Lightweight is one of the development trends of aluminum in the future, especially in the transportation field, such as new energy vehicles, aerospace, high-speed rail, etc.
Lightweight means lower energy consumption and longer battery life. Aluminum is the first choice to replace steel to achieve lightweight.
Aluminum can be the first choice for lightweight, which is due to its unique material characteristics:
Low density
This is the most fundamental reason. The density of aluminum is about 2.7 g/cm³, which is only about one third of that of steel (about 7.8 g/cm³).
This means that aluminum parts with the same volume are about 60%-70% lighter than steel parts.
Excellent corrosion resistance
A dense oxide film will naturally form on the surface of aluminum, and its atmospheric corrosion resistance is far superior to that of steel, which means that many aluminum parts can be saved from antirust treatment such as zinc plating, further reducing the weight and cost.
Recyclability
Aluminum can be recycled almost 100%, and the energy consumption of recycling and remelting is only 5% of that of producing primary aluminum.
This not only conforms to the trend of green manufacturing, but also reduces the cost and environmental burden of the whole life cycle.
Excellent specific strength
Although the strength of pure aluminum is not high, the strength of aluminum alloy formed by adding copper, magnesium, silicon, zinc and other elements can be greatly improved, reaching or even exceeding the level of ordinary steel.
Specific strength (strength/density) is a key index to measure lightweight materials. The specific strength of aluminum alloy is much higher than that of many steels, which means that it can provide the same bearing capacity under lighter weight.
Good manufacturabilit
Extrusion molding: aluminum is very suitable for producing complex hollow thin-walled profiles by extrusion process. This structure ensures the rigidity and strength while achieving the maximum weight reduction. This is the reason why it is widely used in body frame and battery pack structure. Die-casting: Good fluidity, suitable for manufacturing large, complex and thin-walled die-casting parts, such as integrated die-casting car body parts, replacing multiple steel stamping and welding parts, greatly simplifying the structure and reducing weight.
Application of new energy vehicles
(1) Car body: The body-in-white (ASB) made of aluminum alloy plates and profiles can reduce the weight by 30%-40% compared with the steel car body. (2) Chassis: aluminum alloy forging or casting process is also widely used for steering knuckle, control arm and other parts.
Aluminum can use the revolutionary technology of integrated die casting to improve production efficiency. Tesla and other car companies use super-large die-casting machines to die-cast hundreds of stamped and welded parts of the lower car body into a complete aluminum casting at one time, achieving multiple goals of greatly reducing weight, reducing the number of parts, reducing costs and simplifying the manufacturing process.
Traditional automobile applications
Traditional automobile applications
Aluminum alloy has been widely used in engine block, cylinder head, wheels, anti-collision beam, suspension system and other parts.
Application of rail transit
Application of rail transit
A large number of large-section aluminum alloy profiles are used in the car bodies, top plates and bottom plates of high-speed rail and subway, which not only reduces the weight of the car body and energy consumption, but also improves the speed-up performance of the vehicle.
Guangyun Aluminium was built in 2011 and has been committed to export aluminum sheet,aluminum coil.
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