicles Manager, NewRail Innotrans – Sept 2012

2. Materials Drivers • Application – Passenger/freight. • Design – Structural requirements. • Cost – Economic considerations. • Manufacturing – Materials availability, manufacturability. • Repair/Maintenance – In-service issues. • Recycling – End of life considerations.

3. Structural Materials – the choice… • Mild steel. • Aluminium alloys. • High tensile steel. • Composites.

4. Composite – can it be done? • Current application: • Secondary structures, interiors. • Driver’s cab, aerodynamic cover. • Insulation. • What’s next? • Primary structure applications. • Integrated design philosophy. • Step change in manufacturing

5. Composite – can it be done? • D-CAB • EU FP6 project. • Existing design, new materials. • Fully composite. • Meets crashworthiness standards. • Full scale prototype: • Mass saving: 40% • Part-count saving: 60% • Cost saving: 20%

6. Blockers… • Cost • “Composites are expensive”. • Mass • “Lightweighting is not our main priority”. • Implementation • “We’re simply not set up to adopt composites”. • Mindset • “Steel and aluminium have well documented, predictable properties and are easily designed”. • End-of life • “How do you recycle composite materials?”

7. Benefits • Lightweight • Energy reduction. • Increased load carrying capability. • Reduced CO2 emissions. • Reduction in wheel/rail wear. • Modular design. • Risk sharing partners. • Interchangability. • Built-in insulation. • Complex aerodynamic structures.

8. A shift to freight • Increased demand to reduce the mass of rail vehicles. • Move to high speed freight? • Faster, lighter, more aerodynamic, … • Supplier development. • Increased use of composites. • Supply chain shift. • Back to the future?!

9. THANK YOU! conor.oneill@ncl.ac.uk