Foamed alumiunium composite

[Gnarly Gnu]

Seems an interesting product, I wonder if they could make it with very thin skins...?

 

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"...Trains made of aluminum foam, a material that’s stronger, lighter, and better in a crash than fiberglass or regular old metal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Engineers in Chemitz, Germany unveiled a prototype high-speed train cab made with the stuff earlier this year. The composite material is built like a sandwich: Between two pieces of aluminum, each just two millimeters thick, is a 25-millimeter-thick layer of the “foam,” actually a low-density, sponge-like composite of magnesium, silicon, and copper, and aluminum. And like a good sandwich, there’s no glue. The layers are held together by metallic bonding, the electrostatic attraction of negatively charged electrons and positively charged ions."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[planedriver]

Knowing a bit more of the actual manufacturing process would be interesting.

 

If an inner and outer pressed skin can be appropriately spaced, then the inner foam layer added, the number of applications would be immence compared to many of the present construction techniques.

 

Looks like it has a very promising future.

 

 

[turboplanner]

Sandwich construction has great structural strength, separating two floppy skins and always keeping the skin on the potential outer curve in tension to provide that strength.

 

There are several posts and threads on this site making claims about the great strength of some fuselages.

 

However, its achilles heel is that the thin outer skins will not withstand an impact which is localised, such as hitting a tree or pole at high speed, so while I wouldn't have too much problem using it in parts of carriages, I'd prefer structural steel up front.

 

I've seen a few Shinkansen coming through stations in Japan at 320 km/hr, and the structure would be powder and bits for quite a length back don the train in a head on impact.

 

 

[planedriver]

No doubt you're right there Turbs, it seems like the sudden stop that they have to work on, for whatever application, as to whether it's really suitable for the application.