Innovative Stainless Steel Applications in transport ... - Euro Inox

1.3 Bus and coach applications
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As in the case of railway carriages,
preference for stainless steel was to a
large extent an American phenomenon.
The image of long-distance bus
connections has been associated with the
bright and shiny appearance of stainless
steel buses since the 1940’s. This tradition
continues to the present day.
Figure 18. Stainless steel bus, Mexico (Pauly
2007).
In Europe, studies focussing on the weld integrity of stainless steels in bus and coach
applications have demonstrated the technical superiority of stainless steel. Safety
aspects have been studied, based on fracture mechanics and impact-toughness testing.
The fatigue resistance of welded rectangular hollow section (RHS) profiles was
evaluated according to the Eurocode 3 (1992) fatigue standard. Corrosion resistance was
studied by salt-spray-chamber tests in a de-icing salt atmosphere and by field testing for
3 years under an urban bus. The mechanical tests show that in these applications
austenitic stainless steel EN 1.4310 (AISI 301) is a superior material and that lowcarbon
12 % Cr alloyed stainless steel EN 1.4003 is also competitive. According to life
cycle cost (LCC) calculations, stainless steels are competitive compared with carbon
steels or aluminium (Kyröläinen et al. 2000).
European bus manufacturers started using stainless steel in the early 1990s.
Development started specifically in Scandinavia, where a cold and humid climate, often
involving the use of de-icing salts, explains operators’ willingness to consider a
corrosion-resistant material such as stainless steel.
Figure 19. Coach with a stainless steel body
frame and skin (Volvo Bus 2007).