Structural analysis for the design of a lightweight composite railway axle

The unsprung masses associated with the axles of a railway vehicle result in costly impact damage to rail infrastructure. A hybrid metallic-composite (HMC) axle is evaluated using finite element analysis. mass 74 kg, 63% lighter than an equivalent hollow steel axle. HMC comprises full length, carbon fibre reinforced, epoxy matrix composite tube secondary overwrapping for stiffness and EA1N grade collars creating wheel seats journal surfaces. Maximum deflection 1.72 mm misalignment at journals 0.21°, potentially requiring bearing reassessment. Nominal bending stress 99.3 MPa (Tsai-Wu index 0.18). Peak torsional stresses Tsai-Wu indexes 0.71 0.42, respectively. methodology this paper can be extended design future lightweight shafts benefit many other industries.