Carbon neutral policy accelerates the process of electrification and lightening of global automobiles. For new energy vehicles, lightening to solve the anxiety of cruising range is one of the main directions of current industry development.
Lightweight automobiles can significantly reduce energy consumption. With the urgent need of environmental protection and energy saving, fuel vehicles need to reduce fuel consumption, reduce exhaust gas and improve efficiency. New energy electric vehicles need to reduce power consumption and quality to improve cruising range to improve competitiveness. Aluminum alloy instead of steel material is one of the main weight reduction measures adopted by major automobile manufacturers. Every 10% reduction in automobile quality can save fuel consumption by 6%-8% and reduce carbon emissions by 10%. If the weight of each car is reduced by 100kg, the fuel consumption can be reduced by 0.48L after driving for 100km, and the obvious benefit of weight reduction and energy saving makes the consumption of automobile aluminum materials increase day by day.
The aluminum alloys used in automobile panel manufacturing are mainly 2 series, 5 series, 6 series and 7 series. Series 2 Al-Cu alloy is a heat-treatable strengthened alloy, which has good formability and high strength, but has poor corrosion resistance and low baking hardening ability, and is mainly used for automobile inner panels. 5 series Al-Mg alloy has high tensile strength, good ductility and strong corrosion resistance, and is mostly used for inner plates. 6-series Al-Mg-Si alloy has good aging reaction effect, high weldability and high formability, which is the main research direction of automobile plate at present. The 7-series Al-Mg-Zn-Cu alloy is characterized by high wear resistance and high crashworthiness on the basis of the high weldability of the 6-series Al alloy. At present, the research on aluminum automobile panels mainly focuses on 5 series and 6 series. In 7 series aluminum automobile panels, Advanz and 7UHS alloys developed by Nobelis Aluminum and GZ42J aluminum alloy developed by Sumitomo Aluminum of Japan are the most representative ones.
The automobile industry has very strict requirements for parts and components. Material safety is obviously the first priority. Many components must be ductile to absorb the energy during impact, while other components must have strength to maintain structural rigidity. At present, the development of new alloys in automotive materials is a very accurate science, and the analysis of melt chemistry to ppm accuracy is the key to avoid residual elements, because residual elements will affect the performance of alloys and the safety of materials.
Aluminum-magnesium alloy has won the favor of automobile industry because of its light weight, relatively low cost and many required properties. They can be formed into complex shapes, including engine parts, gearbox housings and structural members. By 2025, the automobile industry will account for one quarter (30 million tons) of the total aluminum consumption, and each vehicle is expected to contain nearly 100 kilograms of aluminum on average to replace heavier components. At the same time, a new generation of Al-Li alloy is emerging. It may become an indispensable component of various components, with low density, low strength, low rigidity and damage resistance. In order to improve the strength, lithium is usually added, while phosphorus and sulfur improve the machinability, but these will adversely affect the corrosion resistance, so a small amount must be added.
Zhengzhou Mining Research Metal Materials Co., Ltd. is committed to the production and processing of aluminum alloy raw materials. In order to respond to the global goals of carbon neutrality and peak carbon dioxide emissions, and help reduce the weight of automobiles, the company has accelerated the development and production of aluminum alloy profiles for new energy vehicles, and accelerated the construction of a production line for lightweight automobile structural parts with aluminum instead of steel. The adjustment of product structure will promote the development of new energy vehicles as soon as possible and accelerate the realization of global peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality.