If you are designing a part for an aircraft, an automobile … anything that accelerates, you know that it’s essential to be weight-conscious. It’s basic physics: F = m*a. Force, and hence the energy required to move a vehicle from a stop, is proportional to its mass. Energy is supplied with hydrocarbons or electricity and shaving as little as 10 kg off the total mass of a car will save the owner about a $100 in fuel costs.
That may be insignificant to U.S. consumers, who enjoy relatively cheap energy and are buying new vehicles for an average cost of over $40,000. However, automakers must comply to strict, increasingly demanding fuel consumption standards that could reach 54.5 miles per gallon by the year 2025. Even luxury car manufacturers, with cars costing over $100,000 and customers who could care less about the cost of a fill-up, must take note. For example, Mercedes-Benz flagship S-class took pride in putting itself on a diet and losing “132 pounds” off its two ton-plus weight in 2021 with, among other tactics, judicious use of aluminum in the vehicle’s body panels and rigid side crash members.
Reaching such high standards can be achieved by using less material (suggested technology: generative design), using lighter materials (substituting aluminum and carbon fiber for steel, for example) and streamlining vehicles to reduce aerodynamic drag (suggested technology: CFD), among other initiatives. One company that has all these technologies for all initiatives is Altair, so it is no surprise that the company would recognize the customers that put its tools to their best use.
For nine years, Altair, in partnership with the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), has held its Enlighten Award to inspire customers that have lightweighted vehicles—as well as made progress in sustainability and in reducing their carbon footprint and resource consumption by using less energy, water, more recycling, etc.).
The winners were officially recognized at the CARS Management Briefing Seminars (MBS) held August 4-5 at the Grand Traverse Resort in northern Michigan.
“The 2021 Enlighten Award once again shines a light on the inspiring work of automotive engineers worldwide. Now more than ever, sustainability and emissions reduction are critical challenges not just for the automotive sector, but society as a whole,” said James R. Scapa, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Altair.
The Enlighten Award had to go to Ford’s brave attempt at giving its Mustang, America’s most famous hot rod, a new life as an all-electric SUV. The 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E is not just non-carbon emitting, it is also not killing animals. With a “100% vegan interior,” you will not be able to get the model with leather.
Magna International was awarded best Sustainable Product-Component for the 2019 RAM 1500 active air deflector and grille shutters that use lightweight, 78 percent recyclable plastics. Also, the grill design reduces drag by 9 percent. All told, aero products on the RAM 1500 have resulted in a reduction of 642 thousand metric tons of carbon emissions in the last six years, according to Altair.
Runner-up in the best Sustainable Product-Component category was the Wuling Victory, a midsize MPV produced in China. The Victory was able to reduce its weight by 61.5 kg and improve its fuel consumption by 0.2L/100 km with the use of ultra-high strength steel and a hot forming process.
The Sustainable Process category winner was Faurecia with NAFILean Stiff, a polypropylene compound that uses 100 percent recyclable, 20 percent bio-sourced content. It is the latest plastic of the NAFILean product portfolio that has been around since 2013 and is used in 17 production vehicles and a total of 14 million vehicles. With a 21 percent reduction in weight, it saves 100,000 tons in CO2 emissions, as calculated by Altair, for a vehicle being driven 15,000 km a year over 10 years.
Runner-up in the Sustainable Process category was Henkel’s PALLUMINA metal treatment process used in the production of the 2021 Toyota Tacoma and Tundra pickups. PALLUMINA takes the place of heavy metal phosphates, reducing sludge generation by as much as 90 percent as well as requiring 50 percent less water.
Runner-up in the Module Lightweighting category went to Rassini Suspension for its newly designed multi-material “hybrid” leaf spring that uses glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composites and high-pressure resin transfer molding (HP-RTM) manufacturing for a 30 percent weight savings over conventional leaf springs. Widely used in light duty trucks and medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, the lightweight leaf spring assembly could see production of as many as 9 million units annually.
ArcelorMittal was awarded best Lightweight Enabling Technology for its Fortiform 980GI “next generation steel,” which claims to combine high ductility for complex shapes with high strength, offering weight savings of up to 20 percent.
Runner-up in the Lightweight Enabling Technology category was the JAC Groups SOL A5, a mysterious (no picture could be found) fastback sports car. The company established an integrated, multidiscipline simulation/design process for body structural design that evaluated safety, NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) and fatigue. The SOL A5 was able to reduce its weight by 106.3 kg.
U.S. Steel got an honorable mention for body-in-white assembly using 980 XG3 Gen3 AHSS steel, which also claims to combine strength and formability but without compromising weldability. This new steel can result in weight savings of about 10 percent.
American Axle & Manufacturing produced an electric drive unit (eDU) that is more than 25 percent lighter than its competition by integrating the electric motor, gearbox and inverter into one unit.
Shiloh Industries was a runner-up in this category with the “industry’s first aluminum curvilinear laser welded blank.” This one-part, one-stamping solution takes the place of four parts in the previous design. Used in lift gates, this laser welded blank can result in a 16 percent weight reduction, saving 5.3 kg per vehicle. Altair calculates that this would reduce aluminum consumption by 3 million kgs of aluminum every year based on a production run of 300,000 vehicles. The vehicle manufacturer will save $18 per vehicle, which is significant for an industry that measures part savings in pennies per part.
Dura Automotive Systems received an honorable mention for its Dura Modular EV Battery Tray. Its modular and scalable design allows its application for different vehicles. The newly designed battery tray is 10 percent lighter and is calculated to save 3.8 tons of CO2 over the service life of the vehicle.