Magnetic Levitation (MagLev) trains “float” on powerful magnetic fields to reduce friction. Aluminum is widely use on MagLev trains. Why is aluminum so widely used and what other materials could possibly be used?

Amixture of slurry and mud is to be pumped through a horizontal pipe of diameter 500 mm. the fluid behaves as a bingham plastic with a yield stress of 30 pa and viscosity 0.04 pa.s. describe the effects of the shear stress through a transverse section of the pipe by plotting the variation in shear stress and velocity profile: (i) just before the slurry starts to move (ii) as the slurry flows when the pressure gradient is double that in part (i)