CEIT technology centre, Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC), and Tria Ingeniería take part in the Railfiller project, whose aim is to reduce railway infrastructure maintenance costs.
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(05/11/2020)
The Railfiller project seeks to develop an in-situ system for repairing metallic components of the railway infrastructure through additive manufacturing. It will significantly reduce current maintenance methods as well as the environmental impact associated with repair.
Railfiller will select the most appropriate material for repair and optimize the repair process via the use of an additive manufacturing technology known as Laser Metal Deposition, facing the challenge of transporting the material to the area where the repairs will take place.
The project, which will run for thirty months, is part of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation's Collaboration Challenges program and has a budget of over 500,000€.
Maintenance
Maintaining Europe's railway system costs more than 10 billion Euros each year. Most solutions are based on inspection points that are tested once a day (in the case of wheels) or once every few months (the rail or wheel profile).
The biggest maintenance cost comes from repairs made to the rails due to issues with the track itself, with track replacement being one of the costliest aspects of maintaining a railway infrastructure. It has been estimated that an optimal maintenance policy based on knowledge of the conditions of the components can save anywhere between 30% and 85% of the total maintenance cost.
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