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Delaware News
Journal
 
The News
Journal; Wilmington, DE USA
Del. Firm’s rail car put to test
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Its strength has
been used widely
Kevlar, which is five
times stronger than steel, is used in a wide variety of products,
including police bulletproof jackets, automotive gaskets, brake
linings, aircraft parts, prosthetic devices and undersea cables. |
WILMINGTON – Imagine a
busy subway system where everything form cabbages to flammable fuel is
shipped daily. Imagine again a collision on a railroad car carrying
thousands of gallons of diesel fuel, spilling from the ruptured gash
down streets and sewers. Accidents like this have caused thousands to
be evacuated from schools, home and businesses.
Amer Industrial
Technologies Inc., has designed a fire-resistant fuel tank system for
the Long Island Railroad that will allow tank full of fuel without
risking the spill of fuel or fumes in an accident. Ahmad Amer’s
“bullet-proof” rail-road car, lined by a puncture-resistant bladder
made of Du Pont Co.’s Kevlar, can carry 500 pounds of fuel and
withstand a collision with a load of up to 250,000 pounds.
Kevlar is the same
material used in making bullet-proof vests.
Amer Industrial’s
railroad tank, which weighs 9,500 pounds empty and can be propelled
through a battery-driven system. The car is usually underneath
another car while in transit.
Long Island Railroad
will “road-test” the tank in October. If everything’s satisfactory,
tow more cars will be shipped.
Ahmad Amer, the
company’s president and executive director, is optimistic, forecasting
up to 40 more orders from the railroad during the nest five years. He
said Amtrak, General Electric and the U.S. Department of
Transportation also have expressed interest.
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