Structural lightweight components for energy-efficient rail vehicles using high performance composite materials

The structural application of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) in rail vehicles allows significant mass reductions compared to classic metals due to the outstanding specific stiffness and strength of CFRP. However, for CFRP materials in rail vehicle technology as a quite new field of application, various challenges must be overcome, such as the development of suited design approaches for main load-bearing train parts considering all rail specific standards. In this paper the development of related design approaches is exemplary shown for a bogie frame and a pantograph platform. The achieved mass reduction is almost 50% for the bogie frame and 40% for the pantograph platform compared to the metallic reference systems. Both CFRP lightweight structures have been successfully tested under static and fatigue loading according to valid railway standards.