Europe’s railway industries require a step change in technologies and design for the next generation of rail vehicles in order to remain competitive globally. Innovative materials and modular design for rolling stock are considered to become key to success. Composite materials with their unique properties (lightness, repairabillity, corrosion resistance…) have demonstrated a high potential for lighter, more energy- and cost-efficient structural components in relevant sectors such aeronautic or automotive industries. However, currently available structural composites do not meet Fire, Smoke & Toxicity requirements of the railway sector, and thus cannot be used for the manufacturing of carbodyshell parts. Mat4Rail will face these challenges through a two-tier approach: In work stream I, our materials team (including resin producers, composite manufacturers, and experts on joining technologies and testing) will: i) synthesize novel fire retardant resins (epoxy, benzoxazine or hybrids) and manufacture composite batches; ii) modify fatigue and static load cases according to new requirements for polymeric materials; iii) further develop structural adhesive bonding combined with riveting and bolting for permanent and non-permanent joints and the repair of the new composites; and iV) assess novel design concepts for access door systems using new materials and joining technologies. In work stream II, our specialised design and engineering teams will develop new concepts for interior design of rolling stock including: i) plug and play systems which function like a limbic technical and power system for new electric utilities; ii) innovative lightweight seats and iii) a compact and ergonomic driver’s desk. Together, our multi-disciplinary consortium of 7 SMEs, 3 large industries, 5 RTDs and 1 UNI clearly has the experience and skills required to deliver innovations for uptake by the Shift2Rail JU members and the European railway industries.

The proposal is adressing the topic JTI-CS2-2016-CFP03-LPA01-14 Automated injection RTM system process based on innovative sensor technologies in a low cost smart manufacturing tooling prototype and any tooling involved in the manufacture or the validation of the structure. The final objective of this topic is to produce the needed tooling to manufacture the HTP Leading edge structure (modified to include a HLFC system) using liquid resin injection processes, in particular RTM process to produce the mentioned part. The resulting structure shall comply with the actual regulation of the aerospace sector, in particular regarding geometrical tolerances and defects. Coexpair is the leader of this project, the other partners are Tecnalia, Pégard Productics and University of Liège. In order to produce the needed tooling to manufacture the HTP Leading edge structure, 5 elementary technology blocs are defined as objectives : 1°) low cost/ natural materials employed in the tooling manufactured, 2°) eco-design for of the tooling manufactured, 3°) energy savings during the manufacture processes of the future parts, 4°) manufacturing processes simplification in order to improve the repetitiveness of the process, 5°) production time savings to reduce the cost and production lead times. A “quick” specimen was manufactured prior to project submission to show the RTM process is suitable for the project. The project focuses on the automation of manufacturing steps of RTM process, including ply cutting and mold cleaning. Elementary tests of a few key points of the automation will be performed in industrial environment (Coexpair shop). In order to optimize floor shop organization, work flow simulation will be performed. In addition to Coexpair experience on RTM process and mold design, the consortium gathers experience in complex part mold machining, experience in robotic development and preforming automation. The project is planned within a duration of 24 months.