Project Contribution to the LIGHTer Program Goals
The project intends to exploit the similarities in the requirements and constraints for large castings used in rail and road vehicles. There are clear environmental benefits in reducing the weight of such vehicles and the proposed development of design guidelines effectively bridges the gap between industry and academia. New and innovative materials will be utilised and the possibilities of bi-metallic casting explored. The development of a clear methodology for lightweight design optimisation will help to lower design costs and shorten development times.
Project Implementation
The project is led by Bombardier Transportation AB in partnership with Ausferritic AB, Scania CV AB and KTH Department of Solid Mechanics. After initial development, the methodology will be tested by assessing the fatigue life of a prototype railway motor housing to confirm that the design requirements are met. The developed methodology will also be used for educational purposes in an advanced design course at KTH. Furthermore, the pre-project aims to investigate the possibility of achieving further weight reductions using the ausferritic ductile iron materials developed by Ausferritic AB, which offer excellent castability combined with very high strength, ductility and fracture toughness.
Deltagande företag
Bombardier Transportation AB
Scania CV AB
Ausferritic AB
Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (KTH) Institutionen för Hållfasthetslära
