lightweighting

{{Short description|Automotive weight reduction concept}}

File:2013 IAA BMW i3 Honeycomb structure.jpg are increasingly being used in cars and trucks to decrease weight while preserving strength, as shown here in this car bumper, as an example of Lightweighting.]]

Lightweighting is a concept in the auto industry about building cars and trucks that are less heavy as a way to achieve better fuel efficiency, battery range, acceleration, braking and handling.JIM MOTAVALLI, OCT. 11, 2012, The New York Times, [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/12/automobiles/for-lightweight-cars-a-race-among-steel-aluminum-and-carbon-fiber.html?_r=0 For Lightweight Cars, a Materials Race], Retrieved April 11, 2015, "...carmakers and the federal government are pouring resources into “lightweighting” auto platforms to meet the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards...."Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY, June 3, 2014, [https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/06/03/ford-fusion-lightweight/9928467/ Ford shows off lightweight car concept], Retrieved April 11, 2015, "..."Lightweighting our vehicles is incredibly important to us in terms of improving fuel economy and reducing CO2 emissions,"..." In addition, lighter vehicles can tow and haul larger loads because the engine is not carrying unnecessary weight.{{Cite web |last=admin |date=2023-03-08 |title=Why Commercial Vehicles are Turning to Light-Weighting |url=https://conmet.com/why-the-commercial-vehicle-industry-is-turning-to-lightweight-components/ |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=ConMet |language=en-US}} Excessive vehicle weight is also a contributing factor to particulate emissions from tyre and brake wear.{{Cite news |last1=Carrington |first1=Damian |last2= |first2= |date=2022-06-03 |title=Car tyres produce vastly more particle pollution than exhausts, tests show |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/03/car-tyres-produce-more-particle-pollution-than-exhausts-tests-show |access-date=2024-03-12 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite journal |last1=Oroumiyeh |first1=Farzan |last2=Zhu |first2=Yifang |date=2021-12-01 |title=Brake and tire particles measured from on-road vehicles: Effects of vehicle mass and braking intensity |journal=Atmospheric Environment: X |volume=12 |pages=100121 |doi=10.1016/j.aeaoa.2021.100121 |issn=2590-1621|doi-access=free |bibcode=2021AtmEX..1200121O }}

Carmakers make body structure parts from aluminium sheet, aluminium extrusions,press hardening steel, carbon fibers, windshields from plastic, and bumpers out of aluminum foam, as ways to lessen vehicle load.Dee-Ann Durbin of the Associated Press, June 17, 2014, Mercury News, [http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_25981045/auto-industry-gets-serious-about-lighter-materials Auto industry gets serious about lighter materials], Retrieved April 11, 2015, "...Automakers have been experimenting for decades with lightweighting, as the practice is known, but the effort is gaining urgency with the adoption of tougher gas mileage standards. ..." Replacing car parts with lighter materials does not lessen overall safety for drivers, according to one view, since many grades of aluminium and plastics have a high strength-to-weight ratio; and aluminum has high energy absorption properties for its weight.

File:Body Structure showing materials.png

The search to replace car parts with lighter ones is not limited to any one type of part; according to a spokesman for Ford Motor Company, engineers strive for lightweighting "anywhere we can."NEAL E. BOUDETTE and MIKE RAMSEY, Jan. 14, 2013, Wall Street Journal, [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324595704578239812708897212 Detroit Sheds Pounds for Gas-Mileage Gains], Retrieved April 11, 2015, "...Today, we look at lightweighting anywhere we can," said ... of Ford...." Using lightweight materials such as plastics, high strength steels and aluminium can mean less strain on the engine and better gas mileage as well as improved handling.May 2, 2013, Chicago Tribune, [http://www.chicagotribune.com/bp/chi-branded-aranet-automotive-improving-automobile-fuel-efficiency-with-plastics-story.html Improving automobile fuel efficiency - with plastics], Retrieved April 11, 2015, "...Due to their positive strength-to-weight ratio, plastics make up an astonishing 50 percent of today’s cars by volume, but only 10 percent by weight. This “lightweighting” results in less strain on the engine and improved gas mileage...." One material sometimes used to reduce weight for structures that can accept the cost premium is carbon fiber.Daniel C. Esty, March 4, 2007, Washington Post, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/02/AR2007030202044.html When Being Green Puts You in the Black], Retrieved April 11, 2015, "...Toyota reported record profits last year because it put these issues at the center of its design strategy, which includes hybrid engines, "lightweighting" of its vehicles through the use of carbon fiber and other advanced materials, .." The auto industry has used the term for many years, as the effort to keep making cars lighter is ongoing.

Another common material used for lightweighting is aluminum.{{Cite web |last=Lampinen |first=Megan |date=2022-07-28 |title=The pros of lightweighting with aluminium in a battery-powered world |url=https://www.automotiveworld.com/articles/the-pros-of-lightweighting-with-aluminium-in-a-battery-powered-world/ |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=Automotive World |language=en-GB}} Incorporating aluminum has grown continuously to not only meet CAFE standards but to also improve automotive performance. A light

weighting magazine finds: "Even though aluminum is light, it does not sacrifice strength. Aluminum body structure is equal in strength to steel and can absorb twice as much crash-induced energy."{{cite web|last1=Marin|first1=Andy|title=Vacuum Impregnation Enables Lightweight Material Use|url=https://lightweightingworld.com/vacuum-impregnation-enables-lightweight-material-use/|website=Light Weighting World|publisher=Light Weighting World magazine}} The use of aluminium for lightweighting can be limited for the higher strength grades by their low formability - and in response to this forming challenge new techniques such as roll forming and hot forming (Hot Form Quench) have been introduced in recent years.

Many other materials are used to meet lightweighting goals.{{cite journal | doi=10.1146/annurev-matsci-070218-010134 | title=Materials for Automotive Lightweighting | year=2019 | last1=Taub | first1=Alan | last2=De Moor | first2=Emmanuel | last3=Luo | first3=Alan | last4=Matlock | first4=David K. | last5=Speer | first5=John G. | last6=Vaidya | first6=Uday | journal=Annual Review of Materials Research | volume=49 | pages=327–359 | bibcode=2019AnRMS..49..327T | osti=1818967 | s2cid=198386141 | doi-access=free }} Cost of lightweighting, and increasingly sustainability of materials, is becoming an issue in solution selection - with the viable cost increase of a part per kilogram saved being between $5 and $15,{{Cite web |date=2016-10-06 |title=Automotive lightweight – Heavy impact |url=https://www.slideshare.net/Berylls/automotive-lightweight-heavy-impact-66809236 |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=SlideShare |language=en}} depending on the price point and performance needs of the vehicle.