EMBARGOED UNTIL WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 1998
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Sandi Abadinsky, Porter Novelli, 202/835-7821
[email protected]
Nancy Gravatt, American Iron and Steel Institute, 202/452-7115
Darryl Martin, American Iron and Steel Institute, 248/351-2660
DETROIT, MARCH 4, 1998-The steel industry today unveiled the UltraLight Steel Auto Body, a major contribution to the automotive industry's challenge to reduce vehicle weight and the results of a four-year, $22 million investment in the future.
The UltraLight Steel Auto Body (UltraLight) is a dynamic response by the steel industry to the challenge issued by the federal government's Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles: decrease vehicle weight to less than 2,000 pounds and increase fuel economy to up to 80 miles per gallon (from around 3,300 pounds and 27.5 miles per gallon today). Lighter-weight vehicles need less gasoline to operate resulting in less polluting emissions to the environment.
By combining the latest manufacturing processes (such as hydroforming and tailored blanks) with high-strength and ultra high-strength steels (previously reserved for use in bridges and skyscrapers), the steel industry has shown the potential to decrease the weight of body structure in a mid-size sedan by as much as 36 percent without adding costs or compromising safety or performance.
The benefits of the UltraLight:
-- As much as a 36 percent decrease in the mass of the auto body compared to five-passenger, mid-size sedans currently in production.
-- Costs no more to build than typical auto body structures in its class and can even yield potential costs savings.
-- Can be manufactured today using current technologies.
-- Satisfies current federally mandated crash requirements, even at speeds exceeding some requirements.
-- Exhibits excellent torsion, bending and modal results, which indicates reduced noise, vibration and hardness (NVH).
The technology employed in creating the UltraLight:
-- High-strength steels are used for more than 90 percent of the body structure.
-- Tailored blanks account for nearly 50 percent of the mass. (Tailored blanks are formed when two or more pieces of steel, which may be of different compositions, steel products or gauges, are joined together to form a blank for the purposes of weight reduction, parts elimination or cost reduction.)
-- Steel sandwich materials are used, which consist of a thermoplastic (polypropene) sandwiched between two thin steel skins. This material can be up to 50 percent lighter than a comparable sheet of homogeneous steel without compromising performance.
-- Tubular and sheet hydroforming for minimum weight at maximum structural performance. (Hydroforming is a method of fabrication that utilizes high pressure liquid in forming. Hydroforming creates a hard-working effect that improves dimensional stability.)
Thirty-five companies representing 18 countries were part of the worldwide consortium created to develop the Ultralight. The following North American companies participated: AK Steel Corp., Bethlehem Steel Corp., Dofasco, Inc., Inland Steel Industries, Inc., LTV Steel Company, National Steel Corp., Rouge Steel Comp., Stelco Inc., US Steel Group (USX Corp.), WCI Steel, Inc., and Weirton Steel Corp. Porsche Engineering Services, Inc. managed the engineering and manufacturing aspects of the project.
For more information about the UltraLight, visit www.thenewsteel.org.
###
RSS