Own development model for Integrated Management of Technological Innovation.
The AXIS Project aims to maximise the life span of railway vehicles through the introduction of new design concepts on critical train components. Taking the axle as a case study, a key component in terms of safety and reliability, the project is implementing a multi-scale methodology that relates the mechanical behaviour of the axle with new inspection techniques and strategies that allow new improved structural designs to be obtained. The ambitious goal of the project is to improve efficiency, safety and sustainability of the vehicle through monitoring and prediction of damage directly related to the life span of the axle, together with a reduction of the financial costs of the manufacturing process and of the whole life-cycle.
The consortium will work along two main lines. One, the tolerance to damage of the axles in service, where the crack propagation speed under different forces will be analysed. Second, new non-destructive inspection systems will be developed, specifically, an ultrasound inspection system for the detection of volumetric defects and an induced current inspection system for the location of surface defects. The linking of both work lines will yield an improved design of railway axles which can be monitored throughout their life. Thanks to the developments of the project, it will be possible to monitor the behaviour of the axle and predict the probability of its failure, thus considerably minimising the risk of accidents.
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