Composites Use in Mass Transit

Led by needs to reduce emissions and increase efficiency, there are a variety of opportunities and efforts toward incorporating lightweight composites into more mass transit vehicles like railcars and buses, from vehicle bodies and frames, to doors, tracks, bogies and battery enclosures.

Composite sidewall cover expands options for fire-safe rail components
Thermoplastics

Composite sidewall cover expands options for fire-safe rail components

R&D project by CG Rail explores use of carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastics and recycled manufacturing scrap to meet fire safety, weight and volume targets.

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Coast-Line Intl
Chem Trend

Latest Mass Transit Articles

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Mass Transit

SABIC debuts EN45545 rail-compliant, fiber-reinforced compound

LNP Thermocomp AM DC0041XA51 offers the rail industry a solution that can be used for on-demand printing of large, complex exterior and interior parts in relatively small build numbers.  

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Wind/Energy

Longtime partner New Flyer selects Hexagon Purus to outfit hydrogen transit bus

Hexagon Purus will continue to supply Type IV hydrogen tanks for the Xcelsior Charge H2 fuel cell electric bus, the tanks of which will be produced out of Hexagon’s new Maryland facility.  

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Aerospace

LIST opens innovation center focusing on sustainable composite materials

The Sustainable Composite Materials and Manufacturing Innovation Centre (SCMM) will be supported by major players in rail, aerospace, automotive and space to transition sustainable composites research to commercialization.  

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Carbon Fibers

Hexagon Purus opens new U.S. facility to manufacture composite hydrogen tanks

CW attends the opening of Westminster, Maryland, site and shares the company’s history, vision and leading role in H2 storage systems.

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Automotive

Kimya features Kimya PC-FR 3D filament for the transportation sector

Flame-retardant polycarbonate filament reaches EN45545 certification and meets REACH and RoHS standards for production of parts in railway, automotive, electronics.  

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Automotive

Voith H2 storage tanks made with in-house towpreg winding

Plug & Drive H2 storage system displayed at IAA Transportation 2022 uses 700-bar tanks for heavy-duty commercial and construction vehicles.

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Knowledge Centers

CompositesWorld Collections
CompositesWorld Collections

CW’s editors are tracking the latest trends and developments in tooling, from the basics to new developments. This collection, presented by Composites One, features four recent CW stories that detail a range of tooling technologies, processes and materials.

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Closed Molding
Closed Molding

Closed mold processes offer many advantages over open molding. This knowledge center details the basics of closed mold methods and the products and tools essential to producing a part correctly.

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Sustainability
Sustainability

The composites industry is increasingly recognizing the imperative of sustainability in its operations. As demand for lightweight and durable materials rises across various sectors, such as automotive, aerospace, and construction, there is a growing awareness of the environmental impact associated with traditional composite manufacturing processes.

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Airtech
Airtech
HEATCON Composite Systems
3D industrial laser projection
Airtech International Inc.

Latest Mass Transit News And Updates

Hydrogen Storage

Plastic Omnium supports development of Safra Hycity hydrogen-powered buses

Passenger transportation retrofit specialist will receive Plastic Omnium’s Type IV high-pressure hydrogen vessels, fuel cell systems, and technical and product launch support.  

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Sustainability

Röchling launches sustainable vacuum forming materials for railway structures

Röchling’s Maywoflamm plus RC and Maywoflamm NFPA RC can be manufactured using up to 70% recycled material, making it possible to increase sustainability in customer applications.

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Mass Transit

Ballard Power and Wisdom Motor Co. partner to accelerate adoption of fuel cell commercial vehicles

As part of the collaboration, the companies plan to introduce and demonstrate a double-decker fuel cell bus in Hong Kong this year.  

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Hydrogen Storage

Hexagon Purus and CIMC Enric for construction of joint production facility and New Energy R&D management center

Investment agreements establish new facilities in China, aiming toward increased production capacity of hydrogen storage vessels.

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Hydrogen Storage

H2Bus hydrogen-electric bus launches in Europe

The eight-meter minibus demonstrates the viability of hydrogen fuel cell technology in transit vehicles, complete with Loop Energy eFlow technology and hydrogen storage tanks.

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Mass Transit

Hexagon Purus selected for contracts in global hydrogen bus market

Orders for Polish bus OEM and New Flyer play a role in delivering Type IV hydrogen cylinders to fuel cell vehicles in Europe and North America.

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CompositesWorld
NewStar Adhesives - Nautical Adhesives
Thermwood Corp.
CAMX 2024
Chem Trend

Featured Posts

Aerospace

Materials & Processes: Fibers for composites

The structural properties of composite materials are derived primarily from the fiber reinforcement. Fiber types, their manufacture, their uses and the end-market applications in which they find most use are described.

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Marine

Materials & Processes: Resin matrices for composites

The matrix binds the fiber reinforcement, gives the composite component its shape and determines its surface quality. A composite matrix may be a polymer, ceramic, metal or carbon. Here’s a guide to selection.

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Materials & Processes: Fabrication methods

There are numerous methods for fabricating composite components. Selection of a method for a particular part, therefore, will depend on the materials, the part design and end-use or application. Here's a guide to selection.

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Glass Fibers

Refrigerated railcar floor expands composites horizons

TrinityRail, in an effort to update a 20-year-old design, seizes the opportunity to apply composites in a structural application in its refrigerated railcar. It’s a first for the rail and composites industry.

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Mass Transit

TU Munich gears up for full-scale Hyperloop demonstrator

As a new, university-directed research program, the Technical University of Munich Hyperloop team works to scale up its SpaceX competition-winning pod design.

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The industrialization of thermoplastic epoxy

Fast-processing composites that are strong yet tough, thermoformable, reformable, recyclable and even FST-compliant save cost in aircraft and rail equipment.

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KraussMaffei Metering Systems
pro-set epoxy laminate infusion tool high temp Tg
CompositesWorld
Carbon Fiber 2024
Kraussmaffei Metering Systems

FAQ: Mass Transit

How are composites used in buses?

Opportunities for composites have arisen as more all-electric buses have been designed and developed.

Like consumer vehicles, battery enclosures for battery-electric buses are likely to use composites for their light weight, design flexibility and tailorability to meet a range of property requirements.

Several all-composite or partially composite all-electric bus designs have also been developed.

Source: EV battery enclosure inspires material, process innovations

Are composites used in hyperloop designs?

  • Some! Several designs have included carbon fiber composite components in the pods and/or tracks for various prototype and competition models over the past several years.
  • Source: Into the Hyperloop
Harper International Carbon Fiber
CompositesWorld