Light Weight
Materials
Light
Weight Materials - Weight Reduction
It is
intuitive that the less something weighs, the less energy it takes
to move. With 75% of vehicle gas (energy) consumption directly
related to factors associated with vehicle weight, the potential
benefits of weight reduction enable smaller powerplant (engine,
turbine, fuel cells, etc.) and energy storage (battery, flywheel,
etc.) systems, with corresponding cost and/or performance benefits.
The weight of
a vehicle can be substantially reduced by replacing some of its
parts originally manufactured in metal (typically steel) by others
manufactured out of composite materials and plastics or lighter
weight metals such as aluminum, magnesium, and titanium. Making a
car one pound lighter actually makes it about a pound and a half
lighter, because it needs lighter structure and suspension to
support that weight, a smaller engine to move it, smaller brakes to
stop it, and less fuel to run the engine.
By using lightweight materials, manufacturers can build more fuel
efficient vehicles, however, the safety and crashworthiness of a
lighter weight vehicle remains a significant consideration.
Composite
materials in a vehicle refer to materials made of reinforced fibers,
which are added to a material known as the “matrix” which has a much
lower mechanical strength. Major parts made with composite
materials that are appearing in the market include:
·
In bodywork: tailgates, floors, roofs, doors and bumpers
·
Interior parts: seat castings, dashboards, pillar coverings, and
door trim
·
Structural parts: side and cross members
In addition to
the development of completely new materials for a given application,
the industry trends reveal continual gradual improvement in the
properties of the materials that have been traditionally used. This
is evident by the continued development of new steel alloys for
vehicle shells. New high strength low alloy steels offer
considerable weight savings over traditional alloys.
Development of
Materials Used in the Construction of a Mid-Sized Car
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