SAE Paper 05M-2

Optimizing Designs of Aluminum Suspension Components

Using An Integrated Approach
Rick Borns
Alcoa Inc.

Don Whitacre
Alcoa Inc.

ABSTRACT based on aluminum behavior and performance to

Many vehicle chassis and suspension components are
constructed of aluminum alloys, due to the metals
relatively high strength-to-weight ratio and inherent
corrosion resistance. A high percentage of these
components’ were converted from other materials. This
has resulted in design geometries developed for
materials and product forms that do not take advantage
of aluminum’s best attributes. In an effort to create the
most efficient designs, Alcoa has developed an
integrated approach to design of suspension
components, combining precise process refinement,
development of strength-optimized alloys, and intelligent
use of advanced structural optimization tools.
INTRODUCTION
Since 1990, there has been a steady increase in the
weight of typical family vehicles due to additional safety,
luxury and performance features demanded by the
driving public. This incremental weight increase has
created a significant weight problem and challenged
automakers ability to comply with fuel efficiency
standards. There is also a potential for increasingly
stringent carbon monoxide emissions regulations where
weight once again constrains automakers ability to
comply with any future legislation.
capture the full benefit of using the light metal.
Alcoa has developed an integrated aluminum chassis
and suspension components design process that takes
full advantage of aluminum’s properties and
characteristics while producing a higher-performance
component.
VEHICLE WEIGHT TRENDS
As size increases and more safety, performance and
luxury features are added to vehicles, they continue to
increase in weight. Since 1990, the weight of a typical
family vehicle has steadily risen from 3140.5 pounds to
3357.5 pounds.1 A specific example of the increasing
weight trend is the VW GTI. The original version of the
GTI, introduced in 1976, weighed 1804 pounds, while
the latest version weighs 2939 pounds. This increase
represents a weight gain of approximately 40% over the
18-year life of the GTI.2 Figure one (below) is an
excellent example of the weight gain trend with today’s
vehicles. The original VW Golf is a substantially larger
vehicle than the current Smart sub-compact, yet the
Smart weighs slightly more than the Golf.

The ability to reverse the weight spiral will be on the

critical path for OEMs as they strive to comply with
current and future fuel efficiency standards and
emissions legislation.

One of the most predominate tools to fight the weight

spiral has been the application of aluminum automotive
components and systems. The increasing amount of
consumer-driven features on family vehicles has
produced a simultaneous increase in the aluminum
content of these vehicles to offset weight increases. The
use of aluminum in a vehicle’s chassis and suspension Figure One: Vehicle weights are increasing
system has also proven to improve ride quality and
handling, as well. Simultaneous to the weight increase trend, there has
also been an increase use of aluminum castings, which
Automotive aluminum chassis and suspension
applications are expected to grow until 2013. One of the
challenges that OEMs and the aluminum industry faces
is to develop engineering standards and assumptions
has partially offset further weight increases. The typical
family vehicle (i.e. cars, minivans, SUV’s and light
trucks) has increased in its aluminum casting content
from 92.3 pounds in 1978 to 240 pounds in 2002.3 TP PT
FUEL REDUCTION POTENTIAL ON REDUCED
WEIGHT
A vehicle that uses less fuel produces fewer greenhouse
gas emissions. Over the average lifetime of a vehicle,
every pound of aluminum that replaces two pounds of
steel can save 20 pounds of CO2 from being emitted.
Using aluminum to cut a vehicle's weight by 10% can
boost its fuel economy up to 8%, or as much as 2.5 extra
miles per gallon. BMW studied vehicle weight reduction
through the use of aluminum and reported fuel savings
of between five and ten percent for each 10 percent
reduction in weight. The Argonne National Laboratory
also studied vehicle light weighting and reported a fuel
savings of 6.6 percent for every 10 percent reduction in
weight. 4
TP PT
A 6 to 8% fuel savings can be realized for every 10%
reduction in weight from substituting aluminum for steel.
Aluminum absorbs nearly twice as much energy as
steel, and during a crash, aluminum folds like an
accordion, letting the vehicle - not its passengers -
absorb more of the crash forces. Lighter vehicles
generally accelerate quicker and require shorter
stopping distances than heavier vehicles. Aluminum
castings have been critical to automakers meeting or
exceeding federally mandated CAFÉ standards. It is
estimated that lightweight castings have increased the
CAFÉ fuel efficiency by 5% over the last ten years.5
MARKET PROJECTIONS FOR ALUMINUM
GROWTH
The application of aluminum castings in North American
passenger cars and trucks is expected to continue to
grow at an annual rate of 2.1% per year through 2013. 6
This growth is based on aluminum’s ability to improve
fuel efficiency and emissions performance while allowing
OEMs to meet consumer demands for well-equipped
and good-handling vehicles.
Aluminum is the third most-used material in vehicles,
behind only steel and iron. Since 1990, the use of
aluminum has doubled in cars and has tripled in the
lucrative light truck market. Today, the average North
American vehicle has about 260 pounds of aluminum
content. More than 75% of these 260 pounds are
castings. 7 TP PT
Aluminum casting penetration into the suspension
components business is expected to increase to 35% by
2006 and 50% by 2009. More specifically, by 2008,
aluminum casting penetration is expected to reach the
following levels in certain chassis and suspension
components: 8TP PT
• Engine mount brackets: 30%
• Steering knuckles: 40%
• Control arms: 40%
Figure two (below) graphically describes the historical
increase in automotive aluminum content.
Figure Two: Aluminum content has grown strongly
IMPROVED RIDE AND HANDLING DUE TO
REDUCED UN – SPRUNG WEIGHT
The concept of sprung versus un-sprung weight needs
to be understood in order to fully understand the benefits
that aluminum chassis and suspension components can
TP PT
bring to the driver. Sprung weight is defined to be
everything in and on a vehicle that is supported by the
suspension system (e.g. power-train, frame, body,
interior, occupants, fluids, cargo, etc.). Un-sprung weight
is composed of all of the components that are not
supported by the suspension system (e.g. tires, wheels,
brakes, knuckles, wheel bearings, etc.).
TP PT
Why is a reduction in un-sprung weight a benefit to the
vehicle’s driver? Newton’s Second Law (Force = Mass x
Acceleration) implies that less un-sprung weight moving
with respect to the sprung weight, creates less force as
the suspension travels. This translates into less impact
force on the sprung weight when the suspension
reaches its travel limits. (Jounce & Re-bound). If this is
the case, theoretically, a designer could simply increase
the suspension travel so that it never reaches its limits
(creating impact forces), and use only heavy and less
costly un-sprung weight components like iron and steel.
But realistically, increased travel reduces ride quality and
handling performance for on-road vehicles, so this is not
the best option for a great majority of vehicle platforms.
Increased suspension travel also increases the roll
center height of the vehicle and reduces its stability at
speed. It should also be noted that it is not practical to
design a suspension that never reaches its travel limits
U U
since the best suspension designs target one
U U
“bottoming” in 1000 suspension hits.
What about the components that connect the sprung and
un-sprung weight? (i.e. control arms, trailing arms and
suspension links). As a general “rule of thumb”, since
control arms connect the sprung and un-sprung weights,
50% of their mass is considered sprung. The benefit of
reducing control arm, trailing arm and suspension link
weight is equal to half that of a steering knuckle or
wheel.
The reduced impact force realized by employing
lightweight suspension components also manifests itself
in a longer life cycle for everything that is absorbing this
force (e.g. bushings, isolators, links, bearings, cross-
members, sub-frames, springs, shocks, struts, etc.). The
smaller impact forces due to reduced un-sprung weight
also result in reduced NVH (Noise, Vibration and
Harshness) in the entire vehicle.
Lightweight suspension components also reduce the
gyroscopic phenomena induced into the front steering
and suspension system. Gyroscopic phenomenon is a
torque that is induced when rotating (e.g. spinning
wheel) and turning motion (e.g. steering action) are
combined. This torque is additive to the normal weight of
the vehicle and high gyroscopic forces mean that the
vehicle will ride and handle poorer than it should. Less
un-sprung weight reduces this torque action and also
improves ride and handling. It should also be noted that,
in order to satisfy the desired natural frequencies for the
sprung weight (1 to 2 Hz) and un-sprung weight (10 to
12 Hz - wheel hop frequencies), the un-sprung weight
must be low relative to the sprung weight.
Volvo Car Corporation is an example of why designers
and engineers opt for aluminum in their chassis and
suspension systems. Volvo wanted its first high-
performance sports sedan, the 1999 S80, to have
superior handling and minimal noise, harshness and
vibration (NHV) characteristics. The Volvo engineers
chose to create an all-aluminum rear axle assembly
made from castings and extrusions. According to their
tests, the new rear axle assembly's greater stiffness
improved vehicle handling over their existing steel-based
axle assembly. In addition, they found that the axle
transmits less road and tire noise to the passenger
compartment due to the density of aluminum. 9
It should be noted that, since the modulus of aluminum
is lower than that of steel, the greater stiffness had to be
achieved by improved geometry of the cast aluminum
design.
Each of the leading automakers are either investigating
or actively increasing the aluminum content in their
chassis and suspension systems. Figure three illustrates
Audi’s reasons for light weighting their premium vehicles.
Figure Three: Audi places a value on light weighting
ALCOA EXPERIENCE WITH ALUMINUM
CHASSIS & SUSPENSION CONPONENTS
In 1994, Alcoa leveraged its experience with high-
integrity aluminum castings from the aerospace business
to quickly enter the aluminum chassis and suspension
components market. In early 1995, Alcoa upgraded a
proprietary casting process called Vacuum Riserless /
Pressure Riserless Casting (VRC/PRC) and adapted it
to the needs of the automotive chassis and suspension
components market.
VRC/PRC is a modified low-pressure, permanent mold
casting process which uses vacuum and pressure to
“bottom fill” a steel mold from a molten aluminum bath.
VRC was developed in 1950’s by the Alcoa Casting &
Forging Research Lab and was commercialized in the
1960’s. PRC was added to VRC in 1985 and the
combined process is called VRC/PRC. The VRC/PRC
casting machine consists of a vertical hydraulic press
with a steel mold (upper and lower halves) that is bolted
on to the machine’s lower platen.
The lower platen rests on the crucible furnace and metal
is transported from the crucible furnace to the mold
cavity via fill tubes. The surface of the molten metal bath
is within four inches of the mold’s bottom and this short
distance minimizes the back surging of molten metal into
the crucible furnace, and in-turn, minimizes oxide
generation in the crucible furnace. The process features
a continuous metal delivery to the crucible furnace, via a
patented metal pumping system, and minimizes oxide
generation during the metal transfer process. No riser is
required since the crucible furnace’s molten metal bath
feeds the solidification shrinkage. Since the process
does not require extensive gating and risers, net/gross
metal yields as high as 95% can be achieved on some
castings.
A variable rate vacuum system is connected to the mold
and pulls all gases out of the mold cavities to assure a
tranquil fill and no oxide entrainment during the mold
filling process. Pressure is then applied onto the molten
metal surface and forces metal, through the fill tubes,
and into the mold cavities. After the mold cavities are
filled, the pressure is maintained to feed solidification
shrinkage and assure a dense casting structure. Multiple Front Knuckles
water-cooling circuits provide rapid, progressive and
“top-down” directional solidification to yield a nearly
porosity free casting and low cycle time. Figure four
(below) illustrates the gas extraction, mold filling and Product: Front Steering Knuckle
solidification shrinkage feeding portions of the VRC/PRC Application: Luxury Sports Sedan
process.

Product: Front Knuckle

Application: Full size light duty truck

Rear Knuckles / Wheel Carriers

Product: Rear Wheel Carrier
Application: Full Size Luxury SUV

Figure Four: VRC/PRC Schematic

Alcoa has used the VRC/PRC casting technology to Product: Rear Knuckle
design and build “single piece flow” automated casting Application: Full size Luxury SUV
and finishing cells. (See figure five below). The cells are
designed to follow the proven principles of the Toyota
Production System and require minimal labor content
from molten metal to x-ray inspected casting.
Control Arms

Product: Front Lower Control Arm

Application: Midsize Luxury SUV

Product: Hollow Lower Control Arm

Application: Full Size Luxury SUV

Figure Five: VRC/PRC production cells

The VRC/PRC process has been in use by Alcoa, for

more than nine years to produce 40M automotive cross-
members, sub-frames, control arms, steering knuckles, Large Cross Members
wheel carriers, engine brackets and pump housings.
See figure six (below) for a sampling of typical products
Product: Front Cross-Member
manufactured with VRC/PRC.
Application: Luxury Sports Coupe

Product: Front Cross-Member

Application: Luxury Sports Coupe

Figure Six
The VRC/PRC process has been continually upgraded manufacturing processes that affect structural
and refined over the last nine years and has properties, (2) alloy, and (3) part geometry to deliver the
demonstrated a high stability level as measured by best possible part at a competitive cost to the customer.
product mechanical properties. Squeeze casting is well A disciplined approach was applied to optimizing each
know in the aluminum casting industry and is considered facet.
a “premium” casting process. Due to nine years of
VRC/PRC continuous improvement efforts, this process To optimize manufacturing process for delivering the
compares favorably to Squeeze Casting as measured by best properties, Alcoa process engineering, metallurgy
mechanical properties. See figure seven (below) for a and quality assurance people completed a project where
numerical example. all process parameters were studied for their effect on
product tensile strength, yield strength and elongation.
2 The multi-disciplined team developed a series of in-plant
casting trials using Design of Experiment methods to
3 determine critical interactions between the various
process parameters. Several trials and confirmation runs
were completed and the conclusions were implemented
1 to further stabilize the casting process and make
incremental improvement in tensile strength, yield
strength and elongation.

4 Additionally, Alcoa used the same experiments to

standardize optimum processes for multiple heat
UTS YS Elong treatments using the same base alloy. This allows part
BHN
(Mpa) (Mpa) (%)
designers to choose the best heat treatment for the
Mean 314 239 11.0 95.0
application. Alcoa developed optimum standard
Stan. minimums for A356-T6, A356-T5, F356-F (an as-cast
7.9 9.1 N/A 10.8
Dev.
Cust. 276 207 8 86
alloy). The different heat treatments allow part designers
Spec. min. min. min. min. to, for example reduce cost of heat treatment if high
Notes: strength is not a requirement, or tradeoff strength for
a. 4 tensile bar locations rotated weekly. elongation if needed. This “menu of standard properties”
b. Tensile test specification: ASTM B557 allows an engineer seeking an optimum design quick
c. Brinell test specification: ASTM E10 flexibility in making these tradeoffs.
d. Sample size = 1638 test bars (1/1/03 – 9/24/04)
While optimizing manufacturing processes multiple heat
1 2 treatments allowed good flexibility using a standard
aluminum alloy (A356), Alcoa engineers desired further
3 Note: flexibility in alloy selection. Optimizing the chemistry of
Sample size = 20 test bars an alloy was the next step in optimizing structural casting
design – and a new alloy was needed to be created.
5
With the intention of developing a higher strength casting
alloy for use in automotive chassis and suspension
4 components, Alcoa leveraged resources through its
Technical Center and Automotive Castings business to
UTS YTS Elongation complete a study of potential alloy family candidates.
(MPa) (MPa) (%)
The process began with a comprehensive review of all
Mean 317 251 11.4 major alloy families and comparison of their attributes.
The attributes of each were compared to the critical
Std. Dev. 8.0 8.7 3.15
characteristics for chassis and suspension applications
and this served as a down-selection process to begin
laboratory scale testing.
Figure Seven: Today’s VRC/PRC rivals squeeze cast
properties Several rounds of laboratory scale testing were
conducted to determine each alloy family’s fluidity,
THE INTEGRATED APPROACH TO OPTIMIZED viscosity, feeding characteristics, corrosion
STRUCTURAL CASTING DESIGN characteristics, cracking propensity, strength and
elongation. This laboratory scale testing allowed for
To meet market needs and best utilize the benefits of the further down-selection and determination of alloy
VRC/PRC casting process as noted above, Alcoa has candidates for casting into a steering knuckle mold. The
developed an integrated approach to optimizing same alloy characteristics were studied via casting the
structural casting designs. Alcoa’s approach is to alloy candidates into the shape of a steering knuckle.
optimize multiple facets of a design; particularly (1)
Once the final alloy family was selected, a series of plant
trial runs were conducted with a production design
steering knuckle in a production VRC/PRC casting cell.
These trial runs provided for further observation of alloy
behavior, casting recipe process refinement and
understanding alloy attributes in a production
environment. Several rounds of production intent trials
have been completed and the new alloy capabilities
prove to be substantially superior to the chassis and Figure Eight: Zones of the advanced CAE optimization
suspension components “work-horse” A356 alloy. Once model
the alloy constituent levels were finalized, extensive
mechanical, fatigue, corrosion and non-destructive Each sub-model was programmed to allow optimization
testing were completed. in different ways – some topology and some shape as
shown below.
The availability of having an advanced aluminum alloy is
only part of the picture, however. Design in aluminum, as
Example of results in a
noted above, requires judicious use of material (to keep
topology optimzation
costs at expected levels) and great attention to structural
zone
optimization. In the recent past, automotive components
were often designed by a “trial and error.” A design
proposal was generated by a product designer, a
structural analyst built an FEA model of this design, the
designer revised it if it didn’t meet targets, and several
iterations occurred. This method often required several
weeks to arrive at a part that met targets.
Example of a shape
optimzation zone: shape
More recently, optimization software has been function allows FE mesh
introduced that guides designers to place material where to “morph” between red
it is needed to make a part sound. Often, people will use and blue lines
this tool to quickly create solutions.

Alcoa has had to improve both of these methods, using

advanced CAE methods that combine the “thinking” of
the trial and error method with the computational
guidance that can be given by use of optimization codes.
The method described here allows us to explore more of
the possible design space, give some real-world
guidance to the optimizer, and allow Alcoa to produce
real solutions more quickly.
CASE STUDY – OPTIMIZATION OF AN ALUMINUM
FRONT KNUCKLE DESIGN
The integrated approach was first employed to optimize
an aluminum steering knuckle. All three facets were
utilized to reduce the weight of this part.
Advanced CAE optimization methods were employed for
two purposes: (1) to provide target material properties
for the alloy development effort and (2) to optimize the
geometry of a target part using the new alloy – in this
case an aluminum steering knuckle currently produced
in A356.
To generate target properties, advanced CAE methods
were used to find the “point of diminishing returns” for
increasing strength for an aluminum steering knuckle. To
do this, Alcoa combined several optimization techniques
to create a model of the target knuckle with many
optimization parameters. First, a basic CAE model was
divided into multiple sub-models, shown here in different
colors.
Figure Nine: Examples of topology and shape
optimization zones.
Each topology optimization zone was set up to allow
material to be removed using Altair Optistruct® codes.
Each shape optimization area was assigned a shape
parameter, which, using “morphing” technology now
present in some advanced FEA pre-processing software
morphed the mesh of each shape zone, allowing an
optimal shape to be created. Finally, some zones were
not allowed to change, due to packaging or interfaces.
All 43 zones were combined into one advanced model,
combining zones of topology and shape optimization into
one advanced model. This model could now be used in
combination with Altair Hyperstudy® to automatically run
and iterate, generating a new geometry on each
iteration, driving toward a set of targets.
The model was then used to create a series of tradeoff
curves. A target stress was set up for key loadcases to
represent possible increase in yield and fatigue strength
of the alloy development, and the model was allowed to
automatically revise the geometry with the goal of
minimum mass for the target strength. A constraint was
also included to meet a key stiffness target. The model
was then allowed to iterate and generate a minimum
mass for 0, 12.5, 25, 50, and 100% increase in target
stress. These generated the curves shown in Figure 10;
with the difference in the two curves being different
stiffness allowed for the key stiffness parameter.

30.0
27.5
25.0
Mass Reduction (%)
22.5
20.0
17.5
15.0
12.5
10.0
7.5
5.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Strength Improvement (%)
Figure Ten: Tradeoff curves for alloy development from
advanced CAE model optimization results
From these curves, it can be seen that any increase in
target stress beyond 50% would not result in any mass
reduction of the part, so the alloy development was
targeted at 50% improvement in yield and fatigue stress,
while maintaining elongation.
After completion of the tradeoff curves, the advanced
model was then used to generate an actual product
design that could be prototyped using the new alloy with
the new properties. When the properties were known
and determined, the advanced optimization model was
run with the target stress set at the new alloy strength.
Geometry recommendations were made, and a CAD
model was generated. Refinements of the optimization
parameters were made in key areas, manufacturing
constraints were added, and the CAD-generated
geometry was iterated and finalized.
Figure Eleven: Optimized design
After adding features for molten material flow, part
solidification, and part ejection, with assumptions being
verified by simulation of the casting fill and solidification,
a final part design was created. While the advanced
CAE model suggested a 22.5% improvement could be
yielded, reality yielded a design that was 15.5% less
mass than the original A356-T6 design. This is still a
significant reduction in mass of the part, and represents
a jump in technology over current cast knuckle designs.
CONCLUSION
Major automotive OEM’s have developed strategies over
the past 15 years to reverse the weight spiral in their
vehicles brought on by the increased demand for safety,
luxury and performance features. The increased
application of automotive aluminum has been an
important element in their strategies. The total
aluminum content in the average family vehicle has
grown steadily since 1990 and is projected to continue to
increase up until 2013. The aluminum penetration into
chassis and suspension systems has not kept pace with
the penetration in power train, but the market data
shows steady increases in this market segment through
2008.
Increased use of aluminum in chassis and suspension
systems reduces the overall weight of the vehicle,
improves fuel efficiency and emissions performance
while also improving ride and handling through reduced
70 80 90 100 un-sprung mass. Unfortunately, some existing aluminum
chassis and suspension component designs are not
optimized for the attributes of aluminum and do not take
full advantage of the weight reductions possible by using
the light metal in these applications.
Through a combination of efforts in manufacturing
process optimization, high-strength alloy development
and advanced CAE techniques, Alcoa has developed a
systemic means of optimizing chassis and suspension
components to take full advantage of the benefits of
aluminum to offer OEMs additional weight reduction and
performance enhancement opportunities.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors want to thank Dr. Pinhas Barak for his
insight into the benefits of utilizing aluminum in
suspension systems.
The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution
of Dr. Gordon Xu for his contribution to development of
advanced design optimization methods using CAE tools.
REFERENCES
1. AFS/NADCA 108th Metalcasting Congress, June 12-
15, 2004. Lightweight Castings: Improving the Fuel
Efficiency of America (page 5, table 2). Robert D.
Naranjo, BCS, Inc. Ehr-Ping HuangFu, US Department
of Energy. Mike Gwyn, Advanced Technology Institute.
2. Volkswagen Autogramm, November 2004, page 3
3. AFS/NADCA 108th Metalcasting Congress, June 12-
15, 2004. Lightweight Castings: Improving the Fuel
Efficiency of America (page 3). Robert D. Naranjo, BCS,
Inc. Ehr-Ping HuangFu, US Department of Energy. Mike
Gwyn, Advanced Technology Institute.
4. Aluminum Association – Auto and Light Truck Group
website: http://www.autoaluminum.org/ep1.htm
5. AFS/NADCA 108th Metalcasting Congress, June 12-
15, 2004. Lightweight Castings: Improving the Fuel
Efficiency of America (page 6, table 5). Robert D.
Naranjo, BCS, Inc. Ehr-Ping HuangFu, US Department
of Energy. Mike Gwyn, Advanced Technology Institute.
6. AFS / Stratecasts, Inc. Fort Meyers, FL. Demand &
Supply Forecast for Metalcastings in the US. Volume
One, August 2003. (Pages 235 and 238).
7. Aluminum Association – Auto and Light Truck Group
website: http://www.autoaluminum.org/apps.htm
CONTACT
8. AFS / Stratecasts, Inc. Fort Meyers, FL. Demand &
Supply Forecast for Metalcastings in the US. Volume Rick A. Borns
One, August 2003. (Pages 236 and 237). Director of Technology & Program Management
Alcoa Inc.
9. Aluminum Association – Auto and Light Truck Group Ph: 616 842 3500 x1021
website: http://www.autoaluminum.org/de1.htm E-Mail: rick.borns@alcoa.com

Donald E. Whitacre
Product Development Manager
Alcoa Inc.
Ph: 248 489 8228
E-Mail: don.whitacre@alcoa.com