Innovation Prize for Front End of the AVANTO Light-Rail Train with ROHACELL® Sandwich Foam Core
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With 900 exhibitors and more than 25,000 visitors, the JEC Composites Show 2006, held in Paris, proved itself once again to be the leading trade show for the international composites industry. As every year the presentation of the JEC Composites Innovation Awards was a high point of the program. The first prize in the Ground Transport category went to the front end of the AVANTO light-rail train developed by Jupiter Plast (Denmark) and Siemens Mass Transportation (Germany).The front end is remarkable not only on account of its low weight, but also in being the first composite structure to comply with the requirements of the DIN 5560 European crash standard. An integral component of the crash- and weight-optimized structure, which is produced by means of a cost-effective vacuum-infusion technology, is a structural sandwich foam core of ROHACELL®. This forms a unique composite with a fire-resistant fiber-composite face sheet.
AVANTO satisfies the specific requirements, which are reflected by a combination of urban and suburban traffic conditions, for the nose design of the lead car, where the driver sits. |
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| ROHACELL® First at the Finish Line: This year's winner in the Ground Transport category of the JEC Composites Innovation Awards was the front end of the AVANTO light-rail train developed by Jupiter Plast (Denmark) and Siemens Mass Transportation (Germany). | |
The front end, which, thanks to ROHACELL®, is light and yet rigid, performs outstandingly in crashes and can withstand a 30-ton frontal impact. The nose bends in a controlled way that leaves the driver protected and does not deform the car. The first parts for the Avanto light-rail train will be delivered before the end of the year.
"In the AVANTO example, ROHACELL® shows yet again that we can optimally fulfill our customers' specific requirements using application-optimized high-performance foams." said Hermann Seibert, head of the ROHACELL® Product Line, in an informal discussion at the JEC Show. The ROHACELL® Product Line is part of the Films & Foams Business Line of the High Performance Polymers Business Unit, and has been recording steady growth over a number of years.
Further information on ROHACELL® is available at www.rohacell.com and on JEC at www.jeccomposites.com