Translated from Russian to English - www.onlinedoctranslator.com
Federal Agency for Railway Transport Federal State
Budgetary Educational Institution
higher education
"Ural State Transport University"
(FSBEI HE UrGUPS)
Department of Electrical Machines
REPORT
in the discipline "Electrical materials science" on the topic
"Composites for railway transport"
Checked by senior teacher
Completed by students gr. SOe-321
Nikitina Evgeniya Petrovna
Kosyakov Dmitry Alekseevich
Pavchinsky Mikhail Petrovich
Ekaterinburg
2024
CONTENT
INTRODUCTION ..................................................... ........................................................ .......... 3
1 ADVANTAGES OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS ..................................... 4
2 DISADVANTAGES OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS AND METHODS TO COMBAT
THEM................................................... ........................................................ ....... 5
3 COMPOSITE MATERIALS IN LOCOMOTIVE AND CAR
BUILDING ................................................................... ........................................................ 7
4 COMPOSITE MATERIALS IN RAILROAD
INFRASTRUCTURE................................................................... ........................................................ . 9
5 ANALYSIS OF THE GENERAL ADVANTAGES OBTAINED FROM THE
APPLICATION OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS ON THE RAILWAY......................... 11
CONCLUSION................................................. ........................................................ .. 13
LIST OF SOURCES ................................................ ................................... 14
2
INTRODUCTION
Some of the main innovative development prospects, which the
Russian Railways company adheres to, relate to increasing the overall
efficiency and economy of organizing train traffic and include, among
other things, reducing the tare weight of cars, increasing the limit of
permissible axle loads and travel speeds. rolling stock, as well as
extending the overall service life of aging rolling stock. All of the above
measures are listed in the “Strategy for the Development of Railway
Transport of the Russian Federation until 2030”. As an innovative solution
to the above problems, it is also proposed to use polymer composite
materials in railway transport.
The purpose of our report is to reveal the essence and features of
the use of composite materials in railway transport.
The objectives are: understanding the reasons for the advantages of
polymer composite materials over previously used ones, as well as considering
their existing disadvantages and methods to combat them, reviewing specific
examples of the introduction of composite materials into railway transport
facilities and analyzing the benefits obtained from this.
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1 ADVANTAGES OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS
It is worth starting to consider the topic with an analysis of the main advantages
of composite materials over traditional ones.
A composite material is a material made from two or more
components with significantly different physical and (or) chemical
properties, which, when combined, lead to the formation of a new
material with features different from the characteristics of the individual
components, which are not simply their sum. The composite material
includes matrices and fillers that perform strengthening functions. The
filler is usually glass or carbon fibers. The role of the matrix is played by
the polymer.
The correct combination of several different components in a
composite material can improve the overall characteristics of the materials,
such as their lightness and strength. Thus, many composite materials are
superior to traditional materials, as well as alloys, in terms of lightness and
mechanical strength. By correctly adjusting the composition of the matrix
and filler, it is possible to obtain a fairly wide range of materials with the
required set of properties.
So, the main advantages of composite materials include the
following:
– high specific strength up to 3500 MPa;
– high rigidity with an elastic modulus of 130 – 240 GPa;
– high wear resistance;
– high resistance to material fatigue;
– low mass of material;
– saving metals for other production needs.
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2 DISADVANTAGES OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS AND
METHODS OF COMBATING THEM
In addition to the above advantages, which, of course, are very
significant when using composite materials in railway transport, they also
have some disadvantages that must be remembered when replacing
traditional materials with composite ones.
The main disadvantage of composite materials is their high cost,
which is due to the need to use expensive special equipment, and, as a
consequence, the need for high development of industrial forces in the
country, as well as its scientific base. To combat high costs, we can only
propose an increase in the mass use of composite materials both in
railway transport and in other industries, which over time can lead to a
decrease in the consumer cost of these materials.
The next drawback is the anisotropy of the properties, that is, their
dependence on the direction of measurement. Anisotropy, however, is a
disadvantage only if equal strength of the product is required in all
directions of influence on it. Thus, anisotropy can also be an advantage in
certain applications of the material: for example, in pipes, the impact in
the circumferential direction is much stronger than the impact in the axial
direction, so they do not need to have equal strength in all directions of
impact, and the use of composite materials in this case will be justified
and completely rational. The same applies, for example, to wheel sets, if
we talk about railway transport. However, in this case, the axial impact will
also be quite significant, so it will be necessary to carefully consider the
issue of using a composite material in this case.
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Also, a disadvantage in some scenarios for the use of composite
materials in railway transport may be their increased hygroscopicity - a
tendency to absorb moisture, due to the non-continuous structure of the
structure of the composite material. To combat this disadvantage,
modern methods are used to increase the connection of the filler with the
matrix, which are obtained using special vacuum forming methods with,
as a consequence, a minimized number of residual cavities in the
composite. Modern methods for manufacturing composite materials
already make it possible to use them, including in open areas: an example
for railway transport is the construction of composite supports for
overhead power lines and contact networks on the electrified railways of
Russia.
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3 COMPOSITE MATERIALS IN LOCOMOTIVES
CAR BUILDING
Currently, composite materials are used in many branches of railway
transport, including locomotive construction.
In recent years, the industry has made significant progress in the
development and application of external and internal structures for
locomotive cabins, including diesel and electric locomotives, made of
fiberglass. These projects are developed at OJSC VNIKTI, OJSC VELNII,
OJSC Kolomensky Plant and are produced at the Bryansk MachineBuilding Plant, Kolomensky Machine-Building Plant and Novocherkassk
Electric Locomotive Plant. Currently, these enterprises produce roofs,
cabin shells, interiors, roofs and frontal parts of diesel and electric
locomotives from composite materials. The control cabin of the famous
Sapsan electric train is also made with interior trim made of composite
materials.
In the course of research into the problems of modern railcar
construction in our country, the research and production company United
Wagon Company developed universal materials for railcar elements that
will be compatible with the widest range of cargo. Thus, for the
manufacture of loading hatch covers, polycarbonate based on a
thermoplastic binder was chosen. Vacuum forming of sheets based on a
thermoplastic matrix with filler was chosen as the production technology.
Filled polycarbonate is neutral to food and other types of cargo, because it
does not emit any harmful substances.
As a material for a larger structural element - the roof of a hopper
car - a glass-filled polymer composite material based on a thermosetting
binder with a three-layer composite structure, which also contains
reinforcing embedded metal elements, was chosen.
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As for the passenger car industry, in recent years there has also
been an increase in the use of composite materials in them. In the latest
generation of passenger cars, innovative materials are used, in particular,
in sanitary modules, flooring, external and internal cladding of cars,
doors, and so on. Passenger seats are also increasingly being made not
from metals, but from lightweight composite materials.
The above-mentioned developments in composite car building are
currently undergoing strength and functional tests on prototypes and
prototypes and will soon be put into operation.
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4 COMPOSITE MATERIALS IN INFRASTRUCTION
TOUR OF RAILWAYS
Composite materials play an equally important role in maintaining
and updating railway infrastructure. Thus, composite materials have
found application as building materials for railway tracks, bridges and
tunnels.
In Russia, composite materials were first used as load-bearing
structural elements by NPP ApATeK LLC in 1993, namely as composite
linings for butt joints of rails on railway main lines. By 2014, such linings
began to be used en masse, the volume of their use amounted to 684,206
sets.
Other widely used composite elements of railway structures are
drainage chutes, the total length of which is more than 200 kilometers.
Composite pedestrian bridges are also becoming widespread in
Russia, the first of which was built near the Chertanovo platform of the
Paveletsky direction of the Moscow Railway in 2004. The structure is made
in the form of a three-span truss with spans 13.2 – 15 – 13.2 meters long.
The bridge is located over the railway tracks located in the excavation of
the roadbed.
It should be noted that in our time, for composite bridge
construction, certain requirements have been established for the fire
hazard characteristics of materials used in structures made of polymer
composites. These requirements are determined by special national
standards regulating composite bridge construction. These include:
– GOST R 54928-2012 “Pedestrian bridges and overpasses made of polymer-
ny composites. Technical specifications";
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– GOST 33119-2014 “Polymer composite structures for pedestrians”
travel bridges and overpasses. Technical specifications";
– GOST 33376-2015 “Composite polymer decking sections for pepedestrian and road bridges and overpasses. General technical
conditions”.
Thus, composite materials are actively used in railway infrastructure;
Currently, Russia has developed a regulatory system of documents that
allows for the safe design, construction, inspection and testing of railway
structures.
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5 ANALYSIS OF THE GENERAL ADVANTAGES OBTAINED FROM
THE APPLICATION OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS IN
RAILROAD
There are three main groups of benefits obtained from the use of
composite materials in railway transport.
Firstly, it is comparative resistance to corrosion and aggressive
environments. Composite materials, compared to traditional materials
(reinforced concrete, steel, wood), have significantly higher resistance to
corrosion, aggressive environments, and the effects of chemical reagents.
This allows composite structures, such as catenary poles or railway station
platforms, to provide a long service life without additional operating
costs.
Secondly, this is the low mass of the structures. The low specific weight of
structures made of composite materials can significantly reduce installation
costs. Thus, in the field of railway infrastructure, the use of drainage trays made
it possible to reduce the total cost of installation work by more than three times.
Installation of reinforced concrete trays, which are 25 times heavier than
composite trays, requires heavy equipment. Its use leads to losses due to the
need to create interruptions in train traffic. Installation of composite trays does
not require interruptions in movement, while labor intensity is reduced by up to
8 times during loading and unloading operations and up to 3.5 times when
laying trays.
And thirdly, this is a short technological cycle, which means short production
times and the shortest installation times. For example, we can cite the situation
with the collapse of the bridge on the Testovskaya platform in Moscow on March 2,
2007. Then the old destroyed bridge was replaced with a new composite one in just
two months; the work lasted from April 10 to June 14. IN
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As a result, the functionality of the passenger platform and bridge
crossing was restored as soon as possible.
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CONCLUSION
The report examines in detail the essence and features of the use of
composite materials in railway transport.
Of course, some disadvantages have been identified in composite
materials, but a much larger number of their advantages allows one to judge
that the disadvantages are insignificant. So, as a result of assessments and
analysis of the benefits of using composite materials on Russian railways, we
can conclude that these materials are the most promising area for the
development of railway transport infrastructure in our country and are
already allowing us to achieve great success in the economics of transport.
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LIST OF SOURCES
1 Doriomedov M. S. Polymer composite materials in Russian railway
transport (review) / M. S. Doriomedov, M. I. Daskovsky, S. Yu. Skripachev,
E. A. Shein // Proceedings of VIAM. – 2016. – No. 7. – P. 113 – 118.
2 Competitive advantages of composites // ApATeK - Applied advanced
technologies. – Electronic resource (date of access: 03/02/2024).
3 Polymer composites in transport construction and bridge construction //
Bulletin of the chemical industry NIITEKHIM Moscow. – Electronic resource
(date of access: 02/20/2024).
4 Application of composite materials in freight car construction // NPK
"United Wagon Company". – Electronic resource (date of access:
02/20/2024).
5 Application of composite materials in railway transport // NPP Polet. –
Electronic resource (date of access: 02/20/2024).
6 Composite materials are replacing metal in the production of vehicles //
Russian newspaper. – Electronic resource (date of access: 04/20/2024).
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