Abstract
Use of plant fiber composites, for example, based on bamboo, coir, flax, hemp, and sisal, could be desirable in railway sleepers, for containing vibrations and also for reducing sleepers’ weight, which would be also in accordance with the prospective use of lightweight composites to reduce the weight of rail vehicles, which have been increased in recent decades due to more stringent passenger requirements. This could become easier due to the availability of a greater variety of textile products made with plant fibers, both in terms of fiber architecture and areal weight: of course, chemical treatment to provide fiber compatibility and sufficient performance in the composite also needs to be investigated. Another possibility investigated in this respect for the production of natural fiber composite railway sleepers is using resins obtained from plant oils, which supply an effective, yet reasonably cheap in some geographical contexts, replacement for synthetic polymer resins.
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