News Room 2012 (The former Furukawa-Sky)

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Japan Aluminum Association Development Prize Received for Aluminum Sound-Absorbing Panels for Shinkansen

April 3, 2012

Aluminum sound-absorbing panels developed for the Shinkansen by Furukawa-Sky in cooperation with the East Japan Railway Company (headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo; President: Tetsuro Tomita) and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (headquartered in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture; President: Satoshi Hasegawa) have been awarded the 2011 Japan Aluminum Association Development Prize.

These panels are used in East Japan Railway’s E5 Series of Shinkansen services (Hayabusa, Hayate, Yamabiko, and Nasuno), and are the world’s first such exterior sound-absorbing panels installed on operational high-speed railcars.

They are made by combining sound-absorbing materials and aluminum alloy strength components with resonance-absorbing construction, with sound-absorbing porous material used to provide high sound-absorption capability. Furthermore, by sealing both edges of the extruded aluminum forming the hollow frame, which is the panel’s strength component, a sealed structure is created. The placement of holes in specified areas creates a material that achieves resonant absorption of sound. This results in a superior sound-absorbing panel with strong sound absorption capability across a broad range of frequencies (patent 431755).

Also, due to the particular importance of light weight in high-speed railcars, the key components are made of lightweight, high-rigidity extruded Type 6000 aluminum alloy. In addition, friction stir welding (FSW) is used to join the panels, eliminating the need for overlaying or secondary materials such as rivets or bolts. This contributes to weight reduction and improves the reliability of the bond.

These newly-developed panels suppress the increase in noise emanated externally from sound insulating walls, even during railcar acceleration.

Furukawa-Sky will continue to develop and offer environmentally-conscious products that employ the special characteristics of aluminum through application of our basic materials and processing technologies, such as sound absorption measurement and evaluation technology, panel design technology, and bonding technology.