Mat4Rail will have an impact on: (1) The rail supply industry: It will allow the generation of new materials and design concepts to be implemented in this sector, increase its competitiveness and thus help create/save jobs in Europe. It will enable the introduction of new composites in the market for carbody shell parts based on novel resins that meet all railway requirements. Structural adhesive joints combined with riveting/bolting will allow joining of polymeric materials to metals and thus will allow primary multi-material structures of carbodies. This is expected to allow a weight reduction of carbody shell sections by up to 30% and a weight reduction of access door systems by 10-20%, depending on the train family. (2) Rail operators: Mat4Rail results will increase rail operators’ competitiveness by reducing costs for maintenance and refurbishment, while increasing passenger comfort, increasing passenger numbers and profitability of rail operators. The new interior design concepts are expected to allow an increase in capacity by up to 30%, reduced maintenance costs and reduced energy consumption due to the weight reduction. (3) Passengers: Mat4Rail will increase passenger comfort and satisfaction by adaptive seating concepts, more personal space, increasing number of seats during peak periods and better thermal insulation/acoustic attenuation of vehicles.
The main achievements at the end of the project in the Materials work stream were the following:
• Novel epoxy, benzoxazine and hybrid chemistry based resins have been developed that meet FST requirements.
• Six novel composites compliant with EN45545-2, based on glass, basalt and carbon fibre reinforcements have been successfully developed and validated. Their thermal and mechanical characterisation has also demonstrated the great potential of these composites for railway applications, while they have demonstrated to be cost-efficient candidates for their future introduction into the market.
• Certification procedure for polymeric materials for operational loads, damage accumulation validated for structural adhesive
• In addition, three novel concepts for access door systems were also presented, one of them based on composite materials developed within the project.
In the Interior Design work stream, Mat4Rail has developed a new seating concept: a hyper flexible and intelligent new ultra-lightweight seat system that can be arranged and fitted in a super dense and rapid way. It consists of a small frame structure which is holding an intelligent woven inlay structure, that generates all the ergonomic and comfort needed. The lightweight frame system is cantilever suspended or floor based fixed. This tangible, producible vision will have an impact to significantly reduce the number of parts and the total weight as well as the production costs and CO2 emissions during production and use.
Additionally, Mat4Rail has developed a plug & play system up to the stage of a fully functional mock-up. The system addresses all the needs with an intelligent multi layered energy & communication grid and a flexible mounting structure, including quick and easy refurbishment, installation on side wall of the train and different suppliers for lighting and crane systems.
Lastly, a virtual prototype of the whole train, showcasing the driver’s cabin as well as the plug & play system and a modular seating concept, has been built.
Overall, Mat4Rail has made a significant contribution to the trains of the future.
