Two Hazmat Transport Innovations Worth a Closer Look

Tanker Rail Car

University researchers are working on two products that could make hazmat transportation containers safer. While the two are still in the developmental stages, one is set to begin real-world testing and the other recently aced its pool fire test.

North Carolina State University researchers are working on what is called Composite Metal Foams that is lighter than steel and can stand up to great heat. The initial design is intended for railroad cars that move hazardous materials.

This image shows steel-steel composite metal foam samples before testing (left) and after 100 minutes exposure to 825C (right).
NCSU Photo news.ncsu.edu

CMF consists of hollow, metallic spheres that are made of materials such as carbon steel, stainless steel or titanium. They are embedded in a metallic matrix made of steel, aluminum or other metallic alloys. In steel-steel CMF, like that tested in the pool fire, the spheres and the matrix are both made of steel.

“A solid steel plate with the same thickness hits 427 degrees Celsius in about 12 minutes,” said Afsaneh Rabiei, first author of a paper on the work and a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State. “In three rounds of testing, our steel-steel CMF was exposed to the same temperatures of 825 degrees Celsius for the full 100 minutes — and the highest temperatures recorded on the back of the panel using protected sensors were between 351 and 379 degrees Celsius. It is worth noting that the steel-steel CMF panel is only one-third of the weight of the solid steel plate.”

In simulated pool fire testing, a panel of material is exposed to a temperature of at least 816 degrees Celsius on one side for 100 minutes. A suite of thermal sensors rests on the other side of the panel. If those protected sensors register a temperature of 427 degrees Celsius or higher at any point during the 100 minutes, the material fails the test.

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Researchers believe they have a material that can be used for rail cars or other hazmat containers that can withstand greater temperatures without the heft. And this could buy fire and hazmat crews more time at train fires to contain the fire and spilled material, as other cars won’t be as quickly ruptured and added to the fire, spill and off-gassing mix.

“Our next steps include expanding the model to allow us to simulate so-called torch-fire testing,” Rabiei said. “Torch-fire testing is also required for materials to be used in tank cars that transport hazardous materials, but it requires larger samples — panels that measure 4 feet by 4 feet.”

Meanwhile, West Virginia University researchers are coming up with a protective jacket for railcars that transport hazardous materials. The jacket material is said to offer superior protection from both fire and punctures.

The newly innovated composite material made up of glass and polymer, will consist of a layer of high-density polyurethane foam to improve fatigue, puncture, and fire resistance of rail tank cars transporting hazardous materials. (WVU Photo/Paige Nesbit)

The jacket is made up of glass and polymer and will consist of a layer of high-density polyurethane foam to improve fatigue, puncture and fire resistance. This layer will be sandwiched between layers of Kevlar-reinforced resin. It is meant to outperform the carbon steels currently used in railcars.

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“These glass fabric-foam materials are wrapped around like a Band-Aid and infused with resin like epoxy to fuse with the steel substrate,” said Hota GangaRao, a Maurice A. and JoAnn Wadsworth Distinguished Professor in the Wadsworth Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and director of the Constructed Facilities Center.

The jacket material research is being developed with a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Testing for the new materials and projective jacket will be done at the Constructed Facilities Center in the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. Outside agencies will also test the materials to confirm or refute the original results.

It is too early to predict when, or if, these innovations will be clacking along the tracks. But they are worth keeping an eye on if for no other reason to take some comfort that railcar tech is not standing still — and to start thinking how these cars could change hazmat response tactics.


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