Printer Friendly
The Free Library
5,677,147 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

Up front with steel.


"Front-end design is tricky," Pete Peterson
This article is about a POW and former U.S. Congressman. See also Peter George Peterson, a former U.S. Commerce Secretary.


Douglas Brian "Pete" Peterson
, director-Marketing, Automotive, United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area.  Steel Corp. (Pittsburgh) and a member of the Auto/Steel Partnership, points out with what can only be characterized as an understatement. A fundamental part of the trickiness is directly related to crash-energy management. Specifically, with passing the offset crash tests that are performed both in the U.S. and in Europe, As he points out, the way these tests are conducted, 40% of the frame is required to take the full load. One of the ways that it would be conceivable to do a more robust design would be to make the ](font end of the car beefier. But that introduces another set of issues. Such as handling and braking problems resulting from the addition of mass. And when you consider the front-engine architecture of most vehicles, there isn't a lot of desirability to having additional weight up front. As an extension of the Ultralight ul·tra·light  
n.
A recreational aircraft constructed of lightweight materials such as aluminum, graphite composites, or high-strength plastics, having an engine of roughly 15 to 40 horsepower and often resembling a hang glider with wings.
 Steel Auto Body-Advanced Vehicle Concepts (ULSAB-AVC) program (see http://www.autofieldguide.com/ articles/O403OS.html), a project was conceived and supported by the Department of Energy (DOE) to figure out how to do a better Job of designing and producing front ends that could manage crash energy, while the initial idea was to simply design a front end and then attach it to a mule vehicle that would be run into an offset barrier, the program has expanded such that actual GMC GMC

See: Guaranteed Mortgage Certificate
 vehicles have been contributed to the program, and the Big Three are all working with the Auto/Steel Partnership companies on this advanced high strength steel (AHSS AHSS Advanced High-Strength Steel
AHSS Automatic Heat Stress System
AHSS Applewood Heights Secondary School (Mississauga, ON, Canada) 
)-based program2. (DOE is in (or $1-million per year for two years,)

An important aspect of this program goes beyond the design of the front end. Peterson observes, "You can convince a design engineer how to design it. But in the end, someone has to manufacture it. If something creates enough problems in Manufacturing, then it's not going to get very far." (DOE got into this program because of its interest in technology being developed that would be applied, not book shelved.) AHSS materials form differently, so stamping is a slightly different proposition compared with traditional HSS HSS Humanities and Social Sciences
HSS High Speed Steel
HSS Home Subscriber Server (3GPP)
HSS Hospital for Special Surgery (New York, NY, USA)
HSS Hospital for Special Surgery
HSS History of Science Society
 materials. For example, Peterson points out, "These steels cold work like crazy. You need more 'horsepower' in the presses to overcome the strength in the steel." And there are different springback characteristics than are typical of HSS materials, which have a variety of ramifications ramifications nplAuswirkungen pl , from binder design to determining part fit up for subsequent assembly. Peterson suggests, for example, that laser welding Laser welding

Welding with a laser beam. The primary apparatus is the continuous-wave, convectively cooled CO2 laser with either oscillator/amplifier (gaussian output beam) or unstable resonator (hollows output beam) optics.
 could be a good method ](or joining AHSS body parts (for one thing, the flanges that are ordinarily made to accommodate spot welding Spot welding

A resistance-welding process in which coalescence is produced by the flow of electric current through the resistance of metals held together under pressure. Usually the upper electrode moves and applies the clamping force.
 guns aren't necessary, which would save significant weight on a body structure), but it would be necessary to know the effects of springback. Consequently, a move toward using these materials means that there are a series of challenges that must be addressed, especially in as much as given the newness these steels, there isn't an abundance information that can be readily consulted by engineers to determine the appropriate process parameters for manufacturing with AHSS.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gardner Publications, Inc.
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2003, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Title Annotation:Materials
Author:Vasilash, Gary S.
Publication:Automotive Design & Production
Geographic Code:1USA
Date:Oct 1, 2003
Words:521
Previous Article:A hitchhiker's guide to the telematics ecosystem.(supply side)
Next Article:Ford's next step in engine manufacturing.(Equipment & application)
Topics:



Related Articles
SMC in the driver's seat. (sheet-molding compound) (Technology News)
Rotomolded bumper is a kangaroo's best friend.
Long-glass PP makes inroads in automotive front ends. (Automotive: Close-Up).(polypropylene)
Better vehicles through steel: advances are being made in steel that can lead to better, safer, more fuel-efficient vehicles--without taking a huge...
HSLA & some stamping considerations: the material is great with regard to part performance--but be sure that the pressroom is set up to accommodate...
NPE: toward the plastic car.(WIP, National Plastics Exposition )
Cadillac's brute finesse: stuffing an oversize engine into a small, light platform may be an American hot rodder's dream, but it takes skill to be a...
The frame of the future? Revised safety standards, tighter fuel economy requirements, and cost pressures are forcing wholesale change to current...
Steel strikes back.(MATERIALS)
Viking Blast and Wash Systems.(Casting Technology Showcase 2005)(Brief Article)

Terms of use | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles