Eco-Friendly Fire Safety in Rail Vehicles

The aim of Sub-project 1: Comparative Studies of Fire Behaviour and Determination of Performance Characteristics is to develop a transparent fire-retardant coating that preserves the decorative wood surface, is abrasion-resistant and meets all the fire safety requirements of the revised DIN EN 45545-2:2020 standard. This will ensure that wood components with the appropriate fire-retardant coating can continue to be used in rail vehicles while preserving their appearance. The new coating is also intended to be more environmentally friendly and sustainable than the system currently in use.

The first step is to develop an impregnable fire-retardant agent that meets the fire performance requirements when used in combination with a topcoat. Once the transition period has expired, this will provide a temporary means of continuing to use components made from wood or wood-based materials in rail vehicles.

In the second step, a coating is to be developed in which the fire-retardant agent is integrated, enabling it to be applied easily as part of the coating process and thereby providing a long-term solution. Developing a water-based coating with an integrated fire-retardant agent would also have a positive impact on the environmental performance of the wood components currently used.

This project is part of the collaborative project FlamenCo – Flame-Retardant Coating – Ecological Fire Safety in Rail Vehicles.

Project lead:

June 2024 to September 2025: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alexander Pfriem

10/2025 to 05/2027 Prof. Dr Tobias Cremer