Development of the next generation high strength Mg alloys for the automotive industry

几十年来，材料科学的进步一直推动着技术的进步。例如，在20世纪70年代的S和80年代的S，汽车中的铁部件被更轻的铝部件取代，立即带来了性能和燃油经济性的提高。最近，美国环境保护局和美国国务院。美国交通部要求汽车制造商在2025年之前减少温室气体排放，并将燃油经济性提高50%以上，否则将面临经济处罚。人们普遍认为，这种巨大的改进可以通过车辆混合动力或减轻车辆重量来实现。这两种方法都面临着挑战：1)杂交成本高，增加了车辆的重量；2)现有的轻质合金制造工艺正在接近技术极限，进一步的进步代价高昂。

For decades, technological advancements have been driven by the progress in materials science. For example, the substitution of iron components in automobiles with lighter aluminum components during the 1970’s and 80’s resulted in an immediate performance and fuel economy enhancement. Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Dept. of Transportation in USA mandated automakers to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and improve fuel economy by over 50% by 2025, otherwise face economic penalties. It is generally accepted that such a drastic improvement is achievable either by vehicle hybridization, or by vehicle weight reduction. Both approaches face challenges: 1) Hybridization is costly and adds weight to vehicles, and 2) Existing manufacturing processes for lightweight alloys are approaching technological limits and further advancements are costly.