General Motors Using Third Generation Steel that reduce weight by 20%, helps in passing crash test and increase fuel economy
General Motors is applying third-generation advanced high-strength steel to Chinese vehicles which started from the recently launched Chevorlet Loca. The car is made in conjunction with SAIC-GM. This procedure reduces the weight of selected body components by approximately 20 percent. For every 10% reduced 6-8% fuel economy increases. A 20% increase means we can expect economy to rise by 16% or more which is clearly a need of the day in today’s world.
GM has been making well built cars whether we have acknowledged or not over the past. The cars have been coming out the Chinese plant if they are meant for the American market. GM has now made sure a new cheaper yet high tensile steel which can be used for American, Chinese and other markets including India can be just one type.
The new Third Generation steel offers a superior balance of strength and ductility as compared to the first generation of high-strength steels. If we use third generation steel, fuel economy of a vehicle is generally considered to increase by 6 to 8% for every 10% reduction in body weight.
The process for making this Third Generation Steel started in the year 2009. The American Giant began encouraging steel manufacturers to produce third-generation advanced high-strength steel with superior formability and tensile strength that were measured at 1,000 MPa and even higher for vehicle bodies and selected parts.
Research groups from GM China Science Lab, GM China Advanced Technical Center and the GM Warren Technical Center in the United States collaborated on this research and development project of third-generation advanced high-strength steel. This global development network got the go green from the GM headquarters and is all set to implemented in all vehicles since then and is being used today as widely as they can.
Findings from the investigations of the past are now being applied to the development of third-generation even higher and taking the ratings at 1,200 MPa Q&P (quenching and partitioning) steel. Technical learnings such as these are being shared worldwide within GM circle. This will be turn out to be instrumental to future applications of third-generation steels in GM vehicles around the globe that will roll out from the factory and will require to pass even stricter safety, emission and fuel economy rules that are mostly like to come post 2020.
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