Basotect, a specialty foam with open-cell structure offered by BASF, has been selected to modernize trams in the city of Bonn, Germany.
Municipal works in Bonn are modernizing trams with BASF’s specialty foam
The material will offer excellent thermal insulation and sound absorption properties for the trams. Alexander Wingen, project manager of Bonn’s municipal works, stated that their old trams are structurally strong and hence, they have decided to renovate them and outfit them with advanced technology like Basotect. The municipal works will be upgrading 25 old trams in the next few years.
Key features of the Basotect foam are elasticity, light-weight, heat-insulating, sound-absorbing, flame-retardant and temperature-resistant. The material is ideal for applications in aircraft, trains, cars and buildings.
The Basotect foam has a high capability to absorb vibration, which is caused by reflection of sound over the surface. This decrease the noise level in the vehicles and allows passengers to travel in a more quiet and comfortable environment. BASF’s specialty foam has low thermal conductivity that ensures excellent thermal insulation. The on site processing of Basotect is easier, which means that it can be cut into required size. In addition, Basotec foam helps to decrease the total weight of the tram, as its weighs only 9 kg/m³. It produces no dust.
Hanno, a German company, supplies Basotect foam panels to municipal works in Bonn. Each tram will be enclosed with approximately 150 sq.m of the Basotect G grade material. The municipal works will upgrade three ramps in their workshops every year.