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Application of magnesium and magnesium alloy materials in automobile lightweighting
Magnesium and magnesium alloys are the most promising lightweight structural materials in the 21st century. Magnesium and magnesium alloys have low density and light weight. Magnesium alloys can be 15%-20% lighter than aluminum alloys. The specific strength (ratio of strength to mass) is higher than aluminum alloy and steel, and the specific stiffness (ratio of stiffness to mass) is close to aluminum alloy and steel. In addition, it has good shock absorption and damping coefficient, and its ability to withstand impact loads is greater than that of aluminum alloy. It can reduce noise when used in casings, reduce vibration when used in wheel rims, and improve vehicle safety and comfort. Magnesium alloy has good electrical and thermal conductivity, and the heat dissipation time of magnesium alloy is half that of aluminum alloy under the same temperature conditions. However, the main reason limiting the application of magnesium alloys is the high performance of magnesium alloys - poor creep resistance and high temperature fatigue properties. With the development of magnesium alloy auto parts, the application characteristics of magnesium alloys in automobiles are: transition from small parts to large parts; transition from parts with simple structures to complex parts; from simple stress-bearing parts to parts with special properties Required part transition; transition from component assembly to single die-casting part.
Domestic and foreign OEMs and parts suppliers have developed many magnesium alloy parts, some of which have been used in commercial vehicles in large quantities, but there are still bottlenecks that need to be overcome in some applications. For example, wheel hubs are currently only used on a few racing cars. If they are to be used in large quantities, the corrosion problem must be solved. Generally speaking, parts that can be used in large quantities in the short term are mainly parts that do not require high corrosion resistance, such as steering wheel frames, seat frames, instrument panel frames, etc.
Steering wheel frame. At present, the steering wheel frame is the component with the highest popularity of magnesium alloy in automobiles. Generally, the quality of AM50 alloy is 550g-700g. Different manufacturers have three types of installation structures designed due to different installation methods: the first is to use steel splines to embed the magnesium alloy frame; the second is to tap directly on the magnesium alloy frame; the third is a wedge-shaped hexagonal structure without tapping. Silk. Commercial vehicles have relatively few applications due to large steering wheel diameters and other special requirements. The magnesium alloy steering wheel frame is more than 40% lighter than the original steel design, and the cost will increase.
Instrument panel skeleton. The instrument panel frame was used in Audi cars in 1968 and in General Motors' annual model in 1995. The mass of the first-generation components is about 7kg-8kg, and the wall thickness is about 3.5mm-4mm. The wall thickness and mass of the second-generation magnesium alloy instrument panel frame have been further reduced, but still maintain high anti-collision and vibration reduction, noise reduction, and stiffness requirements. At present, the mass of magnesium alloy instrument panel frame is about 4.5kg-5.0kg, and the wall thickness is about 2.7mm-3.0mm. It is widely used by foreign brands, but rarely by domestic independent brands. It is only used by Chery models.
Transmission housing. In 1999, Audi adopted the first
Magnesium alloy automatic transmission. The application of magnesium alloy to the transmission housing not only reflects its advantages such as low density, vibration resistance, and noise reduction, but also mainly reflects the advantages of heat dissipation and mechanical processing. Under the same volume, the heat storage capacity of magnesium alloy is much lower than that of aluminum alloy, but the heat dissipation capacity of the two is almost the same. Therefore, the use of magnesium alloy transmission housing can better dissipate heat, thereby reducing the probability of high-temperature wear and seizure of gears. Magnesium alloy castings can be directly machined to obtain a bright surface, while aluminum alloy castings require heat treatment before machining.
Seat frame. Average front seats
It has more functions and its structure is more complex, while the rear seats have fewer functions and its structure is relatively simple. At present, there are relatively few studies on the application of magnesium alloys in seats, mainly focusing on the separate development of backrest frames and seat cushion frames. When assembling the front seat frame, bolts and buckles are used to connect the magnesium alloy backrest, seat cushion, height adjustment mechanism and angle adjustment mechanism together. The rear backrest and seat cushion are not assembled and are stuck on the wheel housing mounting bracket and floor mounting bracket respectively.
