GM develops magnesium tough enough for body panels: double digit fuel economy gains possible

[Bill USA]

.... Note to Sen. Shelby, and all the other Repubs (e.g. Gov Rmoney) who wanted to let GM go bankrupt, read this and then sing: "I am the dumb-ass of the World" to "We are the champions (...of the world)&quot .

http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/2012/10/26/innovative-use-of-magnesium-by-gm-means-big-fuel-economy-gains-for-customers/

GM developed a production-ready magnesium rear deck lid inner panel that withstood 77,000 robotic slams and 250-kilogram impact drops without any issues.


On the heels of announcing an industry-first welding technology for aluminum, GM Research and Development is revealing a patented new process for adding magnesium sheet metal to vehicles. The use of magnesium, which weighs 33 percent less than aluminum, 60 percent less than titanium, and 75 percent less than steel, will help customers save money at the gas pump.

Until now, automakers have struggled to make reliably strong and non-corroding magnesium sheet metal panels using traditional panel forming methods. GM’s patented process turns up the heat on magnesium to 450 degrees Celsius (842 degrees Fahrenheit), allowing the material to be molded into precise, rigid shapes. Using this process, GM developed a production-ready magnesium rear deck lid inner panel that could remove 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of weight from a vehicle compared with an aluminum deck lid inner panel.

“Every gram of weight reduction matters when it comes to improving fuel economy,” said Greg Warden, GM executive director for global vehicle body engineering. “Being able to replace heavier metals with one of the lightest will help us deliver better fuel economy to customers around the world while also still providing the safety and durability they expect.”

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The United States Automotive Materials Partnership estimates that by 2020, 350 pounds of magnesium will replace 500 pounds of steel and 130 pounds of aluminum per vehicle, an overall weight reduction of 15 percent. This weight savings would lead to a fuel savings of 9 percent to 12 percent.

[div class="excerpt" id="weld" name="weld"] GM Welding Breakthrough Enables More Use of Aluminum

http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2012/Sep/0924_welding.html

DETROIT – General Motors Research & Development has invented an industry-first aluminum welding technology expected to enable more use of the lightweight metal on future vehicles, which can help improve fuel economy and driving performance.

GM’s new resistance spot welding process uses a patented multi-ring domed electrode that does what smooth electrodes are unreliable at doing – welding aluminum to aluminum. By using this process GM expects to eliminate nearly two pounds of rivets from aluminum body parts such as hoods, liftgates and doors.

GM already uses this patented process on the hood of the Cadillac CTS-V and the liftgate of the hybrid versions of Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon. GM plans to use this technology more extensively starting in 2013.

“The ability to weld aluminum body structures and closures in such a robust fashion will give GM a unique manufacturing advantage,” said Jon Lauckner, GM chief technology officer and vice president of Global R&D.
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[Boxerfan]

1. Magnesium eh...Hope they considered the fact its highly flammable..

And it doesn't go out when you hit it with water-its pretty scary stuff.

I remember a Ferrari burned at the side of the highway in Marin county-you could see the scorch marks from the magnesium wheels on the concrete divider for years.

I imagine first responders might take a second look at how they respond to car fires on magnesium bodied vehicles.

If you were inside-fughettaboutit...

[mindwalker_i]

3. Yeah, in a car crash, if the cars caught fire...

It would be bright enough to give the moon a sunburn, let alone the bystanders.

[qkvhj]

4. I totally agree

You would have to submerse the car in water to put it out. You have to remove the 02 from the picture to extinguish it. This is a not so good idea unless they can make it so it will not burn.

[mindwalker_i]

6. Actually, I think water would make it worse

Doesn't magnesium readct with the oxygen in water, or is that just lithium or sodium? If magnesium does react with water, that would leave fire plus a whole bunch of H2, which also would be fun. I guess the cars would need to have a really good paint job to protect the metal, but a crash would go through that...

[AtheistCrusader]

5. Old air cooled VW's had a magnesium/aluminium alloy block. Burns pretty spectacularly.

Usually for about an hour. Does bad things to the road surface too.

[kysrsoze]

2. Wow, really cool technology. I didn't realize how abundant magnesium is.

Didn't realize how difficult it was to form magnesium.

[eppur_se_muova]

7. Mmmm boy, rolling flashbulbs.

Military helicopters have lots of magnesium. No one survives a fire.

The comparison to titanium seems misleading. How do they compare, in terms of components of comparable strength ? It's strength to weight ratio that counts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specific_strength
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specific_modulus

[Nihil]

8. Wait until they propagate to the "second-hand" market ...

Joe the body-shop welder will certainly get a surprise ...

[NickB79]

9. ROFL! nt