Prospects for aluminium alloys in automobiles

Prospects for aluminium alloys in automobiles

In the lightweight metal, although the density of magnesium alloy than aluminum alloy is small, but the cost of magnesium ingot is high, and there are many technical barriers in the manufacturing process of parts, such as the lack of high-temperature die-casting alloy and design data, surface treatment technology is shoddy, combined with low level, so the current use in the automobile is quite limited; and aerospace with titanium alloy although there is high mechanical strength, but the manufacturing process is difficult and expensive manufacturing costs, resulting in Titanium alloys cannot be used in large quantities for automotive production. Aluminium alloys have good overall performance in terms of cost, manufacturing technology, mechanical properties and sustainability (the most aluminium content in the earth's crust, accounting for 8.1%), making aluminium alloys the preferred light metal material for the automotive industry now and in the future.

For every 1 kg of aluminium used in a car, the weight of the car can be reduced by 2.25 kg, with a weight reduction effect of up to 125%, and emissions can be reduced by 20 kg during the whole life cycle of the car. In addition, aluminium is easy to recycle and is the most recyclable material other than steel, with almost 90% of aluminium used in cars being recovered and recycled. Aluminium has good physical and chemical properties and is one of the few metal materials that can be used in a variety of casting processes to manufacture parts. However, the cost of aluminium alloys is still higher than that of steel materials. Recycled materials, almost 90% of the aluminium used in automobiles can be recovered and recycled.