Abstract
Keywords - Chassis and bodywork design, Sustainability, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics, Injection Molding, Prototype assembly method
The Superbus (Figure 1) was introduced as one of the option for the Zuiderzeelijn [1]: a fast connection between Amsterdam and Groningen and resulted to be the best option, the others being three different types of high speed train and the magnetic levitation train. In order evaluate the feasibility of its implementation, the Dutch Ministry of Transport and Water Management has decided to fund the realization of a demonstrator [2].
The Superbus is a new concept for public transportation. It is sustainable, fast, lightweight, and appealing and transports passengers and goods from point to point and drives at high speed (250 km/h) on its dedicated and relatively cheap infrastructure. The Superbus is 15 meter long, 2.5 m wide, 1.6m high and weighs less than 9 ton when fully loaded. The vehicle has to be able to brake or avoid an obstacle (detected by the navigation and control system) within a distance of 240m. Alongside that, static and dynamic loading conditions have rendered the structural design targets very demanding. For that, a new design has been implemented, which a uses cross-beams type of structure resulting in octagonal doors. Also, lightweight materials and construction processes have been implemented.
In this paper the material used, the manufacturing processes and the assembly processes for the construction of the Superbus are presented. First, the main characteristics of the design used for the achievement of the structural design targets in combination with the lightweight requirements will be described. The Superbus uses a composite chassis, IXIS thermoplastic bodywork and Lexan polycarbonate glazing. The materials used for the production of the Superbus will be discussed in terms of their properties and the reasoning for their utilization. Then, the moulds and the manufacturing processes utilized for the construction of the vehicle will be discussed. Finally, the assembly strategy will be described.