AVALLE , M.

Recently, the researchers of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) have been developed a technique to investigate high strain-rates in which a sphere is launched at high speed (300-800 m/s) through a conical die (Dynamic Tensile Extrusion test). The system can use a set-up similar to a Taylor test (like a light gusgun) but induces in the...

The high strain-rale compressive behaviour of a structural aluminium foam (manufactured by IFAM) has been investigated using both the Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) and the direct impact tests. The tests have been carried out with the Hopkinson bar set up in the Experimental Mechanics Laboratory of the 2nd Engineering Faculty of the...

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Advanced ceramics appear to be a very important resource for the development of many new technologies (fuel cells, nuclear fusion…) and in many manufacturing processes. An important issue in the construction of ceramic components is related to their joining methods. When size and complexity of the components grow, it is impossible to sintherize...

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In the design of vehicle structures for crashworthiness there is a need for rigid subsystems that guarantee an undeformable survival cell for the passengers and deformable subsystems able to efficiently dissipate the kinetic energy. The front rail is the main deformable component dissipating energy in a frontal impact, which is the most...

Nowadays, there are two fundamental issues in car body design. On the one hand, there is the need for weight reduction in order to reduce fuel consumption and, consequently, pollutant emissions, and on the other hand, there are ever more stringent safety requirements. To meet these targets, the trend is towards using hybrid structures made of...

The results of an experimental investigation on carbon/carbon composites (C/C) bonded joints tested in shear at room temperature, under seven different configurations, are presented. The samples have been joined by an epoxy adhesive (AV119): this adhesive is not to be considered as a suitable joining material for C/C for high temperature...

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The mechanical properties at room temperature of three polymeric foams (namely EPP, PUR and PS/PA foams) have been experimentally evaluated in both static and impact loading conditions. The energy absorption characteristics have been examined both through the energy-absorption diagram method and through the efficiency diagram method. The...

Standards imposed by certification regulations are very strict and the requirements of the customer in terms of vehicle safety are always increasing. It is often necessary to redesign several vehicle components in order to achieve a global better performance. Design optimization by response surface methodology has been effectively used to...

In the past ten years many new processes for making foamed metals, mostly aluminium or aluminium alloys, have been developed. As a matter of fact, closed-cell aluminium foam offers a unique combination of properties such as low density, high stiffness, strength, and energy absorption capability. One of the main differences in the mechanical...

A topic of great consideration in current vehicle development in Europe is pedestrian protection. The enforcement of a new regulation trying to decrease the injuries to head, pelvis, and leg of pedestrian impacted by cars, is imposing great changes in vehicles' front design. In the present work a design solution for the bonnet, which is the...

The protection of vulnerable road users in urban traffic is nowadays a major issue in vehicle construction. Numerical techniques to perform virtual tests are of great help in dealing with these vehicle design problems. The objective of this research is the selection of an optimal configuration for a pedestrian protection system based on the...

Reducing road fatalities by 50% - as postulated in the European Union (EU) White Paper - requires research on road user groups and accident configurations that have not been addressed adequately so far: The Workpackage 2.1 of the EU-funded project APROSYS initiated the research on accidents involving heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and vulnerable...