Evolution to Modern Design

Evolution to Modern Design

To better understand this, we are going to take example of an automobile.
In 1886 first automobile is designed and launched
In 1908 first affordable automobile is designed and launched
In 1927 first American Automotive styling, closed body, forward facing seat, head
light, up and front equal size wheel and tires.
Now in 1927 to the Future design, if you see the future design, the concept was the
vehicle was lighter and lighter that is the customer requirement and based on this
requirement we are selecting, we are making our process in such a way that we can
achieve such feature or application.
Basic Material Selecting Criteria for Automotive
Hot Topics for Automakers
Emissions Safety Light Weight

Automakers Now in our Industries having a few challenges to control these 3

parameters so that they can achieve and get the customer requirement.
So, automakers face 3 challenges and automotive industries are improving their
product to fulfil their basic requirement and many countries now a days where
made strict rule regarding safety and emission control, we can control this
parameter with the help of material selection.
BIW Design Challenges
 Light weight construction
• Enabling use of light metals and composite materials results in improved fuel
efficiency
• Vehicle body determines the price of vehicle both directly and indirectly. Body
represents 50 to 70 % of the total cost of the vehicle directly, indirectly the life of
the vehicle can influence the price
 Cost efficient design
• Reduced investment and operating costs
• Increased efficiency and cost reduction
 Manufacturing process
• Minimize operations steps for final component
• Reduce material wastage
• Process flexibility with all possible variants
• Selection and adoption of new manufacturing technologies for simpler and
effective operations
 Right product at right time
• Attaining the right concept within shortest time to reach to customer with new
innovative ideas
• Time taken to complete the overall design of a new model of a car is determined
by the time taken to design the bodywork
 Engine and chassis units are easily replaceable, but serious damage to the body
means an end to vehicles life.
Why Materials?????
Each and every material have different mechanical and physical properties, based
on these properties selection of material is one of the important factors in design
and analysis.
Material Choice
Depends on the function, shape and process
Now where to use this material
what is the manufacturing process?
and what is the design
that is the one of the challenging features in our industries
so, selection of the material choice influences cost, safety, risk, weight, market
image, vehicle emissions all these factors are combining effect on selection of
materials.
Safety Crumple Zones
Crumple Zones are designed to absorb the energy from the impact during a traffic
collision by controlled deformation.
Absorbs the crash energy before it is reached to the passenger compartment.
Toyota uses tailor welded blanks in structures
It should not transfer to any of the compartment where the passengers and drivers
are seated.
Classification of Steel Grade and Their Properties
BIW Materials
• Nowadays automobile sector is driven by light weighting key to next
generation product development using cost-effective alternative material like
aluminium, composite materials in high end cars due to their several
advantages. It will become popular in low end vehicles as well in coming
years.
• BIW accounts @ 50% weight of vehicle and having a scope to reduce the
weight by means of alternative materials.
• Steel is always favored by automobile industries due to its simplicity in
fabrication, but in last several years fuel prices are rising and recycling
regulations are coming into force therefore it becomes need to reduce weig.ht
of vehicle.
• Materials used in BIW are listed as below
• Aluminum – VH Architecture, bonnet and roof
• Steel – Body Sides
• Composites – Wings, tailgate and sills
• CFRP (Carbon Fiber reinforced plastic)
• ULSAC (Ultra-Light Steel Auto Covers)
• ULSAS (Ultra-Light Steel Auto Suspension)

Steel
See one of the very famous plot, world Steel Authority they have plotted it called
as a banana plot
Tension Strength Versus Elongation plot of various Steel grades.
Now we have achieved 1700 MPa tension strength and the elongation is very less,
it is around 10 to 12 mm.
So, such kind of very good material is available in Steels.
Classified into 3 zones
Zone 1 Structural BIW (Aluminium / Steel)
Zone 2 Suspension and Engine (Aluminium / Steel)
Zone 3 Interior and Exterior (Plastics and Composites)
Steel grade
Bake Hardenable (BH)
Dual Phase (DP)
High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA)
Interstetial free (IF)
Mild Steel (MS)
Hot Formed (HF)
Ferritic Bainitic (FB)
Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP)
Complex Phase (CP)
Twinning Induced Plasticity (TWIP)
BIW Materials Yield Strength
Classify uses of a grade in a BIW,
where we use low Carbon Steel
where we use high Carbon Steel
where we use Ultra high Carbon Steel
The selection is important and really depends upon physical applications
We have 3 colours Grey, Yellow and Red.
Grey - Mild Steel C 180 MPa
Yellow- HSS C 400 MPa
Red- UHSS C 650 MPa
Frontal Part we may use 400 MPa (Frontal Crash - Absorb Energy)
One Question arises in mind, why not build a car body from lighter materials or
plastic???
Answer will be the Formability, Material Cost and Recyclability.

Aluminium Used in Automotive Domain and Their Properties

Aluminium uses in car body is continuously increasing.

It has got many advantages like Energy Efficiency, Safe to Use, and formability is
one of the best examples.
Practical application of the Aluminium is Crush can, which needs in frontal parts.
Optimized surface texture and treatment.
Recycled at record levels.
Aluminium Alloy 6082
Aluminium alloy 6082 is a medium strength alloy with excellent corrosion
resistance.
In plat form, 6082 is the Alloy most commonly used for machining.
Alloy 6082 is very common in Europe and is gaining popularity in the United States
for rod and bar, machining stock, seamless tubing, structural profiles and custom
profiles.
This alloy also offers good finishing characteristics and responds will to anodizing.
Case Study 1
Tailor Aluminium Blanks (TAB)
Door Structure Study
Case Study 2
Aluminium BIW
F1 Car
Under the new 2015 requirements a F1 race car must wait at least 702 kg. Two
Third of this weight is aluminium.
While the outer surface of the body is made from fibre plastic, all the internal
components and parts are made from aluminium alloys.

Case Study 3
Range Rover
The latest all aluminium vehicle from Range Rover is 39% or 420 kg lighter than its
Steel predecessor. This is equivalent to the weight of 5 people.
Composites
Two or more chemically different constituents combined microscopically to yield a
useful material.
Examples of Natural Composites
1) Wood: - Cellulose fibres Bound by lignin matrix.
2) Bone: - Stiff mineral “fibres” in a soft organic matrix permeated with holes filled
with liquids
3) Granite: - Granular composite of Quartz and Mica.
Why Composites???
High Strength
Light Weight
High Design Flexibility
Wear Resistance
Good Fatigue Life
Acoustical Insulation

By introducing composite material, over 220 Steel pressing components are

replaced by 12 composite components.
Lightweight materials for future automotive industry Advanced materials for
lightweight Vehicles

Sheet Metal Joining: - Welds, Adhesives and Tailor Welded Banks

Objective
1) Explain sheet metal joining process
2) Identify various sheet metal joining techniques
Sheet Metal Joining Processes
sheet metals are joined together to make them structurally stiff and functionally
rigid.
sheet metals are joined in automobile bodies, aircraft frames, Railway Wagons,
machine frames, structural works, tanks, furniture, general repair work and ship
building.
Joining process usefulness: -
1) Some products are too large to be made by individual processes.
2) Easier More economical to manufacture and join individual components.
3) Transportation and assembly are less costly.
Welding Processes: -
Welding is a metal joining process in which two or more parts are joined at their
contacting surfaces by suitable application of heat and / or pressure.
a) The heat is usually supplied by chemical or electrical means.
b) filler metals may or may not be used.
c) They produce permanent joint.
d) They are mainly used to assemble many parts to make a system.
Weld Joint Configurations Weld Types
1. Butt Joint 1. Inside Single Fillet corner joint
2. Corner Joint 2. Outside Single Fillet Corner
3. Lap Joint Joint
4. Tee Joint 3. Double fillet Tee joint
5. Edge Joint 4. Double Fillet Lap Joint
Resistance Spot Welding
Resistance Spot Welding is a process in which contacting metal surface points are
joined by the heat obtained from resistance to electric current.
Work-pieces are held together under pressure exerted by electrodes.
In a typical car body has approximately 5,000 spot welds spot.
Welding is usually used to join Steel to steel material sheets.
The sheet thickness = 0.5 mm to 3 mm for a good spot weld.
The shape of electrode tip is very important, it should be like a Round, Hexagonal
or square. Electrodes used in Resistance Spot Welding are mainly copper based or
copper tungsten combinations.
The nugget shape will be approximately 5 mm to 10 mm in this case.
Advantages of resistance spot welding
1) Quick and easy
2) No Filler metal required and there is no dangerous open flame.
3) Automated machine to speed up production, 200 spots in just 6 seconds
4) Comparatively low cost
5) Doesn't need highly skilled worker
6) Joint made is highly uniform
7) No need for preparation
Disadvantages
1) The electrodes have to reach both sides of the pieces of metal
2) The size and shape of the electrodes will determine the size and strength of
the weld.
3) The join forms only at the spot where the electrodes are in contact with the
metal
4) If the current is not strong enough, hot enough or the metal is not held together
with enough force, the spot weld may be small or weak
5) Equipment cost is high, so it has an effect on the initial cost
6) Needs special surface preparation.
Design Guidelines - RSW
• Low-carbon sheet steel up to 0.125 (3.2 mm) is ideal metal for RSW
• How additional strength and stiffness can be obtained in large flat sheet metal
components
• Spot welding reinforcing parts into them
• Forming flanges and embossments
• Spot welded assembly must provide access for electrodes to reach welding
area
• Sufficient overlap of sheet metal parts required for electrode tip to make
proper contact
Tailor welded blanks
tailor welded blanks are welded from different sheets in the butt joint configuration.
This is normally achieved by laser welding, electron welding, electron beam welding
or friction stir welding.
Types of Tailor Welded Blanks
1) Tailored Strips
2) Tailor Rolled Blanks
3) Taylor Tubes
4) Tailor Heat-Treated Blanks
“Different Strength Properties in same area”
1. B Pillar Reinforcement
2. Rear Side Members
3. Front Side Members
Materials: -
1) Boron steel aluminium Silicon coated
2) HSLA aluminium Silicon coated

Laser beam welding

Laser Beam Welding is used to join multiple pieces of metals through the use of a
laser. The beam provides a concentrated heat source, allowing for narrow, deep
welds and high welding rates.
Advantages
1) laser beam can be transmitted through air.
2) Automated with robotic machinery.
3) Higher quality welds.
4) Fusion welding process in which coalescence is achieved by energy of a highly
concentrated, coherent light beam focused on joint.
5) LBW normally performed with shielding gases to prevent oxidation
6) Filler metal not usually added
7) High power density in small area
8) So LBW often used for small parts
Self-Piercing Rivets (SPR’s)
Self-Piercing Rivets are used in lightweight Automotive and Aerospace industry.
SPR’s is a cold forming process in which a rivet is pressed by plunger and it pierces
upper sheet and flares into the bottom sheet to interlock two sheets.
Advantages
1) Fast, Single operation joining process
2) Can be used on materials which can’t be welded and dissimilar material
combinations.
3) Little or no damage to pre-coated materials
4) No fume or heat, low noise emission, low energy consumption.
Disadvantages
It's add extra weight to the cars.
Adhesive Bonding (Gluing or Glue bonding)
Is a technique with applying an intermediate layer to connect substrates of different
materials.
Types of Adhesives used in auto industry
1) Sealants
2) Anti-Flutter adhesives
3) Structural bonding
4) Interior bonding
5) Glass bonding
Types of Adhesive Joints
1. Butt Joint
2. Scrap Joint
3. Single Lap Joint
4. Double Lap Joint
5. Single Strap Joint
6. Double Strap Joint
Conventional Joining Techniques
1) Bolting
A Fastening method using a threaded pin or rod with head at one end (Bolt), designed
to be inserted through holes in assembled parts and secured by a mated nut, which
is tightened by applying torque.

2) Riveting
Two or more pieces are joined by inserting a headed Shank through a hole and
closed by forming a head on the projecting part of the Shank.
Types of rivets
1) Solid / Round Head Rivets
2) Semi Tubular Rivets
3) Blind Rivets
Snap Head Rivet Countersunk Rivet
The choice of materials for a vehicle is the first and most important factor for
automotive design.
Lightweight, this criterion is the most important one for an automotive company, in the
context of the high emphasis on greenhouse gas reductions, reduction of emissions and
improving fuel efficiency.

What is the material used in car body?

Cars are made of a wide variety of materials, such as steel, aluminum, copper, glass, rubber,
and special fibers. First, a raw material production company takes individual
raw materials and turns them into materials that can be used to make car parts, and delivers
them to parts production companies or to Toyota.

What raw materials are in automobile industry?

Automobiles require a wide variety of raw materials for their production, including the
iron used for steel, aluminum, glass, the petroleum products used to make plastics,
rubber, and special fibers. First, raw materials are mined or otherwise extracted from the
earth.

What is meant by the term yield stress when applied to materials used in vehicle
manufacture and construction?
Yield stress is how much force needs to be applied to an object to cause it to change from
elastic deformation to plastic deformation. Some materials have a sharp increase in strain
without a noticeable increase in stress, called the yield point.

Aluminum
Aluminum is used in the making of the modern car because it is light. In many cases it
replaced heavy metals such as iron in car manufacturing because it is has the strength
needed for the part without the excess weight. Parts of a car that are typically made
from aluminum include the engine and wheels.

What is the best material for a car?

There are many materials available for manufacturing a car body, from wood to steel,
magnesium alloys to kevlar. These days manufacturers are using aluminium for their car
frame as it is light weight & easy to manufacture. Without any doubt Carbon Fiber & its
composites.

Why are cars made of steel?

Today, the body of many cars is still built from steel because of its strength.
Today, most of the weight of a vehicle still comes from steel and iron but other materials
have been substituted as well. Aluminum. Aluminum is a relatively new material in the
world of auto manufacturing.

What are the types of raw material?

Raw materials are substances that are extracted directly from natural objects. They can
be classified into three categories: animal: wool, silk, hides. vegetal: cotton,
wood, cork, linen.

What are the types of materials in manufacturing?

In manufacturing of a product, a raw material is converted into a finished product. There
are various types of classifications available in the literature. Materials come under three
basic categories: metals, ceramics and polymers. A mixture of these fundamental types
forms a composite.

What are car seats made of?

A car seat is the seat used in automobiles. Most car seats are made from inexpensive but
durable material in order to withstand prolonged use. The most common material
is polyester.

What is shear strength of material?

In engineering, shear strength is the strength of a material or component against the
type of yield or structural failure where the material or component fails in shear. A
shear load is a force that tends to produce a sliding failure on a material along a plane that
is parallel to the direction of the force.

Are cars made of steel?

The car industry uses a tremendous number of materials to build cars, including iron,
aluminum, plastic steel, glass, rubber, petroleum products, copper, steel and others

How much steel is used in cars?

Approximately 55% of a car's weight comes from steel, according to The World Steel
Association. In 2007, the average car contained 2,400 pounds of steel, and the average
light truck or SUV 3,000 pounds of the metal. GM alone buys 7 million tons of steel for
itself and for resale to its suppliers each year.

What kind of fabric is used for car seats?

Fabric car upholstery is generally of two kinds: nylon or polyester. Nylon usually appears
as fabric and is one of the most common materials manufacturers use for car seat
upholstery. It is a very durable fabric, but also very porous.

Which is the best material for a car body?

Steel. It’s inexpensive, it provides great protection in accidents, and the technology to form
it into all kinds of crazy shapes has gotten really good. The technology to repair it is also
widespread and mature, and it’s a completely recyclable (and usually recycled) material.

There’s a reason why everyone serious in the auto industry uses it.

Notwithstanding the enthusiasm of Indian kids not in the auto industry for carbon fiber,
which is tacky, labor-intensive, expensive, fragile, impossible to usefully repair, and
impossible to produce at scale.

As we move beyond the era of high-energy-density fuel, and designers take weight more
seriously, some will continue to push steel ever thinner, while others try to make aluminum
serve in its place. Aluminum is more expensive, softer, and much more difficult to repair.

And there will likely always be plastic parts as well, since it’s useful for small, difficult
shapes, in places that are likely to get dinged a lot, like rear-view mirrors, bumpers, et
cetera.

The Carbon Fiber

It is five times as strong as Steel and twice as stiff.
The icing on cake is its weight which is two third less.

The Car Fiber is manufactured by using carbon yarns which can be twisted or bent like
hair.
Using Carbon fiber, we can shave off 60 percent of car's weight translating to better
performance and efficiency.

Why it's not popular?

Cost.
It costs around $10 per pound for CF whilst less than $1 for Steel.
Also, if a car crashes, steel can be recycled but CF recycling is tough and won't give same
strength as new.

Just FYI, Performance cars like Audi R8, BMW M6 are using carbon fiber.

Metals and Carbon Fiber used in Vehicle Manufacturing

As auto technology evolves, so does the materials from which vehicles are made. Many
different metals, plastics, and carbon fiber are used to manufacture the various
components of a car. Manufacturers may try different materials because each material
can affect things like production cost, fuel efficiency, safety, and more.

In collision repair, sometimes, the parts of a vehicle need to be replaced. Regardless of

what your vehicle is made from, it helps to know a little about auto manufacturing
materials so that you can make an informed decision as to replacement parts.
Steel & Iron
Most antique vehicles are made from steel. Today, many vehicles are still made with steel and iron
– but not nearly as much of it. Steel is still strong, durable, and readily available. Modern science
and technology have led to new combinations of materials that allow the same durability and
protection that steel can provide while increasing safety and fuel efficiency of a car.

While steel and iron provided a strong and sturdy vehicle, they did not necessarily provide a safe
environment for a person in an accident. Today, the body of many cars is still built from steel
because of its strength. However, many different kinds of steel are used, like steel that can crumple
on impact to soften the force of the impact on a passenger.

Steel and iron are also extremely dense and heavy, which did not allow for maximum fuel
efficiency. Today, most of the weight of a vehicle still comes from steel and iron but other
materials have been substituted as well.

Aluminum
Aluminum is a relatively new material in the world of auto manufacturing. It is a very lightweight
metal, and while not necessarily as durable as iron, it can be very beneficial in high performance
vehicles. The light weight allows for faster acceleration and better fuel mileage. One of the biggest
benefits of aluminum is that it is resistant to rust.

Titanium

Titanium is strong, but not quite as strong as steel or iron. It is lightweight, but still heavier
than aluminum. It is also resistant to corrosion, which is why it is a valuable metal to use
in vehicle manufacturing.

Carbon Fiber
Carbon fiber is another modern material in the auto manufacturing world. It’s used mostly
in high end vehicles, and is commonly used in brakes. It is much stronger and lighter than
steel, but it is also many times more expensive. However, in modern cars, it is used
increasingly to replace formerly metal parts.

Which Material is Best?

When it comes to collision repair, it might be best to use parts that are the same as your
original vehicle parts. But what happens when original parts aren’t available? Using
substitute materials on your vehicle is not necessarily bad, but it is a discussion you should
have with your collision repair shop.

Case Study: Materials Selection for Vehicle Body

For many years Wood was the most favorable choice for construction of
Vehicle-bodies in the transportation sector.

Let us look at the reasons behind this choice:

▪ Traditionally wood was used in the transportation sector for building

Chariots, Animal drawn Carts, Palanquins etc. – hence it became the
natural choice for building bodies of the automobiles, omnibuses etc.
at the first phase of industrial revolution.

▪ Wood has impressive mechanical properties. The elastic modulus of

wood is in the range of 8-20 GPa which is as good as materials like
PMMA and GFRP. The density of wood is about 0.6-75 Mg/m3 –
lighter than most of the polymers except polymeric foams. The
strength of the wood is about 30 MPa which is again comparable to
high-performance polymers.

▪ Other advantages of wood are recyclability, ease of machining and

aesthetically pleasing quality.
 With the advent of mass-scale production and automation in car-industry,
it became necessary to replace wood by metals and metallic alloys. Typical
metal shaping technologies like sheet forming which can handle large batch
size (105 to 106 units per batch) became very much suitable for the mass
scale production of vehicles.

There were two-choices in terms of use of metals and metallic alloys: Steel
and Aluminium Alloys. Why these materials became so popular for Car-
design? Let us find the material indices most relevant from car-body
construction point of view. It is observed that three most significant issues
in car-body design are:

i. Stiffness of the sheets which is expressed as an objective to minimise

mass against a specified deflection limit. Minimisation of mass
directly implies the use of less amount of material and hence less cost
per unit. Also, mass minimisation would increase fuel efficiency of
the vehicle. For a flat panel of size (LxB), thickness t, modulus of
elasticity E and density ρ, this would involve the search for a material
having maximum value of an index
(E /ρ). Later we will discuss about the origin of such indices.
1/3

ii. Another important consideration is dent resistance. A similar study

would indicate that this requires the maximisation of an index
(σy t4/k), where σy is the yield strength and k is the stiffness of the
panel.

Case Study continued: Materials Selection for Vehicle Body

The third important issue is the resistance against crack propagation. This is
indicated by the parameter called ‘fracture toughness’ or KIC (MPa-m1/2)

Now, let us look at the values of these parameters for four materials: Carbon Steel,
Stainless Steel, Aluminium Alloy, PMMA and GRFP (Glass Fibre Reinforced
Plastic).
 E1/3/ρ σy KIC
Material (E – GPa, ρ-Mg/M3) (MPa) (MPa-m1/2)
Carbon
Steel 0.75 250 12
(0.4 $/Kg)
Stainless
Steel 0.77 170 12
(1.2$/Kg)
Aluminium
Alloy 1.63 30 18
(1.3$/Kg)
PMMA 72 1.6
1.34
(2.4$/Kg) (max) (max)
GFRP 150 20
1.55
(9$/Kg) (max) (max)

The Table above clearly explains why Carbon steel was tolerated for a long time in
Car-body construction. It was the cheapest among all available materials having
reasonably good material indices. However, the massive growth of automobile use
in the Europe and USA caused tremendous environmental problems. As a result, in
1975 a new rule was established by CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy)
regulations, which set a target of fuel economy up to 27.5 miles per Gallon of fuel).
The average fuel efficiency of steel-based Cars at that time was only 14 mpg. The
new rules have shifted the favour towards Aluminium. In terms of specific stiffness,
it is even placed better than steel. The Table also shows that from all round
consideration GFRP is even better than Aluminium. However, the cost of GFRP is
still much higher than Aluminum prohibiting its use in mass-scale manufacturing of
automobiles.

Advantages of using Aluminium in automobiles

▪ There is a marked increase in the use of aluminum in automobiles over the

years. Following the report of the Aluminum Association in the 2002 North
American Light Vehicle Aluminum Content Study, for 2002, the average
aluminum content for passenger cars and light trucks combined is about 125
Kg while the average for all vehicles sold in 1999 was about 113 Kg.
▪ It is also noted that lower energy consumption and gas emissions is possible
through reduced weight, for example, extensive use of aluminium can result
in up to 300 kg weight reduction in a medium size vehicle (1400kg).

▪ For every 100 kg reduction in the automotive sector, there is a cut of 20%
lower exhaust gas emissions and proportionally reduced operating costs.

▪ One of the major challenges in Aluminium industry is to machine complex

components out of thick plate replacing parts previously machined from die
forgings or fabricated from sheet and extrusions. This would reduce the cost
of manufacturing as well as enhance the application of complex shapes.

▪ The picture below shows a Jaguar Car which is having almost complete body
and frame made out of Aluminium.
In this lecture, I will provide you an overview of a group of material properties
important for the designer. You may be aware of many of them; however, for the sake
of completeness and to avoid ambiguities at a later state we are going to define the
relevant properties here.

The following properties are considered for this purpose:

1. Relative Prices
2. Mechanical Properties: Density, Modulus, Damping, Yield Strength, Tensile
Strength, Hardness, Fracture Toughness, Fatigue Strength, Thermal Fatigue
Resistance, Creep Strength
3. Surface Properties: Oxidation, Corrosion, Friction, Abrasion & Wear Thermal,
4. Ease of Manufacture, Joining
5. Aesthetic Properties: Appearance, Texture, Feel

Relative Prices of Materials

In the Table below, we have provided the relative prices of the materials commonly
used in mechanical design. This will give you an approximate idea about the price
range. The absolute prices (US $/ton) could be obtained by multiplying the values
with a base value of $3,30,000.00. In fact this is the price of Boron epoxy composite
(US$/ton) which was used in Space Shuttle.

Material Relative Cost (x 10-4)

CFRP 6060
Tungsten 787
Cobalt 521
Titanium Alloy 385
Polyamide 306
PMMA 160
High Speed Steel 121
Nylon 96
GFRP 100
Stainless Steel 93
Polycarbonate 77
Aluminium Alloy 73
Epoxy 50
Rubber 43
HDPE 37
PS 39
Mild Steel 14
Soft Wood 13
Cement 01