Rail vehicles are experiencing a leap from the "steel age", "aluminum age" to "carbon material age".
Relevant data show that as of May 2018, 86 domestic high-speed railways were opened, 28,500 kilometers, and more than 3,100 high-speed EMUs were in operation, with operating mileage and train ownership accounting for 2/3 of the world. It is estimated that by 2020, the operating mileage will exceed 30,000 kilometers and the number of trains will reach 3,800. Foreign enthusiasm for high-speed rail is not low. Overseas projects such as Indonesia, Thailand, and Russia have been launched, and the market has entered a period of rapid development.
"After years of practice and exploration, we still need to face the necessity and feasibility of using lightweight carbon fiber composite materials for rail vehicles." In the "2019 Fifth Carbon Fiber At the "Conference on Materials Industry Conference", Ding Sansan, director of the National High-speed EMU Assembly Engineering Technology Research Center and deputy chief engineer and professor-level senior engineer at CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co., pointed out that the carbon fiber industry and technology are developing and upgrading fast, and the industry is full The vitality coincides with the emergence of the market demand window of the rail transit market, which will provide a rare opportunity for the application and promotion of carbon fiber composite technology.
Ding Sansan, director of the National High-speed EMU Assembly Engineering Technology Research Center and deputy chief engineer and professor-level senior engineer of CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co., Ltd.
Application of carbon fiber in the field of rail transit
Ding Sansan said that the status quo and sustainable development of the rail transit industry are facing arduous challenges, and safety and stability are the top priorities, which promotes the rapid development of technology and continuously increases the demand for new materials and technologies. He believes that the rail transit industry should seize the high points of new technologies, improve the right to speak and competitiveness, and adapt to the development strategy of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Although the market demand window appears, the service environment of rail transit is complex and changeable, which poses a challenge for the application of rail transit in carbon fiber in rail transit.
China's high-speed rail has a large volume and many varieties, and has withstood the tests of complex interactions, geographical climate, and operating conditions. In addition, it is a worldwide problem to solve the adaptive problems of vibration, shock, fatigue, corrosion, high wind, wind and sand, snow and ice, electromagnetic interference, and lightning intrusion in harsh environments.
He believes that comprehensive solutions with light weight as the core should focus on solving various performance contradictions with strength and stiffness, fatigue, corrosion, noise, and fire prevention, find a balance of various technical performances, and complete optimization of structures, materials, and integration.
The development status and foundation of the domestic carbon fiber industry are also related to the application of domestic carbon fibers in rail transit. At present, it appears that the domestic carbon fiber industry has a deep accumulation of experience, and some materials and technologies are advanced. The shortcomings are that the qualification rate and consistency of materials need to be improved. The development of the system is not balanced; the maturity of technology and the diversity of processes are insufficient; the industrial chain is still incomplete, and the supply and demand are unbalanced; the market is still gestating, the scale benefits are not present, and the price advantage is weak. Ding Sansan said that the domestic carbon fiber composite materials have developed rapidly, but many core technologies need to be breakthrough. "The theory, engineering, and industry divides across, and survival before dawn is worrying."
Carbon fiber applications in various countries
The application of carbon fiber composite materials in high-speed rail and rail transit is at the trial stage, and has many years of mature application experience in the fields of aviation, aerospace, wind power, ships, automobiles and other fields. Solving the problems of materials, structural design, manufacturing process, service performance and maintenance technology and economy, etc., has a good reference meaning for the rail transit industry.