History Cars Materials
History Cars Materials
History Cars Materials
Some Background...
Cars at first were built entirely of wood, and later of wood frames with steel body panels. In the early 1900s, the idea of a body-on-frame design came about. These vehicles had a load-bearing chassis that supported all the mechanical parts and a body usual made of steel.
Ford Model T
Courtesy Car Body Design
http://www.carbodydesign.com/articles/2005-04-13-chassis-history/2005-04-13-chassis-history.php
Moving Forward...
Honda Civic Frame
http://automobiles.honda.com/images/2009/civic-sedan/safety/safety-header.jpg
Today, most smaller vehicles such as small SUVs and sedans use a unibody (or monocoque) construction. Heavy-duty vehicles like trucks and busses still use the idea of body-on-frame. Regardless of the construction technique, steel is still the predominant material used in automotive frames.
A Quick Comparison
Monocoques
A Basic Comparison
Two common alloys used in car manufacturing: For Aluminum: AA 5182 For Steel: AISI 1020
Steel
Yield Strength (MPa)
Al
395 420 58
Properties
Density of Steel: 7.88 g/cm3
Density of Aluminum: 2.7 g/cm3 Aluminum is about 3 times lighter than steel per unit volume, but can be made just as strong using certain alloys/shapes/bonding methods. Because of this, AL parts can be thicker, and thus stronger, than their steel counterparts, all while weighing less.
This allowed Audi to make their full-size car lighter than the competitions (BMW, Mercedes,Lexus...), thus giving them the edge in performance & handling. This comes at a price premium though, for instance compared to a Lexus LS460 (Steel framed) which costs around $65,000. The A8 starts at $75,000
An Increasing Trend
http://www2.prnewswire.com/mnr/duckerworldwide/37515/
Honda NSX
Audi A2
Corvette Z06
Audi R8
Weight
The most obvious advantage to using aluminum in place of steel in cars is aluminum weighs less.
Safety
Not too many safety tests have been performed on Al framed vehicles due to their usually higher price. However, the Audi A2 is an inexpensive compact car that has been tested, and received overall favorable reviews compared to its steel bodies counterparts.
In The Future
http://andrewbeard.wordpress.com/2009/05/11/technology-carbon-fiber-monocoque-chassis/
While Aluminum may be the wave of the future for now, some exotic car companies are already looking ahead to composite materials.
Take for example Porsche Carrera GT, which used a completely Carbon-Fiber monocoque construction in addition to Carbon-Fiber body panels. Because of this, the curb weight of the car was only 3000 lbs., even with a 5.7L V-10 engine powering it.
Porsche Carrera GT
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Porsche_Carrera_GT__Goodwood_Breakfast_Club_%28July_2008%29.jpg/800px-Porsche_Carrera_GT__Goodwood_Breakfast_Club_%28July_2008%29.jpg
References
Building an aluminum car
http://www.allbusiness.com/professional-scientific/scientific-research-development/443897-1.html