A CASE STUDY

MATERIAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Lee, Aldrin Lawrence C, | BS Mechanical Engineering | February 14, 2018

CASE 1
This requires students to gather technical information regarding materials for a
specific product and gain in-depth knowledge about a set of materials or products,
going much further than could be accomplished in a classroom situation.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
Learning Outcomes At the end of the assignment the students will:

1. Have gained in-depth knowledge of specific materials;

2. Be able to recognize the basic principles of selecting materials for a application;
3. Be able to explain materials characteristics and properties, and relate them to
performance, manufacturing process, and/or the environment;
4. Have developed team working skills, information gathering and communication
skills.

I. INTRODUCTION
This study will focus more on role of materials in automotive industry and
how each material needs to fulfill a certain criteria before being approved and
used. The goal is to learn the most economically optimal and passing legal
requirements for the materials used

II. BACKGROUND
Ever since the beginning of the industrial age of the world to the present,
steel is the number one preferred option for the structural components of the
automobile due to its high strength, but as the automotive industry continues to
evolve engineer’s continue to find different materials to use to improve
automobiles. Earlier cars used the combination of steel and wood or entirely
steel, years later engineers started using cast aluminum for automobiles,
especially in building aircraft. With the rise of motor sports and fast light weight
cars, engineers have found different materials such as fiberglass reducing the
weight of the cars significantly. With the present day cars going more light
weight has increased fuel efficiency drastically the development of new
electronics and safety features that overall reduction of weight from the new
materials has benefited from the addition of more technology.

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A. Lightweight

As there is a high emphasis on greenhouse gas reduction and improving fuel

efficiency in the transportation sector, all car manufacturers, suppliers, assemblers,
and component producers are investing significantly in lightweight materials.

Weight reduction is the most cost effective means of reduced fuel

consumption and greenhouse gasses. It was estimated that having the vehicle light
weight, improves the fuel economy by at least 7%. The use of more aluminum and
plastics has significantly reduced the weight of vehicles over time.

As an example of the weight reduction and cost:

B. Safety

In passenger vehicles, the ability to absorb impact energy and be survivable for the
occupant is called crashworthiness of the structure. The current trend of materials in the
automotive industry is towards replacing metal parts more and more by polymer
composites to improve the fuel economy and reduce the weight of the vehicles. The
behavior of composite failure in compression is the opposite of metals. The failure of these
materials is mostly due to plastic deformation, a sequence of fracture due to brittleness, de-
bonding, de-lamination and interplay separation. The damage is dependent of the force that
was applied to the material and its structural geometry.

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 III. MATERIALS USED

STEEL

The prime reason for using steal in the body structure of an automotive is its
inherent capability to absorb impact energy [Marsh, 2000].

Aluminum

The primary use of aluminum is to reduce the weight of the automobile. At

present aluminum is used in the engine, transmission, axles, doors and hoods of the
vehicle.

Magnesium

The reason for using magnesium in automobile is due to its favorable strength to
density ratio and its ease with which it can be work into complex thinned walled
structure.

Plastics

Similar to aluminum, plastics are used to reduce weight in vehicles and helps the
optimization of the restricted space in vehicles. The parts are wind deflectors ,wheel
covers, water ducts, cable ducts, spare wheel cover,ect.

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References:
https://www.oxfordsurfaces.com/resource/evolution-of-materials-in-the-car-
industry/

M. Wilhelm. Materials used in automobile manufacture - current state and

perspectives. Jour-
nal de Physique IV Colloque, 1993, 03 (C7), pp.C7-31-C7-40.
<10.1051/jp4:1993703>. <jpa-00251709>

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