Thermal characteristics of resistive heating composite panels for the interior parts of railway vehicles

The pandemic of highly infectious diseases like COVID-19 has highlighted the vulnerabilities of public transportation. In particular, railways are more vulnerable due to their dense environment, and the heating system used in winter is a major factor in increasing the transmission and risk of the virus. To improve the existing heating system, a study was conducted to develop a resistive heating composite capable of radiant heating. In this study, the applicability of heating elements, heating performance, and internal thermal deformation factors of laminated panels and sandwich panels used as rail vehicle components were analyzed in detail to consider the actual application of this technology in the railway industry. The experimental results confirmed that both types of panels effectively heated above the target temperature (120℃) in the heating element layer, demonstrating uniform heating characteristics. Additionally, sandwich panel is more affected by thermal deformation compared to the laminate panel. These experimental results are expected to serve as essential foundational data for the effective utilization, safety, and reliability considerations of resistive heating composite materials in real industrial environments.