THE HEAT TREAT DOCTOR

Lightweight Materials for the

Transportation Industry

DANIEL H. HERRING
The HERRING GROUP, Inc.
630-834-3017
dherring@heat-treat-doctor.com

everal newsworthy items crossed

The Doctors desk late last year: the
announcement that Alcoa officially opened
the worlds largest aluminum-lithium plant
in Lafayette, Ind., (IHDaily NewsBrief, Oct. 15);
the release of The Aluminum Quick Reference
App (ASM International, Oct. 16); and word
that Alcoa has signed a $1 billion contract with
Boeing to supply multiple aluminum components
over the next several years (Oct. 20).
These announcements peaked The Doctors
interest in learning more about the battle being
waged between aluminum and alternative materials in the transportation industry. To understand
who will win and why, one must look at the drivers
this industry faces to stay technologically relevant
as well as the lightweight material options, properties and costs. Lets learn more.

Automotive
Fuel consumption, greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions and global dimming/warming are the
principle drivers for change in the automotive
industry. For every 100 kg of weight reduction in
an automobile, a fuel savings of 0.3-0.5 L per 100
kilometers is possible with a reduction in CO2
emissions of 0.8-1.1 kg per 100 kilometers.
The interest in moving to aluminum and other
lightweight alloys in automobiles is fueled in
large part by government regulations/mandates,
cost (performance versus cost in dollars saved

per kilogram), safety (i.e., How light should we

go?) and performance (acceleration, braking,
handling, noise, vibration and harshness). Other
options are conventional low-carbon steel, with a
cost advantage while targeting weight reduction;
and HSLA steels and AHSS (advanced highstrength steels, or so-called lightweight steel),
where weight reduction is achieved by thinner/
lighter material made possible by higher strength.
Aluminum advantages are in the total amount
of aluminum used per vehicle, life-cycle/recycling
advantages, space frame versus monocoque (i.e.,
skin or egg shell), loading and forming/joining
(e.g., the absence of spot welds, use of rivets, etc.).
An example is the Corvette Z06 (Fig. 1),
which is ranked as Car & Drivers number-one
performance-ranked coupe and convertible. It
can achieve 650 horsepower in a choice of two
transmissions: a 7-speed manual or an 8-speed
paddle-shift automatic. The driver-centric Z06

Courtesy of Chevrolet

Fig. 1. Corvette Z06 showcasing the use of lightweight alloys

Table 1. Aerospace aluminum alloys

Alloy
series

Alloy

Properties

Applications

1xxx

Pure

Low strength, excellent thermal/electrical conductivity and corrosion

resistance, high reflectivity

Fuel filters, electrical conductors, radiator tubing, lighting reflectors,

decorative components

2xxx

Cu

High strength, relatively low corrosion resistance, good elevatedtemperature strength

Aircraft skin, fittings, wheels, ballistic armor, forged and machined

components

3xxx

Mn

Medium strength, good formability, good corrosion resistance

Storage tanks, heat exchangers, pressure vessels

4xxx

Si

High castability, high machinability, high fluidity, low ductility

Large housing castings

5xxx

Mg

Medium strength, good formability, excellent marine corrosion resistance Interior trim, pressure vessels, armor plate, marine and cryogenic
components

6xxx

Mg, Si

Medium-to-high strength, good corrosion resistance, easily extruded

Piping, marine screw stock, door and window frames, exterior trim

7xxx

Zn

Very high strength, prone to stress corrosion, poor corrosion resistance

Aircraft construction, armor plate

8xxx

Li

Very high strength, low density

Aircraft and aerospace structures, foil, heat-exchanger fin stock

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FEBRUARY 2015 IndustrialHeating.com

Courtesy of NASA

THE HEAT TREAT DOCTOR

Fig. 2. All-magnesium, six-cylinder engine block developed by the DOE with

GMs R&D team

includes technologies like a Driver Mode Selector, which

allows for customization of vehicle performance dynamics with
the turn of a knob. On or off the track it is available with an
industry-exclusive Performance Data Recorder, which records
high-definition video with telemetry overlays on playback.
Another example is the number-one selling truck in the U.S.,
the Ford F150, which has undergone a dramatic redesign taking
advantage of the best of steel and lightweight alloys. Aluminum
alloy 6463 is used in the body and bed to reduce the total vehicle
weight by 320 kg (705 pounds).
BMW has introduced an Al-Mg die-cast engine block,
which is 15% lighter than a comparable all-Al alloy engine.
Both BMW and GM have an all Mg block (Fig. 2) under
development that is 25% lighter than an all-Al engine.
Aerospace
Aluminum has a long history in aviation (Table 1). Fuel
consumption, GHG emissions sustainability and global
dimming/warming are also the principle change drivers in the
aerospace industry. Aluminums dominance is being challenged
today by GFRPs (graphite-fiber reinforced plastics), carbon/
carbon composites and aluminum-lithium alloys.
For example, the Orion spacecraft (Fig. 3) has olive-green
aluminum-lithium metal panels designed to be covered by an advanced version of the thermal protection tiles that were earlier used
on the space shuttle. Design challenges such as pressure testing
cracks during weld strength testing have yet to be fully addressed.
Alloying with lithium reduces structural mass by three effects:
Displacement: A lithium atom is lighter than an aluminum
atom. Each lithium atom then displaces one aluminum
atom from the crystal lattice while maintaining the lattice
structure. For every 1% (by weight) of lithium added, the
density of the resulting alloy is reduced by 3% and increases
in stiffness by 5%. This effect works up to the solubility
limit of lithium in aluminum, which is 4.2%.
Strain hardening: Introducing another type of atom
into the crystal strains the lattice, which helps block
dislocations. The resulting material is stronger, which
allows less of it to be used.
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FEBRUARY 2015 IndustrialHeating.com

Fig. 3. Astronaut compartment on the Orion spacecraft

Precipitation hardening: When properly aged, lithium

forms a metastable Al3Li phase () with a coherent crystal
structure. Precipitates strengthen the metal by impeding
dislocation motion during deformation.
Finally, all-aluminum combat ships have been introduced and
are designed to be fast, maneuverable and modular or, as they
like to say in the Navy, lethal, flexible, survivable and affordable.
Aluminum in the 5xxx series (e.g., 5086, 5083, 5456, 5454)
and 6xxx series alloys (e.g., 6005, 6061, 6082) are in use. The
properties and attributes of aluminum that make it an attractive
choice are its high strength-to-weight ratio; density (one third
of steel); corrosion resistance (although pitting and crevicecorrosion problems have arisen); weldability; ease of forming,
bending and machining; availability and diversity of semifinished products; high thermal and electrical conductivity;
nonmagnetic properties; and recyclability.
Conclusion
What stands out in this discussion is that the materials are
changing and with them our role as heat treaters. Moving
forward, changes in the alloys, product form, function and
specifications will influence (and perhaps dictate) the way in
which we will perform heat treatment.
References
1. Herring, Daniel H., Aluminium Battles Alternative Lightweight
Materials in the Transportation Race, Presentation at the SECO/
WARWICK Aluminum Seminar, October 2014
2. Professor Joseph Benedyk, Illinois Institute of Technology/Thermal Processing Technology Center and Editor Light Metal Age
magazine, technical contributions and private correspondence
3. DOE briefing on Automotive Magnesium R&D for Lightweighting,
2014.
4. Chicago Auto Show, 2014
5. Aluminium Exposition, Dusseldorf GmbH, 2014
6. Aeromat 2015
7. Commander Fred Latrash, U.S. Navy (retired), Dr. Brett Conner,
Alcoa Defense and Derek Novak, ABS Americas, Webinar on
Advantages of Aluminum in Marine Applications, 2014