Global Steel Industry Program Contributes to World Automotive Research Data

02 Oct 2001

MELBOURNE, Oct. 4, 2000 – A progress report delivered to the International Iron and Steel Institute’s Annual Meeting on the global steel program, ULSAB-AVC (Advanced Vehicle Concepts), today unveils valuable contributions to future automobile design. Innovative design combined with use of new steels and special consideration for the influence of material strain rate on structural performance will demonstrate important opportunities for automakers to meet stringent safety requirements and improve structural efficiency and fuel economy.

ULSAB-AVC is the most recent addition to the global steel industry’s series of initiatives that provide steel solutions to the auto industry’s task of increasing fuel efficiency, while at the same time improving safety and performance and retaining affordability.

The ULSAB-AVC Consortium commissioned world-class Porsche Engineering Services, Inc., Troy, Mich. USA, to provide program design and engineering expertise. In this program, Porsche is developing advanced vehicle concepts for a C-Class (Ford Focus- or VW Golf-type) and a PNGV-Class vehicle (based on the U.S. Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles specifications).

These two vehicle concepts illustrate a quantum leap in vehicle design and the use of advanced steels by offering examples of safe, fuel efficient and cost efficient steel vehicle concepts. The purpose of the program is to add valuable data to the research and development work already carried out by automotive manufacturers.

Steel Data Enables Closer to Real-Life Crash Simulation

One of ULSAB-AVC’s contributions is the compilation of detailed steel high strain rate properties data for the newest generation of steels. Complete dynamic properties data on all of the advanced steel grades used in the ULSAB-AVC design will be collated and released to the global automobile industry at the completion of the program.

CAE analysis has become commonplace in the industry during recent years, and high-speed computer and new software capabilities allow engineers to broaden the amount of data included, such as strain rate, in the CAE model. Using accurate data reflecting the influence of strain rate on steel properties facilitates highly accurate predictions of vehicle crash behavior.

"In an effort to more precisely model real-life situations, engineers include more detail, like material strain rate data, in CAE crash models. The quality of the material data used in the CAE models is an important aspect influencing how close a design engineer is able to replicate real-life crash behavior," said Robert Koehr, senior manager, Porsche Engineering Services, Inc. Koehr is responsible for managing Porsche’s design and engineering effort for ULSAB-AVC. "The closer these models come to real-life, the more information they provide the engineer on the proposed design’s safety performance and how it might be improved," Koehr added. This, in turn, makes it possible to design and manufacture a lean weight vehicle with optimal structural performance.

At the request of the ULSAB-AVC Materials Working Group, Porsche conducted an analysis that provided qualitative and quantitative results on the effect of using dynamic material properties in a CAE crash model. Porsche’s analysis is published in ULSAB-AVC’s Report on the Effect of Strain Rate Dependent Material Properties in CAE Analysis for Crashworthiness (Jan.2000), and is now publicly available through Consortium member steel companies.

This analysis led member steel companies to closely collaborate with Porsche to supply detailed material property data in the ULSAB-AVC concept design process. The data enables Porsche’s engineers to develop steel parts and structures that are fully optimized for structural performance and crash management. Since ULSAB-AVC will use the most advanced material grades in the world to achieve high vehicle safety, yet at reduced mass, the steel data and designs will assist the world’s automobile engineers in applying these new steels to future production vehicles.

"Throughout the ULSAB-AVC program, steel company members have been working in concert with Porsche staff as an integral part of the design process. They have been providing the steel expertise as well as the kind of detailed material data Porsche needs to properly apply these advanced steels to each part of the vehicle architecture," said Peter Peterson, ULSAB-AVC Communications Committee Chairman. "This is really the first time the steel industry has collaborated at this in-depth level on the engineering of a complete vehicle."

ULSAB-AVC Adds Valuable Data to Vehicle Design

Besides its contributions in the area of steel data for crash management design, ULSAB-AVC is also adding significant innovation to vehicle design research.

ULSAB-AVC’s fully modular front end system is an example of the kind of advancement that can be expected at program completion. The front end system features an engine bay package layout in which the powertrain is part of the system (including front suspension, radiator and steering rack), positioned on one cradle and mounted to the body structure. This allows the entire engine/suspension system to be removed as one unit for servicing from underneath the vehicle. Also, the ULSAB-AVC’s engine is positioned behind the front axle and is designed to move rearwards into a body structure tunnel in the event of a frontal crash. This type of design results in low footwell intrusion in the passenger compartment. The engine position also leads to excellent load distribution between the front and the rear wheels of the vehicle.

A primary goal for ULSAB-AVC is to maintain a common platform between the C-Class and PNGV-Class concept designs. The objective is to develop a platform with the highest number of shared parts possible between the two types of vehicle, as well as common suspension parts and powertrain components. Considered state of the art in today’s vehicle families, the front end is identical in both vehicles.

ULSAB-AVC also will be the first vehicle concept design to demonstrate the combination of high and ultra high strength steels with a full spectrum of the latest steel technologies, such as tailor welded blanks, tailored tubes, and tube and sheet hydroforming processes.

ULSAB-AVC will illustrate the benefits of a systems approach to design. This approach is in line with the automotive industry’s predicted shift to a systems supplier philosophy in which large systems are delivered fully assembled to the auto manufacturing facility. At the package design phase, Porsche defined configurations for as many large systems as feasible, paving the way for simultaneous engineering with suppliers at an early development stage, thus shortening development time. This systems approach also results in an optimized assembly process thereby reducing assembly time and cost.

"Through ULSAB-AVC, we are expecting to contribute significantly to the world’s knowledge base for applying advanced steel materials and technologies to the automobile," said Peterson, "because we believe that steel holds the answer to designing safe, fuel efficient vehicles that are affordable to manufacture."

Scheduled for completion in 2001, ULSAB-AVC will present advanced vehicle concepts to help automakers use steel more efficiently. These concepts will provide a steel-based structural platform for achieving:

Anticipated crash safety requirements for 2004,
Significantly improved fuel efficiency,
Optimized environmental performance regarding emissions, source reduction and recycling, and
High volume manufacturability at affordable cost.

For more information about ULSAB-AVC, visit the web site at www.ulsab-avc.org

The following companies are members of the ULSAB-AVC Consortium:

ACERALIA Corporación Siderúrgica, S.A. - Spain
AK Steel Corporation - USA
Shanghai Baosteel (Group) Co. - China
Bethlehem Steel Corporation - USA
BHP Steel - Australia
China Steel Corporation - Taiwan
Corus - UK & Netherlands
Dofasco Inc. - Canada
Iscor Steel Flat Products - South Africa
Ispat Inland, Inc. - USA
Kobe Steel, Ltd. - Japan
LTV Steel Company, Inc. - USA
National Steel Corporation - USA
Nippon Steel Corporation - Japan
NKK Corporation - Japan
NOVÁ HUT, a. s. - Czech Republic
Pohang Iron and Steel Co., Ltd (POSCO) - South Korea
Rautaruukki Oyj - Finland
Rouge Steel Company - USA
Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) - India
Salzgitter AG - Germany
SIDERAR S.A.I.C. - Argentina
SSAB Tunnplat - Sweden
Stelco Inc. - Canada
The Tata Iron and Steel Company, Ltd. (TISCO) - India
Thyssen Krupp Stahl - Germany
Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A. - Brazil
USINOR Group - France
U.S. Steel Group (USX Corporation) - USA
VALLOUREC Group - France
VOEST-ALPINE STAHL LINZ GmbH - Austria
Weirton Steel Corporation - USA