Development of composites for transports : Challenges and expected development

One of the priorities in transport but also others industries (building and energy) is to develop lightweight complex structures with high mechanic and quality performances, in order to replace the metallic heavy pieces. In fact, the demand of energy efficient environment friendly vehicles for transport industries is increasing. Such vehicles are expected to be lightweight for less energy consumption as well as for minimum CO2 emission, high performance, reliability, recyclability, cost effective production, safety and comfort. An important issue is to reduce the material types, to enhance recycling, but without scarifying the notion of performance at affordable cost. The needs concerning composites structure is increasing; however there is still major breakthrough limit acting against their development, which are the following: high cost production, long and labor-intensive production, quality issues, lack of versatile and flexible process, tailored properties difficult to achieve with current technologies, difficulty to find competencies. The more advanced sector for composites is aeronautic. But the composites development is disparity according to the sector of application. For example rail is arguably behind the curves on the composites adoption compared to aerospace. Today's mainline rail vehicles tend to be extensively composite inside outside and especially structural, still mainly metal. In contrast, the latest airliners are 50% composites including their load bearing primary aero structures. Why the disparity? The rail and the air vehicles have much in common. They are both fast moving passenger carrying tubes that are prone to static and dynamic stresses plus material fatigue over long and intensive services lives. Fire is also a potential hazard in both cases so the structures have to be engineered to minim