China develops first batch of carbon fibre composite heavy rail freight trains
After three years of collaborative research, focusing on the core issues of lightweighting and intelligence in the field of railway equipment, the three companies developed an advanced carbon fibre-reinforced resin-based composite material suitable for heavy rail freight cars, and overcame key technical problems such as the integrated preparation of large components of composite panels. For the first time, this new material was used in the preparation of the main load-bearing structure of heavy rail freight cars.
The specific strength and specific modulus of this advanced carbon fibre-reinforced resin-based composite material are 3-5 times and 1.5-1.8 times that of aluminium alloy materials, respectively. It can better meet the production requirements of light and large parts and the use of heavy rail trucks. It is lighter, more energy efficient and more durable and has technical advantages such as greater environmental adaptability.
The weight of this type of railway freight car body is more than 20% lower than that of similar aluminium alloy material car bodies. It achieves the simultaneous synergy of vehicle weight reduction, load increase and volume increase, which is important for improving railway transportation efficiency.
China Energy Group and CRRC have a long history of cooperation in railway equipment research and development, operation and maintenance, etc. In September 2022, the two parties jointly signed the “Cooperation Agreement on the Construction of Modern Energy Transportation Industry Chain”.
Cover photo: China’s first batch of carbon fibre composite heavy rail wagons (source: CRRC).
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