We usually talk about the materials used in cars are usually centered on carbon fiber and aluminum, because this helps reduce body weight and improve performance, and the overall stability will not decrease. But there is actually another material that is essential for modern cars-copper. From infotainment systems to driver assistance sensors, the new car is equipped with a variety of copper wiring.
But according to a recent Automotive News report we received, automakers want to replace all copper with something else.
Aluminum-carbon nanotubes provide the conductivity of copper wires while reducing weight. However, according to news reports obtained by our frontline reporters, Japanese company Yazaki is investigating this new material in its California research and development subsidiary YTC America, or it will become the main material for automobile production.
According to car common sense, ordinary vehicles contain at least about 14 to 28 kg of copper. We all know that aluminum is much lighter than copper, but aluminum or other metals are not suitable for automotive wiring, and higher-level materials are not cost-effective. According to relevant scientific test data, aluminum has only 60% conductivity and 25% to 30% tensile strength of copper. In this regard, new materials may play a huge role.
That's why Yazaki Technology is trying to combine aluminum with carbon nanotubes. These nanotubes are cylindrical molecules of carbon atoms. They constitute microscopically small materials that can be added to aluminum materials to form a completely new kind of material.
Yazaki said that carbon nanotubes will give aluminum greater material strength and conductivity. Carbon nanotube materials can also improve the heat resistance of aluminum, making it useful in high-voltage battery cables for electric vehicles.
Stefan Maat, director of materials research and development at YTC in the United States, said in an interview with reporters that if this new material is not expensive to produce and has good performance, it will replace all copper parts in automotive parts.
Like this technology company, aluminum-carbon nanotube materials are promising, but from the test results, cost or other factors will make the new material impossible to become commercially viable.
As far as automakers are concerned, they are still eager to reduce the weight of their cars, so the possibility of this new material remains a concern.
The traditional pursuit of weight loss seems to be related to racing and high-performance road bikes. After all, weight loss can improve the overall performance of the car, improving everything the car can do from acceleration to operation.
However, in order to improve fuel economy, weight reduction has become the first choice for various vehicles, from pickup trucks to luxury cars. Tighter global emissions standards are putting greater pressure on automakers to reduce fuel consumption. As demand for safety and convenience features increases, so does the average weight of new cars, and automakers need to take steps to offset this. The development of new materials is now the focus of carmakers.
Regarding the discovery of new materials in Japan this time, although it did not seem to have any significant effect on automobiles, it still attracted the attention of automakers.