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MOVING FASTER at lower cost

ROHACELL® for mass transportation 

Modern rail systems not only have to be fast and reliable, but also cost-effective. This doesn’t just refer to production, but to the entire life cycle cost (LCC). Performance Foams from Evonik make an essential contribution to lowering this cost.

Railcars need a lot of energy to get started. This is an essential aspect of the life cycle assessment (LCA) of railcars in commuter and metro trains that make frequent stops. Their energy demand depends on the mass to be accelerated. Composite sandwich structures in the bottom, ceilings, side walls or bogies of railcars made with ROHACELL® structural core can reduce weight and increase thermal insulation at the same time.

ROHACELL® gets more people on board

However, the material saves more than just weight: The C20 FICAS® by Bombardier is clear proof that ROHACELL® sandwich structures in addition to saving weight increase the inside clearance of the cars, making more space for passengers.
FICAS = Fully Integrated Car-body Assembly System; FICAS is a registered trademark of Bombardier Transportation

ROHACELL® gives trains a face

Increasingly, transportation companies are looking for an individual appearance of their fleet to set themselves apart from other service providers. In the front end, all benefits of the self-extinguishing ROHACELL® S can be used in structural cores:

  • Thanks to easy machining and thermoforming, even the most complex 3D structures are simple to achieve.
  • The homogeneity of the material allows for reliable calculations and simulations, which have been confirmed with practical crash tests (view SKZ Presentation).
  • In the RTM procedure, ROHACELL® can be used at room temperature to consolidate the complete front end in a single (“one-shot”) work process, for example with CFRP.
  • Compared to honeycomb cores, ROHACELL® and the in-mold process can save up to 60% of production costs.

Fire behavior

The PMI-based, self-extinguishing structural foam ROHACELL® S can be processed with all available resin systems and offers favorable fire properties in addition to outstanding mechanical strength. As a consequence, ROHACELL® is found in a myriad of streetcars, commuter trains, speed trains, mountain railways, and MAGLEVs around the globe.

The fire behavior of ROHACELL® S complies with the following standards

ASTM D 1692-59
self-extinguishing
AFNOR NF 16-101

M1/F2 (ROHACELL® S)
M2/F3 (ROHACELL® 71 S)

ASTM D 2863 (LOI)
23.8% (ROHACELL® 51 S)
 23.2% (ROHACELL® 71 S)
UL 94
V-2 (ROHACELL® 51 S)

Built with ROHACELL® 51S
Manufactured in “one-shot” RTM by Jupiter Plast

FEM designed by ANASYS II

Crash simulation with LS Dyna, confirmed by crash tests 1:1 at 25 km/h, 80 tons toward 60 tons wagon Meets fire standards NF 16-101 for frequent tunnel operations and DIN 5510 - S4, SR4 & ST4

Pre-series uses composites
Closed mold process

In-mold pressure generated by ROHACELL®

GRP / epoxy resin (Ciba Geigy 913)

Weight savings approx. 2t

In practical test > 15 years

30% savings in manufacturing costs compared to previous, hand-shaped aluminum design
Sandwich structure with ROHACELL® is lighter, stronger and more impact-resistant

ROHACELL® can be thermoformed to complex shapes

ROHACELL® shows outstanding mechanical strength at the lowest weight

ROHACELL® fully supports the pre-preg skins during curing, leading to excellent skin consolidation and smooth surface. No filing and sanding needed.

ROHACELL® burns non-toxic, shows low smoke density and does not release corrosive emissions.