Static Strength Properties of an Aluminum Alloy Honeycomb Sandwich Panel and Strength Reliability Evaluation of an Actual Car Body Structure

Abstract

The hollow extrusion-type material made from aluminum alloys has recently attracted attention, and it has been used for the car bodies of high-speed railway vehicles. Hollow extrusions are laminating board structures that consist of a two-sheet board and slanting material known as a double skin structure. The double skin structure is advantageous in attaining a lightweight car body structure and in increasing rigidity in case it bends outside and the pressure load at the time of the run in tunnel acts, since rigidity is high. In this study, static tests were carried out for component models and for an experimental full-sized car body, in which aluminum honeycomb panels are applied as outside plates to improve pressure resistance, while their requisite light weight and rigidity are maintained. Experiments were conducted to determine tensile strength, bending strength and the shearing strength of the honeycomb panel. The stresses of an actual car body were under 30 MPa, which is low compared with strength of the honeycomb panel. An actual car body, then, has sufficient strength reliability.