Innovative Pultruded Composite Mast Design for Railway Overhead Line Structures

The structural feasibility of using a pultrusion of carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRP) for the lightweight design of a mast for overhead line railway electrification was investigated and simulated. Material characterisation was undertaken using three-point bending and finite element analysis to...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marzio Grasso, Mark Robinson, Brace Chaffey, Philip Mortimer, James Brighton
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-06-01
Series:Designs
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2411-9660/7/3/77
Description
Summary:The structural feasibility of using a pultrusion of carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRP) for the lightweight design of a mast for overhead line railway electrification was investigated and simulated. Material characterisation was undertaken using three-point bending and finite element analysis to identify the orthotropic properties of the pultruded tubes designed for a composite mast for overhead electrification. An innovative design of the mast was proposed and verified using a simulation that compared the deflection and stress levels under wind and inertial load. From the simulation results, it was concluded that the proposed composite structure design complies with the mechanical performance requirements for its implementation and benefits the application with a weight reduction of more than 80% with respect to the current steel mast design.
ISSN:2411-9660