Benchmarking and process development
REFRESCO was a 30-month project supported by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme, coordinated by UNIFE, the association of the European rail industry.
The project was divided into nine work packages (WPs). It began by benchmarking the most promising new materials (and associated certification processes) being used both inside and outside the transport sector, which could be implemented in railway rolling stock. It also carried out an analysis of the gaps in the current framework which need to be filled to allow the implementation of new materials.
This was accompanied by the identification of required certification processes. The work carried out in WP2 was inputted into the rest of the technical work packages in REFRESCO, which focused on specific issues of relevance to the implementation of new materials in railway rolling stock. These issues are as follows: fire and smoke performance, noise and vibration performance, and electromagnetic compatibility issues (WP3); structural resistance and fatigue analysis (WP4); crashworthiness (eg Figure 1) (WP5); joining and manufacturing (WP6); prognostic and health management (WP7); and reparability and maintainability (eg Figure 2) (WP8).