Environmental protection through lightweight passenger car construction
CO2 reduction through lightweight construction
Lightweight construction is one of the key competencies of our automotive industry. The first aluminium car e.g. was built in large-lot production in Germany. Recent research projects with high-tech plastic materials have achieved weight savings of up to 50%. Leading manufacturers associated in the VDA consequently advance the development of new materials and production technologies – also for the benefit of mankind and environment.
It is obvious: The lower the weight that must be moved, the less force is required and the less fuel is consumed. This approach applies to all vehicle groups, even if the passenger car comes first at the moment. The total weight of a modern passenger car is distributed by 40% to the body, 25% to the chassis frame, 20% to the equipment including electricity and 15% to the engine. The lightweight construction research and development efforts therefore focus on the body and the chassis frame.
Technologists achieve reductions of the car weight with lightweight and highly robust materials, but also by an utmost utilisation of constructed sizes and component load. High requirements for the operating safety are met at the same time, in order to protect passengers and the environment. Using new materials and production technologies, researchers find new methods for material characterisation, component calculations and functional tests.
Cross-sectoral networks and mutual projects form the basis of the intensive research efforts in this context
The VDA gathers the leading automotive companies in the automobile technology research association (Forschungsvereinigung Automobiltechnik (FAT)). The FAT focuses on materials and production technologies and development methods as the interdisciplinary research platform for developments in lightweight vehicle construction. Everyone benefits from the results of these efforts – also and last but not least the fuel budget of private and commercial drivers.
Example – car body construction: Here, the steel monocoque construction is indispensable. However, new results of the FAT enable the use of ultimate-strength steels with improved forming characteristics. In addition, new strategies for improved processing technologies and alternative structural designs can be derived from the research findings.
Current individual projects of the FAT address a.o. the use of the lightweight construction potential of ultimate-strength sheet metals by considering production impacts on the stability specifications.
High-performance plastic materials allow for new perspectives
Apart from the development of metallic constructions, the German automotive industry will also use fibre-reinforced high-performance and hybrid constructions. Research projects have shown that – depending on the load situation – high-performance plastic compounds can enable weight savings of up to 50% as compared to conventional steel constructions.
With regards to the chassis frame, light metals like aluminium and magnesium are suited for many component assemblies. Researchers are developing new mechanical specifications e.g. for multi-link axles under a "multi-material design” concept. The current evolution of construction methods suggests weight reductions of 30 to 40% for aluminium structures as compared to steel. The addition of the most lightweight magnesium metal will allow for further weight reductions.
FAT research projects already suggest today that the systematic lightweight construction will also include the equipment and electricity sections in the future.
