With the increase in automobile production and sales, the energy consumption and pollutant emissions generated during the production and use of automobiles are increasing, and at the same time, the pollution to the environment is becoming increasingly prominent. Therefore, in order to promote the sustainable development of the automobile industry, under the premise of ensuring the rigidity, strength and safety performance of the automobile, by changing the materials of the structure and components of the automobile, the lightweight of the automobile can be realized, which can improve the fuel efficiency of the automobile and reduce the pollutant Emissions have a very big boost. Lightweight cars can not only save energy and reduce emissions, but also improve the stability and dynamics of the car during driving. This article mainly describes the most widely used automotive lightweight materials, magnesium alloys and aluminum alloys, analyzes their characteristics and advantages, and future development trends in automotive lightweight.
Judging from the current development trend, in order to protect the environment, save energy and resources, future automobile research and development will pay more attention to automotive lightweight design. The use of lightweight materials such as high-strength steel, aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, and composite materials in automobile production can effectively reduce the weight of automobiles. In addition, advanced manufacturing processes such as thermoforming, laser tailor welding, and hydroforming can also be implemented. Lightweighting of cars. Aluminum alloys have been widely used in automotive lightweight passing due to their low density, good corrosion resistance, and ease of processing.
1 aluminum alloy
1.1 Advantages of aluminum alloy
Aluminum is a light metal with good electrical and thermal conductivity and good corrosion resistance. At the same time, the machining performance of aluminum alloy is better than that of traditional metal materials. The melting point of aluminum is low. The aluminum recovery rate is not less than 90% during the entire use and recycling process. Aluminium alloy is currently the most ideal material for achieving lightweight vehicles.
The use of aluminum alloy parts on cars can effectively reduce the weight of the entire car, reduce the center of gravity of the car, and truly realize the lightweight of the car. After the lightweight of the car, the acceleration performance of the car will be improved during driving, and the car will be more stable and comfortable, and the noise and vibration will also be improved.
1.2 Application of aluminum alloy in automotive lightweight
The applications of aluminum alloys in automobile lightweighting are mainly aluminum alloy forgings, metal die castings, aluminum alloy extrusion and drawing products, etc. The specific applications are shown in Table 2.
Cast aluminum alloy is most widely used in the current lightweight process of automobiles. It is mainly used in the structure of automobile engines, chassis, and wheels. The engine has always been called the "heart" part of automobiles. The application of aluminum alloy on the parts not only can effectively reduce the overall weight of the engine, but also can timely dissipate the heat generated in the engine's work engineering, thereby improving the working efficiency of the engine.
1.3 Development Trend of Aluminum Alloys in Automotive Lightweighting
In the process of using aluminum alloy sheet, its weldability is worse than that of steel. It improves the welding performance and welding quality of aluminum alloy sheet, and increases the application range of aluminum alloy. Application of hot forming technology, superplastic forming technology and electromagnetic coincidence forming technology to improve the formability and forming quality of aluminum alloy cover parts.
In addition to the traditional aluminum alloy metal materials, aluminum-based composite materials have been widely used in automobile lightweight manufacturing due to their low density, high strength, and high corrosion resistance. Compared with traditional cast iron pistons, automobile engine pistons have reduced their weight by about 10%, while improving heat dissipation by 4 times. Restricted by price and production quality control, aluminum-based composite materials have not yet formed a large scale, but they have shown excellent performance on some automotive parts.
In today's rapid economic and social development, in the face of the new energy crisis and environmental problems, the weight reduction of vehicles can effectively improve the fuel efficiency of vehicles, thereby reducing pollutant emissions. In the process of lightweighting automobiles, metal materials such as magnesium alloys and aluminum alloys have been widely used due to their advantages and characteristics. In the future, technological improvements will reduce the cost of materials, increase the utilization of materials, and develop both environmentally friendly and sustainable Recyclable new materials are also an inevitable trend for research and development of lightweight vehicles.