Carbon Fiber Composite Materials, Lightweight Rail Vehicles

With the improvement of rail transit equipment design requirements (such as energy conservation, environmental protection, etc.), the quality of rail transit equipment must be continuously improved to reduce train operation energy consumption. Reducing axle load, saving energy and reducing consumption are one of the important development directions of rail transit equipment, and the key way is to achieve lightweight. Compared with lightweight metal materials such as aluminum and alloys, carbon fiber composite materials have become a solution to the lightweighting of rail transit equipment due to their excellent comprehensive properties of lightweight, high strength, and high weather resistance, as well as their mature applications in aviation, aerospace, shipbuilding and other fields. The best choice for troubled countries.

Compared with other metal materials, carbon fiber composite materials have advantages that other metal materials cannot match in terms of weight reduction and design due to their high specific strength, specific modulus, fatigue resistance and corrosion resistance.

Carbon fiber composite materials have great market and development prospects in the field of rail transit. Using carbon fiber composite materials is the most environmentally friendly and lightweight choice. The following mainly introduces how carbon fiber composite materials can realize the lightweight of rail vehicles.

The weight of rail vehicles mainly comes from the body and on-board equipment as well as some interior decoration. Generally, there is not much space for weight reduction of on-board equipment, so the main weight reduction is concentrated on the body and interior decoration. In order to reduce the weight of the automotive parts and realize the lightweight of the car body is a key indicator to reduce the energy consumption of train operation. At present, the use of domestic carbon fiber composite materials in the field of rail transit is mainly in some parts, such as carbon fiber hood and interior decoration.All parts can be made of carbon fiber composite material. The density of carbon fiber composite material is only 1.6g/cm3.

The made hood can reduce the self-weight and realize the lightweight of the car body. Compared with glass fiber reinforced plastic products, the weight is reduced by at least 20%. Strength, stiffness and non-toxicity have significant advantages. The interior parts made of carbon fiber composite materials have a smooth surface and no defects such as white spots and bubbles, which can reduce the weight and ensure the aesthetics of the product.
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The specific modulus and specific strength of carbon fiber composite materials are the highest among commonly used materials, and their density is only 1.5~2g/cm3. Compared with fiberglass reinforced plastic materials commonly used in rail transit, the application of carbon fiber composite materials can reduce the quality by another 1/5. Above, and has advantages over glass fiber materials in terms of strength, stiffness and smoke toxicity.

The Significance Of Using Carbon Fiber For Lightweight Rail Transit Vehicles

At present, the application of carbon fiber composite materials in rail vehicles is mainly in the form of mixing with metal materials. Simple applications are mostly concentrated in non-load-bearing, small, local components, such as car body shells, hoods, city walls, etc. Rail vehicle driver’s cab hood, deflector, driver’s platform, skirt, etc. The overall material usage ratio is still very small. There are many successful cases of carbon fiber composite materials at home and abroad. Here, the editor of Boshi Carbon Fiber will list them for you.

Application Cases Of Carbon Fiber Composite Materials In Foreign Rail Transit

In 1999, Japan jointly developed the CFRP composite material applied railway technology research institute and East Japan Passenger Railway Company to develop the CFRP high-speed train roof and E4 cab. The mass of each car was reduced by 300-500kg, accounting for 30%, and in Noise, body vibration and deformation have all been greatly improved. At the Berlin Rail Transit Exhibition, the CFRP frame edge beams exhibited by Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries have a mass reduction of 40% compared to metal beams made of traditional materials, and the structure has been simplified.

Application Cases Of Carbon Fiber Composite Materials In Domestic Rail Transit

At the end of 2011, the carbon fiber composite head cover of CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co., Ltd.’s 500km/h high-speed test vehicle was made from a single-sided mold using a vacuum inlet process. Compared with subway vehicles that use traditional metal materials such as steel and fabrication aluminum alloys, CETROVO’s car body, driver’s cab, and equipment cabin are each lighter by more than 30%, the bogie frame is lighter by 40%, and the entire vehicle is lighter by 13%. It can save about 15% of energy consumption.
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Carbon fiber composite materials have been successfully used in many rail transit vehicles, and it is not far away from being put into actual operation on a large scale. Although the initial investment cost of carbon fiber trains is relatively high, the excellent performance of carbon fiber extends the service life of the trains and lowers subsequent maintenance costs. Through the large-scale application of carbon fiber composite materials, rail transit vehicles will achieve effective “burden reduction”, thereby providing a new speed of efficiency, energy saving, and convenience for urban rail operations!

In the process of developing large-scale carbon fiber composite components, it is necessary to comprehensively balance various key technologies in order to obtain high-performance carbon fiber products. China Be-cu Prototype Material Technology Co., Ltd. is committed to the development and manufacture of carbon fiber lightweight components. The cnc machining china company has a technical development team of fiber reinforced composite materials with excellent technology, innovation and efficiency, and rich experience. The current products are used in Taiwan and Japan. Leading brand raw materials, well meet the application and manufacture of rail transit components.  

ISO 9001 certified. BE-CU Prototype Offering CNC machining carbon fiber and other manufacturing services for carbon fiber marterial. Various capabilities include notching, labeling, drilling carbon fiber, grinding, laser cutting carbon fiber, finishing, plating, marking, CNC milling carbon fiber and turning carbon fiber.We stock high quality 3k carbon fiber sheet in a variety of thickness, types and finish. Its a great material used in applications where light weight and strength are needed such as drones. Unlike other workshops, we have no min order and are often filling orders with a single part. We also don’t make you pay for the full sheet and you only get charged for what is used. With a large selection of material, you should find everything you need to make your project come to life. We are also able to handle larger production runs and provide a competitive pricing. If we don’t have the material or finish you require, we are more the willing to look at bringing it in for you.

What Is Carbon Fiber?Carbon fiber is made of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) (or pitch, viscose) and other organic fibers by carbonization (removal of most elements except carbon) by pyrolysis method under inert gas at high temperature above 1,000 °C. Inorganic polymer fibers with a carbon content of more than 90%.