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Lightweighting is a concept in the auto industry about building cars and trucks that are less heavy as a way to achieve better
For Lightweight Cars, a Materials Race
Retrieved April 11, 2015, "...carmakers and the federal government are pouring resources into “lightweighting” auto platforms to meet the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards...."Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY, June 3, 2014
Ford shows off lightweight car concept
Retrieved April 11, 2015, "..."Lightweighting our vehicles is incredibly important to us in terms of improving fuel economy and reducing CO2 emissions,"..." In addition, lighter vehicles can tow and haul larger loads because the engine is not carrying unnecessary weight. Excessive vehicle weight is also a contributing factor to particulate emissions from tyre and brake wear. Carmakers make body structure parts from
Auto industry gets serious about lighter materials
Retrieved April 11, 2015, "...Automakers have been experimenting for decades with lightweighting, as the practice is known, but the effort is gaining urgency with the adoption of tougher gas mileage standards. ..." Replacing car parts with lighter materials does not lessen overall safety for drivers, according to one view, since many grades of aluminium and plastics have a high strength-to-weight ratio; and aluminum has high energy absorption properties for its weight.
The search to replace car parts with lighter ones is not limited to any one type of part; according to a spokesman for
Detroit Sheds Pounds for Gas-Mileage Gains
Retrieved April 11, 2015, "...Today, we look at lightweighting anywhere we can," said ... of Ford...." Using lightweight materials such as
Improving automobile fuel efficiency - with plastics
Retrieved April 11, 2015, "...Due to their positive strength-to-weight ratio, plastics make up an astonishing 50 percent of today’s cars by volume, but only 10 percent by weight. This “lightweighting” results in less strain on the engine and improved gas mileage...." One material sometimes used to reduce weight for structures that can accept the cost premium is
When Being Green Puts You in the Black
Retrieved April 11, 2015, "...Toyota reported record profits last year because it put these issues at the center of its design strategy, which includes hybrid engines, "lightweighting" of its vehicles through the use of carbon fiber and other advanced materials, .." The auto industry has used the term for many years, as the effort to keep making cars lighter is ongoing. Another common material used for lightweighting is
Lightweighting is a concept in the auto industry about building cars and trucks that are less heavy as a way to achieve better fuel efficiency
Fuel efficiency (or fuel economy) is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical energy, chemical potential energy contained in a carrier (fuel) into kinetic energy or Mechanical work, w ...
, battery range, acceleration, braking and handling.JIM MOTAVALLI, OCT. 11, 2012, The New York TimesFor Lightweight Cars, a Materials Race
Retrieved April 11, 2015, "...carmakers and the federal government are pouring resources into “lightweighting” auto platforms to meet the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards...."Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY, June 3, 2014
Ford shows off lightweight car concept
Retrieved April 11, 2015, "..."Lightweighting our vehicles is incredibly important to us in terms of improving fuel economy and reducing CO2 emissions,"..." In addition, lighter vehicles can tow and haul larger loads because the engine is not carrying unnecessary weight. Excessive vehicle weight is also a contributing factor to particulate emissions from tyre and brake wear. Carmakers make body structure parts from
aluminium
Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
sheet, aluminium extrusions,press hardening steel
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
, carbon fibers
Carbon fibers American and British English spelling differences, or carbon fibres (alternatively CF, graphite fiber or graphite fibre) are fibers about in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. Carbon fibers have several advantages: ...
, windshields from plastic, and bumpers out of aluminum foam, as ways to lessen vehicle load.Dee-Ann Durbin of the Associated Press, June 17, 2014, Mercury NewsAuto industry gets serious about lighter materials
Retrieved April 11, 2015, "...Automakers have been experimenting for decades with lightweighting, as the practice is known, but the effort is gaining urgency with the adoption of tougher gas mileage standards. ..." Replacing car parts with lighter materials does not lessen overall safety for drivers, according to one view, since many grades of aluminium and plastics have a high strength-to-weight ratio; and aluminum has high energy absorption properties for its weight.
The search to replace car parts with lighter ones is not limited to any one type of part; according to a spokesman for Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
, engineers strive for lightweighting "anywhere we can."NEAL E. BOUDETTE and MIKE RAMSEY, Jan. 14, 2013, Wall Street JournalDetroit Sheds Pounds for Gas-Mileage Gains
Retrieved April 11, 2015, "...Today, we look at lightweighting anywhere we can," said ... of Ford...." Using lightweight materials such as
plastics
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic materials composed primarily of polymers. Their defining characteristic, plasticity, allows them to be molded, extruded, or pressed into a diverse range of solid forms. This adaptab ...
, high strength steels and aluminium can mean less strain on the engine and better gas mileage as well as improved handling.May 2, 2013, Chicago TribuneImproving automobile fuel efficiency - with plastics
Retrieved April 11, 2015, "...Due to their positive strength-to-weight ratio, plastics make up an astonishing 50 percent of today’s cars by volume, but only 10 percent by weight. This “lightweighting” results in less strain on the engine and improved gas mileage...." One material sometimes used to reduce weight for structures that can accept the cost premium is
carbon fiber
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...
.Daniel C. Esty, March 4, 2007, Washington PostWhen Being Green Puts You in the Black
Retrieved April 11, 2015, "...Toyota reported record profits last year because it put these issues at the center of its design strategy, which includes hybrid engines, "lightweighting" of its vehicles through the use of carbon fiber and other advanced materials, .." The auto industry has used the term for many years, as the effort to keep making cars lighter is ongoing. Another common material used for lightweighting is
aluminum
Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
. Incorporating aluminum has grown continuously to not only meet CAFE
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargil ...
standards but to also improve automotive performance. A light
weighting magazine finds: "Even though aluminum is light, it does not sacrifice strength. Aluminum body structure is equal in strength to steel and can absorb twice as much crash-induced energy." The use of aluminium for lightweighting can be limited for the higher strength grades by their low formability - and in response to this forming challenge new techniques such as roll forming and hot forming ( Hot Form Quench) have been introduced in recent years.
Many other materials are used to meet lightweighting goals. Cost of lightweighting, and increasingly sustainability of materials, is becoming an issue in solution selection - with the viable cost increase of a part per kilogram saved being between $5 and $15, depending on the price point and performance needs of the vehicle.
References
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