Research into the Strength of an Open Wagon with Double Sidewalls Filled with Aluminium Foam

The research is concerned with the use of double walls filled with aluminium foam for an open wagon in order to decrease the dynamic stresses during the operational modes. The research presents the strength calculation for the bearing structure of an open wagon with consideration of the engineering solutions proposed. It was found that the maximum equivalent stresses appeared in the bottom section of the centre sill behind the back support; they amounted to about 315 MPa and did not exceed the allowable values. The maximum displacements were detected in the middle section of the centre sill and amounted to 9.6 mm. The maximum deformations were 1.17 × 10⁻². The research also presents the strength calculation for a weld joint in the maximum loaded zones of the bearing structure of an open wagon and gives the results of a modal analysis of the bearing structure of the improved open wagon. It was found that the critical oscillation frequencies did not exceed the allowable values. The results of the research may be useful for those who are concerned about designing innovative rolling stock units and improving the operational efficiency of railway transport.     

Composites of Open-Cell Viscoelastic Foams with Blackcurrant Pomace

Taking into account the circular economy guidelines and results of life cycle analyses of various materials, it was proposed to use a blackcurrant pomace filler in the production process of viscoelastic polyurethane (PUR) foams intended for application as mattresses, pillows, or elements for orthopedics. Open-cell viscoelastic PUR foams containing 10–60 per hundred polyols (php) blackcurrant pomace were prepared. It was found that after introducing the filler to the PUR foam formulation, the speed of the first stage of the foaming process significantly decreases, the maximum temperature achieved during the synthesis drops (by 30 °C for the foam containing 40 php of filler compared to unfilled foam), and the maximum pressure achieved during the synthesis of foam containing 20 php is reduced by approximately 57% compared to the foam without filler. The growth time of the foams increases with increasing the amount of introduced filler; for the foam containing 60 php, the time is extended even by about 24%. The effect of the filler on the physical, morphological, mechanical, and functional performances of PUR foam composites has been analyzed. The use of 60 php as the filler reduced the hardness of the foams by approximately 30% and increased their comfort factor from 3 to 5.     

Fabrication of Aluminum Foam-Filled Thin-Wall Steel Tube by Friction Welding and Its Compression Properties

Aluminum foam has received considerable attention in various fields and is expected to be used as an engineering material owing to its high energy absorption properties and light weight. To improve the mechanical properties of aluminum foam, combining it with dense tubes, such as aluminum foam-filled tubes, was considered necessary. In this study, an aluminum foam-filled steel tube, which consisted of ADC12 aluminum foam and a thin-wall steel tube, was successfully fabricated by friction welding. It was shown that a diffusion bonding layer with a thickness of approximately 10 μm was formed, indicating that strong bonding between the aluminum foam and the steel tube was realized. By the X-ray computed tomography observation of pore structures, the fabrication of an aluminum foam-filled tube with almost uniform pore structures over the entire specimen was confirmed. In addition, it was confirmed that the aluminum foam-filled steel tube exhibited mechanical properties superior to those of the ADC12 aluminum foam and steel tube. This is considered to be attributed to the combination of the aluminum foam and steel tube, which particularly prevents the brittle fracture and collapse of the ADC12 foam by the steel tube, along with the strong metal bonding between the aluminum foam and the steel tube.     

Sound Absorption Characteristics of Aluminum Foams Treated by Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation

Open-celled aluminum foams with different pore sizes were fabricated. A plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) treatment was applied on the aluminum foams to create a layer of ceramic coating. The sound absorption coefficients of the foams were measured by an impedance tube and they were calculated by a transfer function method. The experimental results show that the sound absorption coefficient of the foam increases gradually with the decrease of pore size. Additionally, when the porosity of the foam increases, the sound absorption coefficient also increases. The PEO coating surface is rough and porous, which is beneficial for improvement in sound absorption. After PEO treatment, the maximum sound absorption of the foam is improved to some extent.     

Mechanical Properties and Constitutive Model Applied to the High-Speed Impact of Aluminum Foam That Considers Its Meso-Structural Parameters

In this work, quasistatic mechanical compression experiments were used to study the stress–strain relationship of aluminum foam, and the mechanism of the compressive deformation of aluminum foam under quasistatic compression conditions is discussed based on the experimental observations. Since the interactions among cells of the aluminum foam and differences in compressive strength among cells substantially impacted the mechanical properties of the material, the cellular structural parameters, namely the cell size and cell wall thickness, were defined. Along with the mechanism of deformation of a single cell, the influence of structural parameters on the micro failure mechanism and the stress–strain relationship of the aluminum foam material was analyzed. In combination with the factors influencing the mechanical properties of the aluminum foam, a mechanical constitutive model of aluminum foam suitable for multi-density and multi-impact environments that considers cellular structure density was established to predict the complete stress–strain relationship of aluminum foam under a high strain rate. The coupling function of strain rate and temperature in the original model was verified and the parameters were determined by the compression experiments under different strain rates and different temperatures.     

Structural,Electrical, and Mechanical Properties Investigation of Open-Cell Aluminum Foams Obtained by Spark Plasma Sintering and Replication on Polyurethane Template

The present paper illustrates a comparison of open-cell aluminum foams. The foams were fabricated by two different methods: spark plasma sintering and replication on a polyurethane template. The influence of pressure, temperature, and diameter of space holding material on foam obtained by the spark plasma sintering method was investigated. Additionally, the aluminum powder content in slurry and atmosphere during thermal processing of foam prepared by the replication technique were studied. The morphology and structure of obtained samples were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. Supplementarily, mechanical properties and electrical conductivity were studied. The porosity of obtained samples was 83% for the SPS sample and 85% for the replication sample. The results of the studies carried out gave us an understanding that the SPS method is more promising for using the obtained foams as cathode current collectors in lithium-ion batteries due to excessive aluminum oxidation during sintering in the furnace.     

Numerical Investigation of the Composite Action of Axially Compressed Concrete-Filled Circular Aluminum Alloy Tubular Stub Columns

This paper studied the composite action of concrete-filled circular aluminum alloy tubular (CFCAT) stub columns under axial compression. A fine-meshed finite three-dimensional (3D) solid element model making use of a tri-axial plastic-damage constitutive model of concrete and elastoplastic constitutive model of aluminum alloy was established. A parametric study utilizing the verified finite element (FE) model was carried out and the analytical results were exploited to investigate the composite actions of concrete-filled circular aluminum alloy tubular stub columns subjected axial compression. Compared with the concrete-filled steel tube (CFCST) stub columns, the aluminum alloy tube exerted a weaker constraint effect on the infilled concrete due to its lower elastic modulus. Based on the FE analytical results and regression method, the composite action model of concrete-filled circular aluminum alloy tubular stub columns was proposed. By generalizing the stress nephogram of the concrete-filled circular aluminum alloy tubular stub column at the limit state, a design formula was proposed to estimate the ultimate bearing capacity the columns using the superposition method. The predicted results of the proposed formula show a good agreement with both the experimental and FE analytical results. The comparison between the proposed formula and current design methods indicates that the proposed formula is more accurate and convenient to use.     

Highly Dissipative Materials for Damage Protection against Earthquake-Induced Structural Pounding

It is a common situation that seismic excitations may lead to collisions between adjacent civil engineering structures. This phenomenon, called earthquake-induced structural pounding, may result in serious damage or even the total collapse of the colliding structures. Filling the gap between two buildings erected close to one another by using visco-elastic materials can be considered to be one of the most effective methods to avoid seismic pounding. In this paper, a new polymer–metal composite material made of polyurethane and closed-cell aluminum foam is proposed as a pounding energy absorber for protection against earthquake hazards. The composite was created in two versions, with and without an adhesive interface. A series of experiments which reflect the conditions of seismic collision were performed: quasi-static compression, dynamic uniaxial compression and low-cycle dynamic compression with 10 loops of unloading at 10% strain. The composite material’s behavior was observed and compared with respect to uniform material specimens: polymer and metal foam. The experimental results showed that the maximum energy absorption efficiency in the case of the new material with the bonding layer was improved by 34% and 49% in quasi-static and dynamic conditions, respectively, in comparison to a sole polymer bumper. Furthermore, the newly proposed composites dissipated from 35% to 44% of the energy absorbed in the cyclic procedure, whereas the polymer specimen dissipated 25%. The capacity of the maintenance of the dissipative properties throughout the complete low-cycle loading was also satisfactory: it achieved an additional 100% to 300% of the energy dissipated in the first loading–unloading loop.     

Casein/Apricot Filler in the Production of Flame-Retardant Polyurethane Composites

Polyurethane (PUR) composites reinforced with 1, 2, and 5 wt.% of apricot filler modified with casein were synthesized in the following study. The impact of 1, 2, and 5 wt.% of casein/apricot filler on the cellular structure and physico-mechanical performances of reinforced PUR composites were determined. It was found that the incorporation of 1 and 2 wt.% of casein/apricot filler resulted in the production of PUR composites with improved selected physical, thermal, and mechanical properties, while the addition of 5 wt.% of casein/apricot filler led to some deterioration of their physico-mechanical performance. The best results were obtained for PUR composites reinforced with 2 wt.% of casein/apricot filler. Those composites were characterized by a uniform structure and a high content of closed cells. Compared with the reference foam, the incorporation of 2 wt.% of casein/apricot filler resulted in improvement in compressive strength, flexural strength, impact strength, and dynamic mechanical properties—such as glass transition temperature and storage modulus. Most importantly, PUR composites showed better fire resistance and thermal stability due to the good thermal performance of casein. The main aim of this article is to determine the influence of the natural combination of the apricot filler and casein on the mechanical properties and flammability of the obtained composites.     

Compression Behavior of Hybrid Tubes for Lightweight Steel Structures

This research shows the results of an experimental investigation carried out on the compression behavior of hybrid steel tubes formed by two concentric steel tubes and four different fillers of non-metallic material interposed between both tubes: polyurethane foam, polyurethane, epoxy and a cement-based mortar. The tests show that the incorporation of a resistant filler in the double tube allows it to improve its mechanical behavior by allowing a second load cycle. Furthermore, the strain energy absorbed during the two cycles led to the conclusion that the epoxy-filled tube absorbed more energy per unit of weight than the other resistant fillers.     

Research on Dynamic and Mechanical Properties of Magnetoactive Elastomers with High Permeability Magnetic Filling Agent at Complex Magneto-Temperature Exposure

We consider magnetically active elastomer as a potentially applicable material for manufacturing a working channel of a magnetic pump unit. During the study, the samples were exposed to a magnetic field, a temperature field, and their combination to assess the change in the elastic-strength properties of the final material. For the preparation of samples, high permeability magnetic fillers of various sizes were used in the concentration range of 50–70%. Samples were made with an isotropic and an anisotropic structure. Studies have shown that when using a filler with a relatively coarse fraction, the material has more stable dynamic and mechanical characteristics: the tensile strength of the sample increases by an average of 38%. With the combined effect of magnetic and temperature fields on the material, its elasticity and strength increase by an average of 30% in comparison with the material without external influence. Based on the results obtained, the composition and structural organization of the material, which has the best complex of elastic strength characteristics, has been substantiated. For the manufacture of a pumping unit tube, it is preferable to use an isotropic magnetoactive elastomer with a coarser filler content of about 60%.     

Fabrication of Aluminum Tubes Filled with Aluminum Alloy Foam by Friction Welding

Aluminum foam is usually used as the core of composite materials by combining it with dense materials, such as in Al foam core sandwich panels and Al-foam-filled tubes, owing to its low tensile and bending strengths. In this study, all-Al foam-filled tubes consisting of ADC12 Al-Si-Cu die-cast aluminum alloy foam and a dense A1050 commercially pure Al tube with metal bonding were fabricated by friction welding. First, it was found that the ADC12 precursor was firmly bonded throughout the inner wall of the A1050 tube without a gap between the precursor and the tube by friction welding. No deformation of the tube or foaming of the precursor was observed during the friction welding. Next, it was shown that by heat treatment of an ADC12-precursor-bonded A1050 tube, gases generated by the decomposition of the blowing agent expand the softened ADC12 to produce the ADC12 foam interior of the dense A1050 tube. A holding time during the foaming process of approximately t_H = 8.5 min with a holding temperature of 948 K was found to be suitable for obtaining a sound ADC12-foam-filled A1050 tube with sufficient foaming, almost uniform pore structures over the entire specimen, and no deformation and minimum reduction in the thickness of the tube.     

Effect of Pore Structure on Thermal Conductivity and Mechanical Properties of Autoclaved Aerated Concrete

With the premise of investigating mechanical properties, the thermal conductivity of autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) is a key index of self-insulation block walls for building energy conservation. This study focused on the effect of pore structures on the mechanical performance and thermal conductivity of AAC with the comparison of AAC base materials. Different kinds of AAC and their base materials were prepared and experimentally investigated. While maintaining a consistent mix proportion of the AAC base material, the pore structure of AAC was changed by the dosage of aluminum power/paste, foam stabilizer, and varying the stirring time of aluminum paste. The steam curing systems of AAC and the base material were determined based on SEM (Scanning Electronic Microscopy) and XRD (X-ray Diffraction) tests. With almost the same apparent density, the pore size decreased with the increasing content of foam stabilizer, and the mixing time of aluminum paste and foam stabilizer has a great influence on pore size. The thermal conductivity test and compressive test results indicated that that pore size had an effect on the thermal conductivity, but it had little effect on the compressive strength, and the thermal conductivity of sand aeration AAC was 8.3% higher than that of fly ash aeration AAC; the compressive strength was 10.4% higher, too. With almost the same apparent density, the regression mathematical model indicates that the thermal conductivity of AAC increased gradually with the increase of pore size, but it had little effect on the compressive strength. From the test results of basic mechanical properties, the mechanical model of cubic compressive strength, elastic modulus, axial compressive strength, and splitting tensile strength was obtained. The proposed stress–strain relationship model could well describe the relationship of AAC and the base material at the rising section of the curve.     

Waste Wood Particles from Primary Wood Processing as a Filler of Insulation PUR Foams

A significant part of the work carried out so far in the field of production of biocomposite polyurethane foams (PUR) with the use of various types of lignocellulosic fillers mainly concerns rigid PUR foams with a closed-cell structure. In this work, the possibility of using waste wood particles (WP) from primary wood processing as a filler for PUR foams with open-cell structure was investigated. For this purpose, a wood particle fraction of 0.315–1.25 mm was added to the foam in concentrations of 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20%. The foaming course of the modified PUR foams (PUR-WP) was characterized on the basis of the duration of the process’ successive stages at the maximum foaming temperature. In order to explain the observed phenomena, a cellular structure was characterized using microscopic analysis such as SEM and light microscope. Computed tomography was also applied to determine the distribution of wood particles in PUR-WP materials. It was observed that the addition of WP to the open-cell PUR foam influences the kinetics of the foaming process of the PUR-WP composition and their morphology, density, compressive strength and thermal properties. The performed tests showed that the addition of WP at an the amount of 10% leads to the increase in the PUR foam’s compressive strength by 30% (parallel to foam’s growth direction) and reduce the thermal conductivity coefficient by 10%.     

Efficient Model of the Interaction of Elastomeric Filler with an Open Shell and a Chrome-Plated Shaft in a Dry Friction Damper

The results of a study of the contact interaction of an open shell and a chrome-plated shaft with elastomeric filler installed coaxially are presented. The considered contact system is a model of the original design of the shell damper of dry friction. The design feature is the following: the bearing link of the damper is a thin-walled cylindrical shell with a cut along the generatrix; the working body of the damper is elastomeric filler; a hollow chrome-plated shaft centers the damper elements and allows it to be used in technological processes with the presence of aggressive and abrasive-containing media. The mechanical-mathematical modeling of the behavior of the presented damper under the conditions of operational loads has been carried out. The idea of identifying the properties of a cut isotropic shell, which bends under the conditions of a nonaxisymmetric contact load, and a strongly orthotropic continuous shell is applied. As a result, dependences were obtained to determine the rigidity and the maximum allowable load of the damper. The effect of the coefficient of friction of the contact pairs elastomer-shell and elastomer-shaft on the damper performance properties has been studied. A technique for the quasi-static analysis of structural damping in non-mobile, non-conservative shell systems with deforming filler has been developed. The hysteresis loops of the damper under a nonmonotonic load are constructed, the dependence of the amount of dissipated energy on the cycle asymmetry coefficient is found. An analysis of the results obtained showed that the use of open shells in friction shock absorbers can significantly reduce their rigidity compared to solid shells and thereby reduce the resonant frequencies of the dynamic system. This circumstance makes such vibration isolators particularly attractive for use in superresonance vibrators as working modules of drilling shock absorbers and elastic hangers of sucker rods in oil and gas production.     

Design and Fabrication of Highly Porous Replicated Aluminum Foam Using Double-Granular Space Holder

Porous materials are widely employed in a wide variety of industrial applications due to their advanced functional performance. Porous aluminum is among the most attractive metallic materials. It can be produced using repeatable methods involving a replicated Al foam that also provides porosity control. In this work, a highly porous replicated Al foam was fabricated. First, the model of multifunctional packing density was used and corrected to select the appropriate space holders. Then, Al foam was produced using a double-granular sodium chloride space holder. The obtained results showed a maximum porosity of 65% that was achieved using a mix of coarse, irregular granules with spherical granules of intermediate size.     

Experimental Tests and Numerical Simulations on the Ballistic Impact Response of a Highly Inhomogeneous Aluminium Foam

A sandwich structure is a composite material consisting of thin skins encapsulating a cellular core. Such structures have proven to be excellent energy absorbents and are frequently found in various types of protection. Even so, few studies exist in the open literature on the response of the core material itself under extreme loadings such as blast and impact. Since a blast load is usually accompanied by numerous fragments, it is important to understand and be able to predict the ballistic impact resistance of the often highly inhomogeneous cellular core materials in design. In this study, the ballistic impact response of an aluminium foam with a complex cell structure has been investigated both experimentally and numerically. First, an extensive material test program involving compression tests on cubic specimens loaded in the thickness direction of the foam was carried out to reveal the mechanical properties of the material. In addition, several of the specimens were scanned before testing using X-ray Micro Computed Tomography (XRMCT) to map the multi-scale topology and morphology of the material. These data were later analysed to extract density-variation plots in many different material orientations. Second, ballistic impact tests were conducted using a gas gun where rigid spheres were launched towards aluminium foam plates, and the ballistic limit velocity and curve of the foam material were established. Finally, numerical simulations of both the material tests and the ballistic impact tests were carried out using LS-DYNA and different modelling approaches based on the XRMCT data. It will be shown that, independent of the modelling strategy applied, good agreement between the experimental impact tests and the numerical predictions can be obtained. However, XRMCT data are important if the final goal is to numerically optimise and improve the behaviour of inhomogeneous foams with respect to energy absorption, thermal isolation, or similar properties.     

The Influence of Different Length Aluminum Foam Filling on Mechanical Behavior of a Square Thin-Walled Column

The demand for lightweight, strong structural profiles is currently high in the transport industry, mechanical engineering, and construction. Therefore, it is important to evaluate their properties, especially mechanical properties. The main objective of this paper is to determine energy absorption coefficients and evaluate the crush resistance of thin-walled aluminum profiles using numerical simulation and empirical verification. This paper presents the compression results of testing of thin-walled aluminum profiles filled with a porous material (cast aluminum foam). The numerical analysis was conducted using the software Abaqus/CAE. Aluminum material data were obtained from a static tensile test performed on a Shimadzu machine. The experiment was performed on an Instron CEAST 9450HES dynamic hammer. Profiles with three shapes of crush initiators filled with aluminum foam measuring 40 mm–200 mm in 20 mm increments were numerically tested. A sample with a concave initiator filled with foams of 40 mm, 60 mm, 80 mm, and 120 mm in length was used to verify the numerical analyses. Energy absorption coefficients were determined from the analyses. The results of both analyses were tabulated to show the percentage differences. The study showed an increase in the Crush Load Efficiency (CLE) index by up to 33% for samples with the same crush initiator. In addition, it was noted that the use of porous fill does not increase the value of initiating Peak Crushing Force (PCF), which indicates the generation of much smaller overloads dangerous for vehicle passengers.     

Influence of Orientation and Radiative Heat Transfer on Aluminum Foams in Buoyancy-Induced Convection

Two differently-produced open-cell aluminum foams were compared to a commercially available finned heat sink. Further, an aluminum plate and block were tested as a reference. All heat sinks have the same base plate dimensions of four by six inches. The first foam was made by investment casting of a polyurethane preform and has a porosity of 0.946 and a pore density of 10 pores per linear inch. The second foam is manufactured by casting over a solvable core and has a porosity of 0.85 and a pore density of 2.5 pores per linear inch. The effects of orientation and radiative heat transfer are experimentally investigated. The heat sinks are tested in a vertical and horizontal orientation. The effect of radiative heat transfer is investigated by comparing a painted/anodized heat sink with an untreated one. The heat flux through the heat sink for a certain temperature difference between the environment and the heat sink’s base plate is used as the performance indicator. For temperature differences larger than 30 ^°C, the finned heat sink outperforms the in-house-made aluminum foam heat sink on average by 17%. Furthermore, the in-house-made aluminum foam dissipates on average 12% less heat than the other aluminum foam for a temperature difference larger than 40 ^°C. By painting/anodizing the heat sinks, the heat transfer rate increased on average by 10% to 50%. Finally, the thermal performance of the horizontal in-house-made aluminum foam heat sink is up to 18% larger than the one of the vertical aluminum foam heat sink.     

Regeneration of Aluminum Matrix Composite Reinforced by SiCp and GCsf Using Gas Tungsten Arc Welding Technology

The main motivation behind the presented research was the regeneration of the damaged surface of composite materials. The testing of melting and pad welding of the composite surface by Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) with alternating current (AC) were carried out. The material of investigation was an AlSi12/SiCp + GCsf hybrid composite made by a centrifugal casting process. The composite was reinforced with 5 wt.% of silicon carbide particles and 5 wt.% of glassy carbon spheres. The composites were investigated in tribological tests. It was found that there was a possibility for modification or regeneration of the surface with pad welding technology. Recommended for the repairs was the pad welding method with filler metal with a chemical composition similar to the aluminum matrix composite (ISO 18273 S Al4047A (AlSi12 [A])). The surface of the pad welding was characterized by the correct structure with visible SiCp. No gases or pores were observed in the pad welding; this was due to a better homogeneity of the silicon carbide (SiCp) distribution in the composite and better filling spaces between liquid metal particles in comparison to the base material. Based on the tribological tests, it was found that the lowest wear was observed for the composite surface after pad welding. This was related to the small number of reinforcing particles and their agreeable bonding with the matrix. The plastic deformation of the Al matrix and scratching by worn particles were a dominant wear mechanism of the surface.