The Need for Fuel Efficiency and Reduction

Light Weight Material for

in Green House Gases

Chassis Components

To

reduce

the

energy

consumption

and

emissions of a vehicle there is a need to reduce

the weight of the vehicle. Weight reduction also

Introduction

offers a potentially cost-effective means to

Mass

distribution

various

reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gases

components of a passenger car shows that the

from the transportation sector. It has been

body, with about 43% of total vehicle mass, is

estimated that for every 10% reduction in the

the

the

weight of the total vehicle, fuel economy

powertrain and chassis, having almost equal

improves by 5-7%. Thus for every kilogram of

proportions about 27% and 26%. Within the

vehicle weight reduction, there is the potential to

body group, the unit-body, or body-in-white, is

reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20 kg.

single

analysis

heaviest

group,

on

whereas

the single largest component, with about 26% of

the total vehicle mass. Within the powertrain

Cost Analysis

group, the engine is the single heaviest

It is one of the most important factors that

component about 14% of total vehicle mass,

determines whether any new material can be

while the transmission represents another 5%.

selected for a vehicle component or not.

The chassis group, on the other hand the

Aluminium and magnesium alloys are certainly

wheels and tires are usually the single heaviest

more costly than the currently used steel and

system, but represent around 6% of the entire

cast irons. Compared to cast irons and steel,

vehicle mass

cast aluminium and magnesium components are

The weight reduction is still the most cost

effective means to reduce fuel consumption and

potentially less costly.

Safety, crashworthiness:

greenhouse gases. There are mainly two

structural material groups those are light metals
(aluminum,

magnesium

and

titanium)

and

polymers (including composites). Analysis of the

material content indicates that about 19% of the
mass of the car is made up of special function
materials that would be very difficult to replace.
The potential for significant weight reduction
clearly involves replacement of the almost 68%
of the mass constituted by lightweight materials
and polymers.

Passenger safety being one of the most

important

concern,

penetration

resistance

Crashworthiness
are

the

two

and
most

important safety concepts to consider before

selection

of

material

or

its

design.

Crashworthiness is defined as the potential of

absorption of energy through controlled failure
modes and mechanisms that provides a gradual
decay in the load profile during absorption.
However, penetration resistance is concerned
with the total absorption without allowing total
material penetration. Most of the metals are

replaced by composites to reduce the weight,

but

the

behavior

of

composite

failure

in

compression is the opposite to metals. Most

composites are generally characterized by a
brittle rather than ductile response to load. While
metal structures collapse under crush or impact
by

buckling

involving

extensive

plastic

deformation, composites fail through a sequence

of fracture mechanisms involving fibre fracture
and cracking. The actual mechanisms and

Austenitic Stainless Steels (Fe Cr Ni)

containing alloys have the advantage over
aluminium alloys and carbon steels of being
highly strain rate sensitive. This means that the
faster the loading and the material can resist
deformation. Stainless Steel also has the
capability to collapse progressively in a
controlled and predetermined manner which is
desirable application. Copper and its alloys are
used wiring and cabling systems. These alloys
are expensive than steel, but its ductile and can
be easily shaped. It has high thermal and
electrical conductivity.

sequence of damage are highly dependent on

the geometry of the structure.

Aluminium in Chassis Applications:

Weight saving in the chassis can also achieve

Ferrous Alloys:

40%

in

comparison

to

conventional

steel

chassis. It has the additional benet of improving

Steel and Metal Alloys
Body, chassis, engine and other powertrain
components made of ferrous materials make the
largest part of a vehicle by mass, lightweight
steel and iron are used in most of the
applications. Austenitic, Martensitic and newer
Duplex steels have Corrosion resistance and
creep resistance are superior to plain carbon
steels. But they have higher material and
manufacturing costs. Cast irons are Brittle and
have a poor impact properties. Due to lower
melting point, making these complex shaped
moulds is much easier. These materials are
often described by properties such as yield- and
tensile strength, elongation and Youngs
modulus.
High-strength steel (HSS) is based on alloys that
are categorized on the basis of yield strength.
Standard HSS has a yield strength between 210
MPa and 550 MPa, ultra-highstrength steel
(UHSS) has a yield strength higher than 550
MPa. High-strength steels can cost as much as
50% more than regular mild steels, but they
allow use of lower thicknesses than milder steels
the brittleness whilst maintaining most of the
strength and hardness

the driving dynamics, ride comfort, and safety

due to the reduction of the unsprung mass. 5000
alloys like AA5049 (AlMg2Mn0.8) and AA5454
(AlMg3Mn) are used comprising good formability
and weldability. They have high strength after
forming, and outstanding corrosion resistance,
also in the uncoated condition. For certain parts,
that experience long- term thermal loads (as e.g.
in the vicinity of the cars engine or exhaust
system) the Mg content is limited to 3percent of
the mass to avoid the potential danger of inter
granular corrosion (IGC), due to possible
microstructural changes by Mg precipitation
along grain boundaries (known as sensitization)
at

elevated

temperatures

(>70C)

with

an

exposure to aggressive environment. Special

5000

series

alloys

AlMg3.5Mn)

have

sensitization

is

(e.g.

been

avoided

alloy

AA5042-

developed
by

special

where
alloy

additions and processing steps, yielding a

favourable combination of static strength and
IGC resistance, now being applied in series

production for chassis applications. New 5000

ensure optimal mechanical properties. For high

series sheet alloys with Mg contents over 5% of

pressure die cast HPDC new AlSiMgMn alloys

alloy represent a great potential for use in car

have been developed with enhanced strength

body structures. They oer substantially higher

and ductility combination.

strength while, at the same time, showing

improved formability.
Extrusions:
Another special eld of Aluminium solutions and
applications is the well established use of
Aluminium

extrusions.

Here

quite

complex

shapes of proles can be achieved allowing

innovative light weight design with integrated
functions. A complete new and exible car and
complex sub-structures (e.g. in chassis parts,
bumpers;, crash elements, air bags, etc.) have
been developed using extrusions. Their high
potential for complex design and functional
integration is most suitable for cost-eective
mass production. Commonly, medium strength
AA6000
Castings:

high

strength

AA7000

age

hardening alloys are used, since the required

The highest volume of Aluminium components in

cars are castings, such as engine blocks,
cylinder heads, wheels and special chassis
parts. The substitution of cast iron engine blocks
continues, even for diesel engines. However,
due to the high requirements on strength and
durability, cast iron is still often being used.
Signicant

and

progress

in

Aluminium

alloy

development (Al-Si-Cu-Mg- Fe-type) and better

process control and casting methods improved
material properties and functional integration
that enables Aluminium to meet the specic high
requirements. Aluminium castings are also used
in the construction of space frames, axle parts
and structural components. Complex parts are
produced by high integrity casting methods that

quenching occurs during the extrusion process.

Formability and nal strength is controlled by
heating for age hardening Extrusion.

Magnesium
Magnesium is 33% lighter than aluminium and
75% lighter than steel/cast-iron components.
The corrosion resistance of modern, high-purity
magnesium alloys is better than that of
conventional aluminium die-cast alloys. As well,
porosity-free die-cast AM501 AM60 can achieve
20% elongation, or over three times that of Al
A380, leading to higher impact strength; but
magnesium
components
have
many
disadvantages that require unique design for
application to Chassis components. Strength,
and creep strength is higher compared to
Aluminium. The hardness of magnesium alloys
is lower than aluminium and the thermal
expansion coefficient is greater.

Plastics

Non Ferrous Alloys:

Carbon Fibres
Carbon fibre reinforced plastics, composite
materials consisting of carbon fibres and a
polymer matrix . CFRPs can be expensive to
produce but are commonly used wherever
high strength-to-weight ratio and rigidity are
required. Depending on the requirement different
composites like (FRC) fibre reinforced
composites, (FRP) fibre reinforced plastics and
(PMC) polymer matrix composites are
used.These composites may even contain other
fibers, such as aramid e.g. Kevlar, Twaron and
Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene
or glass fibers, as well as carbon fiber.Carbonfiber is a reinforced polymer which is extensively
used in high-end automobiles . Due to the high
cost of carbon fiber is not normally used in
regular passenger cars. The material has a
unsurpassed strength-to-weight ratio, and the
low weight gives the essential high-performance
characteristics. This is mostly used by Racecar
manufacturers and different methods have been
developed to give this carbon fiber components
strength in a required direction, making it strong
in a load-bearing direction, but it becomes weak
in certain directions where little or no load would
be placed on the member. So the monocoque
design or the omnidirectional carbon fiber is
used which provides uniform strength in all
directions. This type of carbon fiber assembly is
most widely used in high-performance race-cars.

Plastics encompass a wide variety of functional

polymeric compounds that exhibit a vast range
of desirable properties. They are durable, strong
and lightweight. They can be made transparent,
translucent or opaque; soft, flexible or hard in
almost any shape, size or color. They can be
heat, chemical and corrosion- resistant. They
are excellent thermal and electrical insulators
and also can be made electrically and thermally
conductive. Because of plastics versatility, they
are extremely cost-effective. A midsize
automobile manufactured in North America is
about 10-12 percent plastics by weight. The
material volume is much higher.
Because
plastics are versatile and lightweight, they make
up approximately 50 percent of the material
volume of new cars.

Conclusion
The environmental concern has become one of
the most important factor leading to the need of
lighter vehicle for lower fuel consumption and
also for the need of reduced emissions.
Lightweight materials such as aluminum and
high-performance PMCs have been proved for
having high potential to increase the fuel
economy of vehicles, making it feasible for the
manufacturers to increase their average fuel
economy even in passenger and larger vehicles.
These new materials have been introduced to
the automotive market such as alternative
metals and composites. However there are yet
significant barriers in large scale use of these

materials mainly due to the cost of the raw

materials or manufacturing costs. Further
innovations and improvements in their alloying
and their processes are done in order to
produce lighter material and structures. These
materials has proven to be the ideal lightweighting material allowing weight saving and

increase in fuel efficiency

compromising safety.

and

without