Parametric sizing study for the design of a lightweight composite railway axle

The potential for lightweighting of railway axles was investigated to primarily reduce the unsprung mass of a rail vehicle. The reduction of unsprung mass equates to an overall lighter train which will help to reduce track damage, energy consumption and total operating costs. This work was performed within the NEXTGEAR project which is ascribed under the Shift2Rail program. This paper focusses on the design of a composite railway axle as part of...