Vehicle Body Materials

Vehicle body Materials - Steel

Department of Automobile Engineering

T.Veeramahantesh Swamy
Professor & HOD

Carbon steels

Carbon steels are iron-carbon alloys containing up to 2.06% of
carbon, up to 1.65% of manganese, up to 0.5% of silicon and sulfur
and phosphorus as impurities.

Carbon content in carbon steel determines its strength and ductility.

The higher carbon content, the higher steel strength and the lower
its ductility.

According to the steels classification there are following groups of
carbon steels:

Low carbon steels (C < 0.25%)

Medium carbon steels (C =0.25% to 0.55%)

High carbon steels (C > 0.55%)
 Tool carbon steels (C>0.8%)

Steels

Carbon Steels

Alloy Steels

Effect of alloying elements

Designation of steels (SAE/AISI)

High Strength Steels

Steel Classification

Low carbon steels (C < 0.25%)

Properties: good formability and weldability, low strength, low cost.

Applications: deep drawing parts, chain, pipe, wire, nails, some machine parts.

Medium carbon steels (C =0.25% to 0.55%)

Properties: good toughness and ductility, relatively good strength, may be hardened
by quenching

Applications: rolls, axles, screws, cylinders, crankshafts, heat treated machine parts.

High carbon steels (C > 0.55%)

Properties: high strength, hardness and wear resistance, moderate ductility.

Applications: rolling mills, rope wire, screw drivers, hammers, wrenches, band saws.
Tool carbon steels (C>0.8%) subgroup of high carbon steels

Properties: very high strength, hardness and wear resistance, poor weldability low
ductility (cold working not possible and fractures under very low elongation)

Applications: punches, shear blades, springs, milling cutters, knives, razors.

Designation system of carbon steels

American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) together with
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) have established
four-digit (with additional letter prefixes) designation
system:

SAE 1XXX

First digit 1 indicates carbon steel (2-9 are used for
alloy steels);

Second digit indicates modification of the steel.

0 - Plain carbon, non-modified

1 - Resulfurized

2 - Resulfurized and rephosphorized

5 - Non-resulfurized, Mn over 1.0%

Designation system of carbon steels

Last two digits indicate carbon concentration in 0.01%.

Example: SAE 1030 means non modified carbon steel,
containing 0.30% of carbon.

A letter prefix before the four-digit number indicates the
steel making technology:

A - Alloy, basic open hearth

B - Carbon, acid Bessemer

C - Carbon, basic open hearth

D - Carbon, acid open hearth

E - Electric furnace

Example: AISI B1020 means non modified carbon steel,
produced in acid Bessemer and containing 0.20% of
carbon.

Chemical compositions of some carbon

steels
SAE/AISI
grade
1006
1010
1020
1030
1045
1070
1090
1117
1547

C, %

Mn,%

P,% max

S,% max

0.08 max
0.08-0.13
0.17-0.23
0.27-0.34
0.42-0.50
0.65-0.76
0.85-0.98
0.14-0.20
0.43-0.51

0.35 max
0.30-0.60
0.30-0.60
0.60-0.90
0.60-0.90
0.60-0.90
0.60-0.90
1.10-1.30
1.35-1.65

0.40
0.40
0.40
0.40
0.40
0.40
0.40
0.40
0.40

0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05

Carbon steel SAE 1006

SAE1006
Chemical composition: C=0.08% max, Mn=0.35% max, P=0.04% max, S=0.05%
max
Property

Value in metric Unit

Density

7.872 * 103

Kg/cu.m

Modulus of Elasticity

200

GPa

Thermal Expansion (200C)

12.6*10-7

0C -1

Specific heat capacity

481

J/(kg*K)

Thermal conductivity

64.9

W/(kg*K)

Electric resistivity

1.4*10-6

Ohm*m

Tensile strength (hot rolled) / (cold rolled)

295 / 330

MPa

Yield strength (hot rolled / (cold rolled)

165 / 285

MPa

Elongation (hot rolled) / (cold rolled)

30 / 20

Hardness (hot rolled) / (cold rolled)

49 / 55

RB

Alloy steels

Alloy steels are iron-carbon alloys, to which
alloying elements are added with a purpose to
improve the steels properties as compared to
the Carbon steels.

Due to effect of alloying elements, properties of
alloy steels exceed those of plane carbon steels.

AISI/SAE classification divide alloy steels onto
groups according to the major alloying elements:

Low alloy steels (alloying elements 8%);

High alloy steels (alloying elements > 8%).

Characteristics of alloying elements in

Steel

Manganese (Mn) improves hardenability, ductility and wear
resistance. Mn eliminates formation of harmful iron sulfides,
increasing strength at high temperatures.

Nickel (Ni) increases strength, impact strength and toughness,
impart corrosion resistance in combination with other elements.

Chromium (Cr) improves hardenability, strength and wear
resistance, sharply increases corrosion resistance at high
concentrations (> 12%).

Tungsten (W) increases hardness particularly at elevated
temperatures due to stable carbides, refines grain size.

Vanadium (V) increases strength, hardness, creep resistance and
impact resistance due to formation of hard vanadium carbides, limits
grain size.

Characteristics of alloying elements in

Steel..contnd

Molybdenum (Mo) increases hardenability and strength
particularly at high temperatures and under dynamic conditions.

Silicon (Si) improves strength, elasticity, acid resistance and
promotes large grain sizes, which cause increasing magnetic
permeability.

Titanium (Ti) improves strength and corrosion resistance.

Cobalt (Co) improves strength at high temperatures and magnetic
permeability.

Zirconium (Zr) increases strength and limits grain sizes.

Boron (B) highly effective hardenability agent, improves
deformability and machinability.

Copper (Cu) improves corrosion resistance.

Aluminum (Al) deoxidizer, limits austenite grains growth.

According to the four-digit classification

SAE/AISI system
First digit indicates the class of the alloy steel:

2- Nickel steels;

3- Nickel-chromium steels;

4- Molybdenum steels;

5- Chromium steels;

6- Chromium-vanadium steels;

7- Tungsten-chromium steels;
Second digit indicates concentration of the major element
in percents (1 means 1%).
Last two digits indicate carbon concentration in 0,01%.

Example: SAE 5130 means alloy chromium steel,
containing 1% of chromium and 0.30% of carbon.

Chemical compositions of some alloy

steels
SAE/AISI
grade

C, %

Mn,%

2340

0.380.43

3115

P,%
max

S,%
max

Ni, %

Cr, %

Mo,
%

0.7-0.9 0.035

0.04

3.253.75

0.130.18

0.4-0.6 0.035

0.04

1.11.4

0.550.7

4130

0.270.33

0.350.6

0.035

0.04

0.81.15

0.150.25

8620

0.180.23

0.6-0.9 0.035

0.04

0.40.7

0.40.6

0.150.25

Alloy Steel SAE4027

SAE4027
Chemical composition: C=0.4% , Mn=0.8% , Mo=0.25%
Property

Value in metric Unit

Density

7.872 * 103

Kg/cu.m

Modulus of Elasticity

205

GPa

Thermal Expansion (200C)

12.0*10-7

0C -1

Specific heat capacity

477

J/(kg*K)

Thermal conductivity

44.6

W/(kg*K)

Electric resistivity

2.45*10-6

Ohm*m

Tensile strength (annealed) / (normalized)

515 / 640

MPa

Yield strength (annealed / (normalized)

325 / 420

MPa

Elongation (annealed) / (normalized)

30 / 26

Hardness (annealed) / (normalized)

78 / 88

RB

High Strength Steels (HSS)

With appropriate alloy selection for a given set of design and loading
conditions one can get substantially enhanced strength without altering
structural rigidity. With the recent development in HSS in sheet form, the
opportunities for higher specific strength panels and pressings present
themselves.

British Steel supply the motor industry with HSS in narrow and wide strip
form.

High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA)

Available from 275 to 550 MN/sq.m. yield strength and 12% to 24%
elongation

On direct substitution there is thickness reduction of 15-35% for similar
panel configuration and loading at a cost penalty of about 20%.

Joining process like welding in body assembly calls for a particular alloying
element like niobium or titanium to be added.

HS steels strength can also be increased by bake-hardening , which may
take place in painting oven and strength may increase up to 80n/sq.mm.

Press working techniques

The degree of panel thickness reduction is somewhat limited by the
stretch marks which can occur during pressing. Compared to the
press settings for mild steel, there should be a modification of the
gap between the mating dies to avoid either wrinkling due to uneven
strain or buckling due to radial compression.

In the case of parts requiring deep drawing, some modifications of
details design will probably be necessary compared with that used
for mild steel and the number of stages in the forming process often
to be increased.

Work hardening is also important element in strength enhancement
for some HS steels. Standard tension tests on specimens can be
used to determine work hardening exponent n and plastic ratio r
and hardening exponent m.

Work / Strain hardening

Work hardening may be desirable or undesirable depending on the
context. An example of undesirable work hardening is during
machining when early passes of a cutter inadvertently work-harden
the workpiece surface, causing damage to the cutter during the later
passes.

An example of desirable work hardening is that which occurs in
metalworking processes that intentionally induce plastic deformation
to exact a shape change. These processes are known as cold
working or cold forming processes. They are characterized by
shaping the workpiece at a temperature below its recrystallization
temperature, usually at the ambient temperature.

Cold forming techniques are usually classified into four major
groups: squeezing, bending, drawing, and shearing.

Strain hardening

The strain hardening exponent (also called strain
hardening index), noted as n, is a materials constant
which is used in calculations for stress-strain behaviour
in work hardening.

In the formula = K n, represents the applied stress
on the material, is the strain and K is the strength
coefficient.

The value of the strain hardening exponent lies between
0 and 1.

A value of 0 means that a material is a perfectly plastic
solid, while a value of 1 represents a 100% elastic solid.
Most metals have an n value between 0.10 and 0.50.

'Tabulation of n and K Values for

Several Alloys'
Material

K (MPa)

Low carbon steel (annealed)

0.21

600

4340 steel alloy (annealed)

0.12

2650

304 stainless steel (annealed)

0.44

1400

Copper (annealed)

0.44

530

2024 aluminium alloy (heat

treated T3)

0.17

780

Aluminium

Ref: http://aluminium.matter.org.uk

Introduction I

The passenger car of today and, even more so, the car of the future
has to satisfy very high demands. Aside from being a high
performance vehicle, that ensures driving ease, safety and comfort,
it has to comply with strict and necessary environmental demands.

This environmental awareness and the laws endorsing it have
forced the automotive industry to focus on ways to reduce the
vehicle weight. Lighter cars invariably mean lower fuel consumption,
resulting in reduced exhaust CO2 emission, which is a major
atmospheric pollutant.

Incorporating aluminium in the car fulfils this requirement in an
exceptional manner. For example, compared to traditional steels,
aluminium rolled sheet for doors, hoods or wings can amount to a 50
% weight reduction. The tradition of using steel and the cost of
aluminium are challenges for the incorporation of aluminium into the
automotive sector.

Introduction II

Currently, new European cars contain on average 130 kg of
aluminium. This quantity varies significantly depending on the brand
and the class category.

Aluminium can be used for various car parts:

Body-panels (40 % lighter car-body than in steel)

Heat exchangers
Engine block
Shock absorbers
Wheels (up to 35 % lighter than steel wheels)
Suspension parts (30-35 % lighter than steel predecessors)
Interior design & decoration
Plus more

Aluminium Automotive Manual

In addition to the aluMATTER website, the European
Aluminium Association has developed through the
automotive department an online Aluminium
Automotive Manual, a vast and comprehensive online
information guide intended to provide technicians and
engineers with information about aluminium for use in
automotive applications. By logging on to the manual
website www.eaa.net/aam you can discover the many
and varied applications of aluminium in automotive and
learn more about its material properties, shaping,
forming and joining technologies, and the unique
aluminium design approach.

Jaguar XJ Body-In-White

The Body-In-White (BIW) is the complete assembled body shell,
ready for painting, as illustrated for the Jaguar XJ, and schematically
for the Audi A8 (missing doors, trunk and hood to expose also the
frame and car floor).

The car-body constitutes the largest fraction of mass of a standard
high volume car. Replacing steel by aluminium can reduce the body
mass by around 40 %. There are "all-aluminium" car-bodies, such
as the examples shown (Audi A8 and Jaguar XJ) and the latest
development is the hybrid car-body, combining aluminium and steel,
brought to market by the BMW 5 series. In many new cars of various
brands, it is common the use aluminium for example for the car
bonnet to lighten specifically the front of the vehicle.


Some examples of European

cars containing aluminium
body-parts (not exhaustive):

Mercedes E & S class

BMW 5 & 7 series

Peugot 307 & 607

Renault Laguna

VW Lupo Eco version

Citron C5

Volvo V70 & S60 & S80

Landrover Discover

Range Rover

Audi

Aluminium in the Car Body - Introduction

II

The body-in-white (BIW) contains
structural load-bearing parts such as the
frame of the car, the roof and the rear
fenders, and non-structural parts such as
the front wings, bonnet, door panels, etc.
Different material and design criteria apply
depending on the location and function of
the component.

Design criteria can differ based significantly from one

component to another depending on location, form,
main functionality etc.
Part

Main functionality

Design criteria

Front floor side Ensure sufficient stiffness to Elastic denting resistance of

plate
passengers loading the
floor
Reinforcement
Cpillar

Limit torsion of the car body

Stiffness of hollow profiles

Seat cross
beam

Secure fixing of the seat in

case of crash

Strength of hollow profiles

Acoustical
cross beam

Limit noise in passenger

compartment and limit
torsion of the car body

Bending stiffness of plates


Not so easy?

They do illustrate the complexity of material selection
and design.

In this context the differences between metal stiffness,
strength, ductility and related parameters must be
considered.

Different types of metal semi-products are incorporated
in the BIW: castings, extruded profiles and sheet
applications.

In this case study you will go through the process of
finding criteria for material selection, design and
processing of sheet components of the BIW.


Having selected an alloy from the 5000 series

(mostly for structural sheet and inner bodypanels) and 6000 series (mostly for closure
sheet and all outer body-panels), take the
Processing route and find out how aluminium
sheet is made.

Be sure to look also in Forming at Forming
Applications and Products for some important
details and examples of sheet products.


DC Cast: The starting stock for most rolled

products is the Direct Chill semi-continous
cast Ingots of over 20 tons in weight, 500600mm thick, 2000mmwide and 8000mm
long are produced