An Analysis of Automobile Weight and Its Reduction by Aluminum Substitution

770805

02/01/1977

Event
Passenger Car Meeting & Exposition
Authors Abstract
Content
It is well known that the weights of different vehicle components or subsystems are not independent of one another. In this paper an analysis of existing vehicle designs is used as a basis for the development of influence coefficients which relate a weight change in an automobile component to the total vehicle weight change that could result. It is found, for example, that a ten pound decrease in the weight of a body part could lead to a total vehicle weight reduction of 14 pounds, assuming that other vehicle components are redesigned to account for the smaller load they need to support.
As an application of the use of the influence coefficients, a study is made of the potential weight reduction that could be achieved by substitution of aluminum for steel in selected vehicle components.
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DOI
https://doi.org/10.4271/770805
Pages
12
Citation
Kennedy, F., and Hooven, F., "An Analysis of Automobile Weight and Its Reduction by Aluminum Substitution," SAE Technical Paper 770805, 1977, https://doi.org/10.4271/770805.
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Publisher
Published
Feb 1, 1977
Product Code
770805
Content Type
Technical Paper
Language
English