Optimum design of fatigue-critical automotive components made of magnesium alloys

为了应对燃料消耗和温室气体排放方面即将发生的环境法规变化，全球汽车行业通过在车辆制造中广泛采用轻质材料，在汽车结构领域发生了革命性变化。 镁作为最轻的工业金属，近年来作为钢和铝的潜在替代品在轻量化研究中发挥了核心作用。随着汽车设计理念中出现的多材料汽车架构概念，镁等超轻材料应用于性能最佳的结构部件。 变形镁合金显示出优异的疲劳性能，因此是设计和制造疲劳临界汽车部件的可行候选材料，这些部件的疲劳强度是其关键性能指标。**滑铁卢大学，Multimatic Inc.，福特汽车公司、Centerline温莎和CanmetMATERIALS实验室已经建立，以设计、制造和验证由镁制成的汽车疲劳关键部件。这个端到端的项目涵盖了热机械行为，耐久性性能和寿命提高，防腐蚀策略和性能，金属智能结构和锻造镁合金的计算机辅助工程设计的发现级基础知识。通过这项研究，开发了镁合金疲劳临界部件优化设计所需的技术，以及用于模锻和零件设计的稳健策略。**该项目的主要研究结果将提供制造高性能轻质镁悬架部件所需的基础知识和方法。这项研究的一个关键成果将是开发设计指南，用于汽车悬架部件的锻造镁合金。该项目将从根本上减少汽车对环境的影响，同时保持或提高车辆性能。在悬架部件的制造中使用镁将导致车辆的簧下质量的显著减少，从而导致改善的乘坐舒适性、操纵性能、更高的燃料经济性和减少的温室气体排放。该项目的工业合作伙伴对确保该项目产生的知识及时转移到商业实践中具有浓厚的兴趣，使他们处于先进悬架技术的最前沿，提高加拿大和国外的竞争力。

In response to impending environmental regulation changes in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emission, the global automotive sector has undergone revolutionary changes in the area of automotive structures through the widespread adoption of lightweight materials in the manufacture of vehicles. Magnesium, as the lightest commercial metal, has recently played a central role in light weighting research as potential substitute for steel and aluminum. With the multi-material vehicle architecture concept emerging in automotive design philosophy, ultra-light materials like magnesium should be used in the structural parts for which they perform best. Wrought magnesium alloys have shown excellent fatigue performance and hence are viable candidates for the design and manufacture of fatigue-critical automotive components, components with fatigue strength as their key performance indicator.**Unique multidisciplinary research collaboration between the University of Waterloo, Multimatic Inc., Ford Motor Company, Centerline Windsor, and CanmetMATERIALS laboratory has been established to design, build and validate an automotive fatigue-critical component made of magnesium. This end- to- end project covers discovery-level base knowledge of thermomechanical behaviour, durability performance and life enhancement, corrosion protection strategies and performance, metallic smart structures, and computer aided engineering design of forged magnesium alloys. Through this research enabling technology necessary for the optimum design of magnesium fatigue-critical components, robust strategies for die forging and part design are developed.**The key findings of this project will provide the base knowledge and methodology required for the fabrication of a high performance, lightweight magnesium suspension part. A critical outcome of this research will be the development of design guidelines for the use of forged magnesium alloys in automotive suspension parts. This project will contribute in a fundamental way to reducing the environmental impact of automobiles while maintaining or improving vehicle performance. The use of magnesium in the manufacture of suspension components will result in significant reduction in the unsprung mass of vehicles, thereby leading to improved ride comfort, handling performance, greater fuel economy, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Project's industrial partners have a strong interest in ensuring that the knowledge generated from this project is transferred into commercial practice in a timely fashion, putting them at the forefront of advanced suspension technologies, boosting competitiveness both in Canada and abroad.**