Market-leading manufacturer of low-carbon advanced composite materials, Composite Braiding, has unveiled a cutting-edge, lightweight twin track cantilever assembly to the rail industry – its manufacture and transport producing 70% less CO2e emissions than typical steel structures.
Supporting overhead line equipment in electrified railway systems, cantilevers are critical pieces of infrastructure for accelerating the transition to rail electrification. The new, ultra-lightweight design from Composite Braiding weighs just 277kg, representing an 84% reduction in weight to those currently on the market.
This significant reduction in mass not only offers faster, simpler assembly, but also reduces the need for service roads, lifting equipment, heavy goods transportation, and requires significantly less concrete for the structure’s foundations. As a result, trackside installation times of the new cantilever can be halved to approximately 15 minutes per structure.
Manufactured using Composite Braiding’s fully automated braiding process, the cantilever was made by weaving together glass fibres with thermoplastics which, if laid out end-to-end, would stretch 679,000 km (over 16 times the circumference of the Earth). In production, the assembly will contain no metals or adhesives and will be environmentally inert and electrically non-conductive, providing additional advantages to designers and installers by helping them avoid further costs and complications along the cantilever’s full lifespan.
Crucially, by utilising Composite Braiding’s award-winning manufacturing capabilities, each cantilever uses 98% less energy to make and generates 97% less waste versus traditional composites.
Guy Lawrence, Composite Braiding lead development engineer, commented on the design: “We had one simple aim: to show that composite rail infrastructure is not just a viable alternative to steel, but brings substantial mechanical, economic and environmental benefits. Our main driver was mass reduction, which ultimately leads to lower installed costs per unit, improved worker safety and significantly reduced installation time.
“Our unique ability to easily adapt product designs means each unit can be tailored mechanically and aesthetically for its given application, while our in-house production methodology enables low-cost, high-volume production of high-performance composites that is repeatable, predictable and easily scalable. By using thermoplastic composites, we can manufacture rail infrastructure that is truly sustainable: low waste, low energy usage, recyclable and repairable.”
The cantilever was developed as part of the Clean Futures Accelerator Programme – led by the Connected Places Catapult (CPC), BCIMO and Coventry University – a six-month, challenge-led accelerator that sees West Midlands-based SMEs receive bespoke support and up to £50,000 in grant funding to trial their low-carbon technology solutions. Design for the twin-track cantilever was also supported by Tier 1 critical infrastructure organisation Amey, which provided installation support at the product’s unveiling.
For more information about Composite Braiding and its award-winning manufacturing processes, visit www.compositebraiding.com.
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