Trends in Automotive

Applications for Aluminum

Andrew M. Sherman
Manufacturing and Vehicle Design Research
Laboratory
Ford Motor Company

The 7th International Conference on Aluminum Alloys

Charlottesville, Virginia
April 10, 2000
Trends in Automotive Applications
Automotive for Aluminum
u Background - Drivers for the Use of Aluminum

u Trends, Potential and Opportunity

u Needs and Challenges

u Scenario for the Next Millennium

 Motives for the Drivers for Alternate
Application of New and New Materials
Technology
u
u Environment
u
u Market Driven (Emissions, CO2,
u
u Performance Recycling)
Improvements
u
u Energy Conservation
u
u Reliability/Safety/ Quality
Improvement u
u Safety
u
u Cost Reduction
u
u Vehicle Electrification
u
u Regulatory Imperatives
 Driving Forces that Determine
Materials Usage
u Plentiful, Readily Available Supply of Raw
Materials at Affordable Cost

u Low Cost Fabrication at Mass Production Volumes

u Low Cost Tooling

u Highly Reliable Parts and Assemblies

u Recyclability
 North American Light Vehicle
Aluminum Content
300

250
Pounds per Vehicle

200

150

100

50

0
73 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99
Calendar Year
Source: Ducker Research
 1999 North American Aluminum
Component Penetration Rates
Body In White

Hoods

Heat Shields

Heat Exchangers

Front Knuckles

Wheels

Engine Blocks

Intake Manifolds

Cyl. Heads

0 20 40 60 80 100
Source: Ducker Research
 Aluminum Alloys
Opportunities and Challenges
u Currently About 250 Lbs. per Vehicle
– 200 lb. Castings
– 50 lb. Wrought (Heat Exchangers,
Bumpers, Trim, Heat Shields, Body
Panels)

u Magnesium is Viable Competitor

for many Castings

u Plastics and Composites are also

competitors for some applications
 Current Aluminum Sheet Usage

u Ford uses more than 40 Million Lbs. of

Aluminum Body Sheet per year:
– Lincoln Town Car: Hood
– Lincoln LS: Hood, Fenders, Deck Lid
– Ranger: Hood
– F Series: Hood
– Expedition: Hood
u Aluminum Sheet is also used for Heat
Shields and Heat Exchangers
 Aluminum Potential

u Best chance for large increases in Al

usage is in body structure applications

u Body structure (non-surface critical)

using 5000 series alloys could be major
application of aluminum sheet
produced by lower cost technologies
Ford P2000 Body Material Usage
Ford P2000 Chassis Material Usage
 Material Applications Summary

480 (24%)
Ferrous Metal 2155 (64.9%)
Aluminum 733 (37%)
284 (8.6%)
86 (4.3%)
Magnesium 10 (.31%)
11 (0.6%)
Titanium 0 (0%)
270 (13%)
Plastic 381 (11.4%)
223 (11.1%)
Other 249 (7.5%)
123 (6%)
Rubber 146 (4.4%) P2000
36 (1.8%)
Glass 93 (2.8%) 1997 Taurus GL
30 (1.5%)
Lexan 0 (0%)
8 (0.3%)
Carbon Fiber 0 (0%)
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200
Weight (lbs.)
Ford Prodigy
 Aluminum Intensive Vehicles -
Potential Usage

u ~ 700 pounds of aluminum sheet required

for each full-size vehicle

u Ford produces more than 4 million

vehicles in the U.S. and more than 7
million worldwide
Automotive Aluminum Sheet Alloys
Structure
5xxx e.g. 5754 (3 to 3.5% Mg)
Most important characteristics: formability, strength,
weldability,
Gages: 1 to 3 mm

Closure Panels
6xxx e.g. 6111
Important characteristics: surface quality, strength of
finished part (after painting want Y.S. of ~35 ksi)
formability,
Gages: 0.8 to 1.0 mm
 Aluminum Body Sturctures - The
State of the Art
u Aluminum closure panels and body
structures can be designed to meet vehicle
requirements

u Aluminum components can be manufactured

in high-volume at rates essentially same as
those for steel

BUT . . .
 Aluminum Body Applications -
The State of the Art (Continued)
u Both the material cost and the manufacturing
cost are higher than for steel

u The lead time, risk and investment are higher

for aluminum

u The infrastructure to support wide

application of aluminum bodies needs to be
developed.
 Aluminum Intensive Vehicles - Key
Developments
Material Production Forming/Casting Joining
• Feedstock Costs • Optimization • Adhesive
• Optimize Properties • Alternative Bonding
Processes • NDE

Design Reliable,
Optimization Low-Cost
to Maximize Manufacturing
Weight
Reduction

Lower Material
Costs
Recycling
• Alloy Sorting
Aluminum Vehicle Cost - Material Needs

Vehicle Design Optimization, Alloy

Weight Strength

Yield Stamping Layout, Design

Smelting, Sheet
Material
Production, Economy of
Cost
Scale

Scrap Sorting Technology, Plant

Value Practices
Vehicle Material Cost Ratio
Aluminum vs. Steel
Current
Automotive 47%
1.75X Slab Cast, Body Sheet Vehicle Weight
Material Cost per Vehicle

Low-Cost Aluminum Reduction

Sheet
1.5X Aluminum
55%
Vehicle Weight
1.25X Reduction

1.0X

0.75X
1X 2X 3X 4X 5X 6X
Aluminum Cost Per Lb. vs. Steel
Continuous Casting Technology

l Cheaper Processing Route

3 No Homogenization Step
3 No Scalping Step
3 Fewer Gauge Reduction
Steps
3 In-Line Rolling
l Lower Costs
3 Lower Investment
(Significantly Smaller Plants)
3 Faster Process Times
3 Higher Yield
Example of Hazelett Belt Caster 3 Less Labor
3 Less Energy
 Material Comparison - Alcan CC vs DC
Forming Limit Diagrams 5754 Mechanical Properties
280
0.40
5754 - O Con Cast DC Cast L
0.35 T

UTS, MPa
240
45
0.30

200
0.25
Strain 1

0.20 160

0.15 180
Con Cast DC Cast

Yield, MPa
0.10 140

0.05 Continuous Cast

100
DC Cast

-0.15 -0.05 0.05 0.15 0.25 60

Strain 2 1.0mm 2.0mm 2.25mm 1.0mm
Gauge

Mechanical properties of continuous cast material are within specification for this
alloy and formability and fatigue testing have shown that this m aterial is nearly
identical to the conventional DC-ingot material.
 Continuous Cast Aluminum
Demonstration Part

P2000 - Roof Header (Inner)

 Automotive Aluminum Sheet -
Manufacturing R & D Areas
• Alloy Development
• Optimization of Conventional Stamping
• Lubricants
• Tailored Blanks
Formability
• Electromagnetic Forming
• Hydroforming
• Warm Forming
• SPF
• Adhesive Bonding
• Surface Treatments
• NDE
Joining • Spot Welding
• Self Piercing Riveting
• Laser Welding
• Friction Stir Welding
 Process-Press Optimization
u Blankholder force
regulates the flow of No load control
Tears
material into the die With binder load control

cavity so that no wrinkles

or splits may occur in the Working area for good parts
formed part

Blankholder Force
u By varying the
blankholder force by Wrinkles
position and during the
forming stroke the
Draw Depth
window for producing
good parts may be
enlarged
Flexible Binder
l Individual control of local
binder areas produces
flexibility in controlling
sheet metal flow

l Binder Control Unit will be

installed in existing
mechanical presses

l Technology demonstration
on Liftgate Feb/Mar
Binder Load Control Apparatus
 Tailor-Welded Blank Technology
Conventional

Multiple Stampings Welding / Joining

Tailor-Welded Blank
Laser Direction

l
ia
er
at
m
e ld
w

Welding Stamping
 Differential Gauge Effects - Formability
Diagonal Weld Orientation Perpendicular Weld Orientation

Summary of LDH test results on AA5182 TWBs and unwelded blanks.

Weld Orientation Average Punch Penetration Standard Deviation
(degrees) (mm) (mm)

45 21.33 0.073
90 15.05 0.945
No weld 25.77 0.079
 Scenario for the Next Two Decades

u
u Steel will remain the staple
for high volume,
small/medium vehicles

u Aluminum production
infrastructure can be
developed for an
integrated, low -cost system
low-cost
analogous to the beverage
can industry

u
u If so, aluminum can
predominate in high
volume, medium/large
vehicles
 Areas for Automotive Aluminum R & D
Reduce Aluminum Primary Aluminum Smelting,
Production Cost Continuous Casting, Economy of
Scale, Process Optimization
Reduce Component Weight Design Optimization, Improved Alloy
Properties, Continuous Joining

Minimize Scrap Stamping Process Design, Net Shape

Manufacturing Processes

Reduce Component More Formable Alloys, Process

Manufacturing and Development (Casting, Forming,
Assembly Costs Joining)
Increase Scrap Value Alloy Scrap Sorting (plant and post-
consumer)
 Summary

u The need to improve fuel economy and reduce

emissions is an opportunity to expand the
automotive applications of aluminum, particularly in
body structures.

u Cost, both material and manufacturing, is the largest

barrier to the use of aluminum in automotive
applications.

u Research is making significant contributions to

improving the technologies for aluminum vehicles.