The use of new, high-strength, lightweight steel products could end up saving fuel for GM vehicles.
(Credit: GM)
With increasing numbers of airbags, side-impact beams, and other safety reinforcements, cars have gained weight over the last 20 years. And with that extra poundage comes decreased fuel economy. Now, as automakers search for ways to comply with new CAFE rules in the U.S. and CO2 limits in Europe, bringing automotive weight back down is one obvious target. GM is looking to a company called NanoSteel, which is developing a new steel alloy that could shave weight without compromising safety.
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NanoSteel has developed new iron-based alloys through nano-structuring, and says it can have automotive-grade sheet metal products ready in 2013. The company specified three sheet metals with tensile strengths of 950 MPa, 1200 MPa, and 1,600 MPa, greater than current aluminum alloys used for automotive body panels, but less than carbon fiber.... [Read more]
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