Composites in railway construction

In railway construction, to compete with metal materials, the aim is to create multi-functional, higher-performance composite structures, not only by modifying the nature and arrangement of the layers, the structure or the application of the composite, but also by adding other elements (fillers, metal fabrics, etc.) during the manufacturing process. This is why we speak of composite-based multimaterials.

In this article, we present the main specifications for railway structures.

We then turn to the design aspect, or rather the design methodology, which is radically different from that of metallic materials, and which should enable the best economic and technical response to the specifications.

The focus is on economic and industrial aspects, which are fundamental in determining whether or not composite materials are chosen for a given application.

We conclude with a broad overview of composites used in the rail industry, distinguishing between two fundamentally different areas: non-structural parts and structural parts.

Let's start with the main reasons for switching to composites:

• the freedom to choose shapes and the ease with which complex geometries can be created;

• appearance ;

• absence of corrosion ;

• lower cost than pressed sheet metal.