Page 10 - Research and innovation un materials applied to railways

V. CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

In summary, railway transport is growing thanks to the advantages of this transport mode
relative to competitors. Consolidating this competitive advantage in a context that
demands greater speed; lower construction, maintenance and operation costs; greater
loads per axle; and more frequent running, requires the continued strengthening of
research, development and innovation. Continued knowledge transfer between the
aeronautic, naval and automotive sectors and civil engineering or industry sectors would
be expected, as has historically taken place. However, whilst in other sectors innovations
in materials provide steady improvements, the majority of railway systems continued to
be based on traditional materials.

Polymer-matrix composite materials are now common place in civil engineering works, as
reinforcement to structures or in the construction of bridges. Self-healing concrete and
biomaterials are also examples of innovation in the construction sector. Carbon fibre, new
ceramic materials, grapheme and /or silicone are becoming substitutes for steel and
metals used in the aeronautic and automotive sectors.

The introduction of these and other new materials in the railway sector should be based
on the knowledge and experience acquired in other sectors, whilst taking into account the
cost structures and specific demands of railway applications. Furthermore, growing social
awareness regarding respect for the planet ensures that new materials are developed in
line with concepts of sustainability, reuse and recycling. The majority of the innovations
described in the section on platform and track, fit into this framework, which,
furthermore, presents an area with huge innovation potential. In fact, there are a great
number of materials, either natural or artificial that can be used in the construction of
railway infrastructures. However, normally solutions used in the construction of roads
cannot be applied to railways, or at least not in all countries, as they are not considered in
the regulations and they are not harmonized, not even at a European level.

Regulatory aspects are also fundamental with regards to the use of new materials in the
area of rolling stock. A clear example is the restrictions introduced by the rules on
behavior in fire and smoke (EN- 45545)influencing the introduction of new materials The
existing regulation has been focused on guiding the development of vehicles based on
traditional materials, which means that there are new materials which are not considered
or applicable. Design criteria, safety margins, calculation methodology, safety regulations,
recyclability and the process of homologation, amongst others, are points that the
regulation needs to develop in order to facilitate the use of new materials and to
accelerate the technological development of the whole sector.

With regards to the actual track, the challenge faced by manufacturers is the increase in its
service life under service loads, products with greater fracture toughness, slower fatigue
crack growth and greater resistance to wear. In order to obtain these improvements, it is
necessary to have technological capacity applied to the study of microstructures, thermal
and mechanic treatments, the characterization of the fracture toughness, speed of crack
growth or tribological testing. Other aspects are the development of the more efficient
solder technologies, which aim to reduce the levels of residual tensions and the
microstructures desired, the use of laser to modify these structures at a superficial level
(hardening laser) or laser deposition.

Position Paper: Research and innovation in materials applied to railways 9