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BODY MATERIALS, Steel sheet, plastics,

trimming
properties of materials

Steel, the material typically used in


vehicle structures, allowed for the
economic mass production of millions of
units
The majority of mass-produced vehicle
bodies over the last six decades were
manufactured from stamped steel
components.

composite materials, plastics or


aluminium are also used for few

advantages of steel as an auto body


material
Low cost
Ease of forming
Consistency of supply
Corrosion resistance with zinc coatings
Ease of joining
Recyclable
Good crash energy absorption
Disadvantages are
Heavier than alternative materials
Corrosion if uncoated

Early materials and subsequent changes


Wood used in conjunction with fabric has been
referred to already and was the construction of
the bodywork of many cars in the 1920s before its
replacement by steel.
For outer panels was of fairly thick gauge between
0.9 and 1.00 mm
change took place due to weight and cost
reduction studies the average thickness of
external panels reducing to 0.8 mm
in the 1950s/60s and to the current level of 0.7
mm

Pressed
steel
frames

steel sheets

galvanized
steel body

Aluminium
space frame

Milestones in car body manufacturing

Carriage
manufacturing

Line assembly

Selfsupporting
body

Higher
strength
thin steel
sheets

Methods of Body Construction

Front
compartment
Centre floor
Rear
compartment
Underbody
assembly
Side panels and
roof Body in
white

Body-In-White image of a typical unibody


construction

Space Frame
It is concept based on the skeleton design which has been in use
since the beginning.
A steel or wood skeleton forms a solid structure onto which the
secondary and tertiary body parts are mounted as non carrying
parts by means of different joining methods.
Here, a tubular space frame made of steel was covered with
aluminium sheets.

Bionics

It is a combination of the words biology and technics, which means the


use of biological principles for engineering purposes. The general idea of
bionics is to decipher inventions of the animate nature, and their
innovative application to engineering.
Therefore, bionics is an interdisciplinary subject where biologists, engineers
and designers work together. Biological structures and organization are
used either directly as a sample referred to as analogy bionics, or in an
abstract way, detached from the biological archetype,
referred to as abstraction bionics, and as an idea or an inspiration for
solving engineering problems.

as rigidity is a major design criterion, and


the elastic modulus of steels is constant
throughout the strength range,
opportunities for substituting lighter
gauges are limited.
Together with the BMW Roadster (1936
1940)
and the Land Rover(1954), were among
the first users of aluminium the Defender
models using the 3xxx series alloys for
flatter panels with the AlMg 5xxx series
being used in other applications, an

Until now the hot rolled steel are used but efforts are
being made to downscale these massive ladder frames
with consideration being given to using newer material
thinner gauges, e.g. HSS up to 300 N/mm2 (TRIP steels
up to 590 N/mm2 are now being used for 80 chassis
parts on the Mitsubishi.
Design modifications being made to accommodate the
thinner gauges to alternative material such as
hydroformed sections which could be used to bolster
stiffness and crashworthiness.
the use of tailored blanks again offers an alternative
approach giving the engineer strengthening exactly
where required and opportunity for parts consolidation
reduced weight.
Durability is satisfied by the use of hot-dip or ironzinc
alloy coating as steel substrates replace the use of

other types of chassis include the steel backbone


type used by Lotus and the designs featuring
triangular sectional arrays as shown in the Fig.
were steel square or tubular sections, and later
Lotus adopted another chassis configuration
termed the punt termed spaceframe concept

The most popular type of body and using the powerful


FEM analytical that exist today (see below) the design
can be optimized at the design stage to maximize the
use of properties and reduce the number of prototypes,
rework and development time. The more
numerical data that can be gathered at this stage
related to materials behaviour the more efficient
modelling will be, and thus predicting dynamic and
static behaviour such as impact and torsional stiffness

Finite element analysis


computerized structural analysis technique which
is the key link between structural design and CAD
Specially perform the structural analysis on a
structure sub systems, storage, passengers and
cargo,
fine-mesh analysis which gives an accurate stress
and deflection prediction, course-mesh analysis
can give a degree of structural feel useful in the
later stages of conceptual design, as well as a vital
tool at the immediate pre-production stage
PAFEC is One of the longest standing and largest
FEA software houses is PAFEC who have
recommended a logical approach

requirements of body
structure materials
good formability,
impact
Corrosion
resistance
resistance
yet maintain
recyclability.
sufficient survivable
sufficient strength space for occupant
protection,
lower density
structure should be
materials
controlled deformations
under load to absorb
crash energy,

lightweight to
reduce fuel
consumption

Body zones and terminology

The body-in-white splits down into the main


structure doors and the skin assemblies. These
in turn break down into the inner panel, usually
deep drawn to provide bulk shape and rigidity,
plus the shallow skin panels which provide the
outer contour of the body shape and require
more aesthetic properties such as smooth
blemish-free surface and scuff or dent
resistance. The key elements of the main
structure are the floor and main cage
containing A, B/C and D posts or corner
pillars and roof/cantrail surround, plus closed
sections such as cross members, and front and
rear longitudinal sections which provide

To satisfy different requirements for


strength, formability, weldability and
coating, detailed preparatory
background studies showed that
different alloys should be used for
different panel applications
Regarding welding, instantaneous
welding currents of 20 00050 000
amps were now necessary compared
with 700012 000 amps for steel, and
higher weld force values of 400800 kgf

materials and body in general


choice of materials is to achieving now days
objectives is minimized the weight and
assuming the best materials have been
specified, the next consideration is to optimize
material with regard to each link in the chain of
processing operations necessary to produce a
functional part, and each of these elements can
strongly influence the selection.
for simple sections such as door reinforcement
beams levels of 1200 N/mm2 may be specified.
The constraints imposed by local steelmakers
may obviate certain grades where for instance a
bake-hardening or isotropic steel is required,

hybrid material designs


Contains a mixture of innovative materials technologies in a low
volume
A number of the skin panels are pressed or super plastically
formed from aluminium sheet. The body structure is mounted on
an aluminium bonded and riveted lower structure

The Honda NSX


considering specific strength, specific rigidity and
equivalent rigidity compared with sheet steel the
decision was made to manufacture the BIW in aluminium
to reduce the weight by about 140 kg. thickness.

Aluminium alloys used for NSX body

Aluminum as Light-Weight Construction Material

Aluminum is to the classic light-construction


material. The density of Al (2.7 g cm3) is only
one-third of the density of steel. The same
applies to the modulus of elasticity, which is only
70 GPa.
Further positive properties of aluminum are
a broad range of strength
high viscosity
favorable casting and forming properties
good weldability (oxidation on the outer Al panels
must be
controlled through a coating to enable consistent spot
welding)

Magnesium

is the lightest of all the engineering


metals,
advantages
Very low density
Ability to be thin cast
Possible to integrate components in
castings
Disadvantages

Only viable as cast components (sheet


and extruded
magnesium not readily available)
High cost at medium to high volumes

Thermoplastics
application for structural foams
Disadvantages
Poor wear abrasion and repeated impact
Poor fatigue resistance

divided into amorphous and crystalline

Advantages of amorphous
thermoplastics
Relatively dimensionally stable

requirements of plastic and composite


components

Only very expensive derivatives such as carbon fibre


composites fulfil impact and other essential structural
needs. Until the market price falls the widespread use
of polymers will be limited to exterior cladding and
trim items
Mechanical performance properties of tensile and
shear strengths and modulus.
Impact both low energy impacts or dent resistance
and high energy in terms of crash performance
off-road uses, the enhanced dent resistance of the
plastic front fenders and zinc-coated HSS provide
significant customer benefits.
Durability in-service both UV resistance and solvent
resistance are key measures for exterior panels.
Unlike metallic panels, polymers can be susceptible to

Other materials used in body design


Carbon fibre

Competition cars

High performance and competition


cars are also making extensive use
of honeycomb materials which when
consolidated with composite skin
layers provide ultralight high
strength impact and structural
sections.

Sandwich materials

Al

Is a material with extensive weight saving


potential
This consists of two thin sheet outers
encapsulating a thicker polypropylene central
layer.
Some of the versions on market cannot resist
the elevated temperature during the body
painting. As a result, it is only viable for
components that are assembled into the body
after the painting process.
it is not weldable and must be assembled into
the BIW by a either adhesive bonding or
mechanical fastening.

Stages in component manufacture by tube hydroforming

Hydro formed tube

Cost analysis
the selection of material type is based on careful
consideration of the improved fuel economy derived
from the use of lightweight materials versus the
increased costs that are often incurred
For given panel, increased cost of plastic compared to
zinc coated steel may be lower when manufacturing in
excess volume. This is because although tooling costs
for plastics are lower than for zinc-coated steel,
raw material costs are higher. Thus, as total vehicle
volume increases, the cost benefit derived from
polymeric panels decreases until a certain break-even
volume when steel becomes the most economical
solution.

Key points
Existing investment in automotive facilities associated
with sheet steel will favour its continuing use as the
predominant high volume material, and high strength
and zinc-coated variants will allow medium lightweight
and durability targets to be met
Down weighting the body structure beyond 30 percent
will increasingly call for alternative materials but these
will require more radical changes to both manufacturing
and recycling procedures.
Maximum productivity relies heavily on uniformity of
properties, dimensions and finish.
Polymer panels have the great advantages of cost
(especially at lower volumes) and shape versatility but

The specifications for a certain


body type cover hundreds of
details and parameters
that can increasingly be handled
only by computerization. The
demand for shorter
development periods, starting with
the original idea, covering design
concepts, and
up to development of prototypes
and saleable cars, can safely be

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