Aludrive - July 2010

The reports of technical studies commissioned by EAA are now available for download, including the latest one “Stiffness and Crash Relevance of Car Body Components”, that concludes that the weight reduction potential of aluminium in car bodies is approximately 40%.

Thin anodic surface films on aluminium car body sheets guarantee excellent structural performance for adhesively bonded applications. This highly controllable surface technology for coil application developed by Novelis was first used for the rear shelf of the Mercedes C and E class cars and now for a high diversity of structural parts of the SLS model.

For hang-on-parts like hoods, bonnets, and doors, aluminium sheets are a natural choice. In order to meet highest requirements of formability and typical requirements on in-service strength, Hydro has developed 6/30+ alloys, that show elongation to fracture values of 30% or more in all directions.

Chevrolet selects Alcoa weight-optimized forged aluminium wheels for 2011 Cruze Eco. These weight-optimized forged aluminium wheels are typically 20 percent lighter than cast aluminium wheels.

Globalization is a most important trend within the automotive industry. Novelis as the global leader in aluminium rolled products is committed to follow the global production strategies of its customers and offers supply chain solutions tailored to their specific requirements.

According to a new study on the impact of steel, magnesium and aluminium front end parts on the energy use and CO₂ emissions of passenger cars, aluminium was the environmental winner. Lifecycle analysis shows that an aluminium solution yields both a 20 percent energy and CO₂ emissions reduction, compared to the traditional steel structure.

Aluminium lightweight structures can reduce the costs of electric cars by limiting the size and the mass of battery packs.

On 22 September 2010, the Automotive Circle International-conference “Insight Edition” focuses on the topic „Car body lightweight design based on aluminium - towards harmonised aluminium alloy usage“.