Aluminium foam used to make high speed train cab

To prove the potentiality of the strong, yet light weight aluminium, the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools & Forming Technology has designed a high speed train cab made of aluminium foam components for a demonstration.

The material is developed using aluminium foam material in the form of a metal sandwich. The core of comprises of a low-density foam layer that is produced through heat treatment sandwiched by external layers of aluminium. Since all the layers are part of the same metal components, they will not separate.

The foam is a self-supporting material and does not require the heavy metal frames unlike GRP at the same time providing the low weight of composite materials. The material has got some additional benefits in terms of fire protection, fatigue strength and weldability while being 20% lighter than the more traditional cab made of metal. A Chinese manufacturer was the inspiration behind the use of aluminium foam for rolling stock applications who wanted to increase the ability of high speed train cabs to withstand bird strikes.