Applications railway Composites in heavy transport: A Russian composite hopper car - Composites in heavy transport: A russian composite hopper car .. p14 A - Non-crimp 3D fabrics for composite structures ... p16 The most effective way to reduce the fuel consumption of road and rail transport is to reduce the weight of vehicles. Lightweight engineering is based on the use of structurally-efficient materials and on part and function integration. Composite materials show both structural efficiency and the capability to combine mechanical properties with thermal insulation and design freedom. 2012 NOVEMBER 17. 18. 1 9 . 20l4 JEC - 25 bd de l'Amiral Bruix -75116 Paris - France www.jeccomposites.com By Andrey UshAkov, GenerAl director, ApAtech GroUp MAArten lAbordUs, senior project MAnAGer, liGhtweiGht strUctUres b.v. 14 jec composites magazine / No91 August - September 2014 n important development with composite materials over the past decades has been the design and manufacture of large-scale integrated structures. Well-known examples are hulls for yachts and ferries. The introduction and further improvement of the vacuum infusion technology has contributed to this success. Moulds can be designed and manufactured using 3D CAD techniques and many different semifinished materials are available at low cost. Large-scale composite structures The heavy transport sector has also recognised the technological potential of large-scale composite structures. In addition to weight reduction, composites can provide thermal insulation and durability through their chemical resistance. Although the materials and technologies required to manufacture largesize products are available, a smart structural design and manufacturing strategy still has to be designed in order to introduce a product that is competitive in terms of both price and performance. To this end, the ApATeCh Group (Russia) manufactured a composite hopper car in cooperation with the research and production corporation UralVagonZavod (Russia) and Lightweight Structures B.V. (Netherlands). The composite hopper car's body is produced by vacuum infusion. Its structure is made of a self-supportedhttp://www.jeccomposites.com