Overview
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Aluminium alloys are now in widespread use in Europe and elsewhere for rail vehicle construction from commuter to express trains. The main contributor to the success of aluminium alloys as structural materials in rail transport is the development of closed cell aluminium extrusions that can easily be welded together to form lightweight rail vehicles with high inherent rigidity that could not be achieved with older designs.
As rail transport is becoming more popular throughout Europe, there is an increased need t
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The aim of the project can be summarised as providing sufficient knowledge to design cost effective aluminium rail vehicle bodies that will not fail by catastrophic joint failure under extreme loading. To achieve this overall goal several specific objectives were addressed:
- determine the performance specifications required by critical aluminium joints in rail vehicle cars to ensure the structural integrity
- provide physical evidence of the energy absorption ca
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The strategy that ALJOIN used to approach the problem can be described as follows:
- creation of performance criteria for the properties of aluminium welds in the new generation of rail vehicles in terms of their stress/strain performance
- assessing the existing methods of joining techniques and joints
- static and dynamic modelling of joints and structures
- formulating new joining techniques and joints
- definition of a method for assessing crashworthiness
- demonstration and validation of the innovative technologies developed against the performance criteria.
Funding
Results
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ALJOIN has carried out a detailed investigation of the joining of components in rail vehicles by initially reviewing the current state of the art and assessing alternative joining techniques. Adhesive bonding of aluminium sections has also been investigated but has not proved attractive, either in terms of productivity, strength or impact resistance.
Furthermore, other issues such as the ease of carrying out NDE inspections for both quality control or to establish levels of damage and need for repair after minor impacts have proved impractical. A methodology to assess experimentally the performance of welded aluminium extruded
Technical Implications
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Techniques showed superior performance welds in terms of strength, ductility and fracture toughness compared to Al-Si filler wires. Other joining techniques such as Laser Welding (LW) and Friction Stir Welding (FSW) have also been investigated, with the former technique appearing attractive in terms of increased productivity and the latter in terms of a moderate increase in fracture toughness and improved surface finish when they were compared to the traditional automated MIG welding process.
Under-matching in an aluminium weld is unavoidable due to the reduction in strength in that region even after moderate heat inputs (as in the case of FSW). After extensive testing both on small specimens and large demonstrators a significant output of the ALJOIN project has been the recommendation that aluminium sheet thickness at the weld region should be increased, so that the resultant stress levels there are equivalent to those of the parent