CG Rail unveils world's first CFRP rail vehicle

CG Rail (Dresden, Germany) unveiled a rail vehicle made almost entirely of CFRP components at the InnoTrans trade fair Sept. 18-21. The company has has developed the main modules with a front cab, body, underfloor panel and bogie frame for the train. 

The car body consists of 70% carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) and is 30% lighter than a conventional aluminum construction. An advanced pultrusion process was used in production, with which CG Rail can efficiently produce large CFRP multi-chamber profiles with wall thicknesses of up to 25 mm as well as various types of fibers and fiber orientations in one piece.

In the bogie frame, the four main components made of CFRP consist of the longitudinal and transverse beams. In a likewise novel, highly automated process, the textile reinforcing structures of the carriers are produced in the braiding or winding process or a combination thereof, subsequently infiltrated with resin by the injection process (RTM) and cured. According to the company, the CFK bogie frame, which is lighter than a steel equivalent by more than 40%, can withstand the highest loads and meets all dynamic driving requirements.

The front cabin and the underfloor paneling have a 90% CFRP content. This means that the assemblies weigh around 30% less than comparable metal versions. In connection with the developed rail vehicle, CG Rail has so far registered 16 patents. 

The development of the train was commissioned by the world's largest rail vehicle manufacturer CRRC (Changchun, Jilin, China).

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This post is courtesy of the CompositesWorld and Springer lightweight.design magazine media partnership. For more information about Springer and lightweight.design, go to https://www.springerprofessional.de/en/link/12141380