Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BioMetaRail (Bioinspired Hierarchical MetaMaterials for Railways)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2021-09-01 do 2022-08-31
Railway-induced ground-borne vibrations are one of the main causes of noise pollution generated by trains. Noise pollution is a serious concern for public health, causing the loss of about 1 million years of healthy life every year in the EU. This problem will probably worsen due to the expected increase of railway traffic as an answer to the EU carbon emission reduction goals. For this reason, reducing ground-borne vibration is of paramount importance to protect citizen lives and enable carbon emission reductions. However, the products currently available on the market struggle to solve this issue due
to multiple limitations, i.e. low attenuation performances, high costs and high impact during installation (railway track removal and railway traffic interruption).
Bioinspired MetaMaterials (MMs), which are artificially designed materials inspired by shapes and topology found in nature, have the potential to increase vibration reduction performance, with reduced cost and easy installation (no track removal) compared to current solutions. Their study and development are the objectives of the FET Open BOHEME project, whose preliminary results (i.e. increased attenuation in specific frequency ranges via the combination of different mechanisms) are promising for railway applications.
Starting from these results and the on-field experience of the startup PhononicVibes in railway vibration, BioMetaRail will determine the innovation potential and feasibility of bioinspired MMs in the railway sector.
This will be done by (i) identifying the most suitable designs from BOHEME, assessing their cost-effectiveness, (ii) benchmarking the existing solutions available on the market, (iii) engaging the most relevant end users among Railway Infrastructure Owners to assess the market potential of the proposed solution and (iv) defining the business case and the related commercialization process.
to multiple limitations, i.e. low attenuation performances, high costs and high impact during installation (railway track removal and railway traffic interruption).
Bioinspired MetaMaterials (MMs), which are artificially designed materials inspired by shapes and topology found in nature, have the potential to increase vibration reduction performance, with reduced cost and easy installation (no track removal) compared to current solutions. Their study and development are the objectives of the FET Open BOHEME project, whose preliminary results (i.e. increased attenuation in specific frequency ranges via the combination of different mechanisms) are promising for railway applications.
Starting from these results and the on-field experience of the startup PhononicVibes in railway vibration, BioMetaRail will determine the innovation potential and feasibility of bioinspired MMs in the railway sector.
This will be done by (i) identifying the most suitable designs from BOHEME, assessing their cost-effectiveness, (ii) benchmarking the existing solutions available on the market, (iii) engaging the most relevant end users among Railway Infrastructure Owners to assess the market potential of the proposed solution and (iv) defining the business case and the related commercialization process.
The work performed in the project is summarized as follows:
WP1 – Bridge from BOHEME to Railway application
• to identify the most suitable BOHEME’s results for the proposed solution;
• to select the best designs and materials;
• to assess the costs for the proposed solution.
WP2 – Market analysis, business case and commercialization process
• to perform market analysis;
• to engage relevant end users;
• to develop a business case and a commercialization process.
WP1 – Bridge from BOHEME to Railway application
• to identify the most suitable BOHEME’s results for the proposed solution;
• to select the best designs and materials;
• to assess the costs for the proposed solution.
WP2 – Market analysis, business case and commercialization process
• to perform market analysis;
• to engage relevant end users;
• to develop a business case and a commercialization process.
The expected impacts are:
• Environment - limiting the depletion of resources on the overall life cycle of the bioinspired MM solution;
• Society - decreasing the negative impact of the railway-based ground-borne vibrations on residents’ lives in the long run and therefore making railway mobility more sustainable;
• Economy and Employment - contributing to the EU competitiveness through the introduction of a new value chain for the railway-related industries.
• Environment - limiting the depletion of resources on the overall life cycle of the bioinspired MM solution;
• Society - decreasing the negative impact of the railway-based ground-borne vibrations on residents’ lives in the long run and therefore making railway mobility more sustainable;
• Economy and Employment - contributing to the EU competitiveness through the introduction of a new value chain for the railway-related industries.