Page 14 - MetalForming June 2016

Materials & Coatings
Lightweight Solutions for Electric Vehicles
ments in terms of hard- ness and crash safety. At the same time, the structures must be as light- weight and com- pact as possible, which is where conventional mate- rials such as alu- minum and carbon steels reach their
Outokumpu material experts are working on future-oriented stainless-steel solutions in cooperation with scientists from Fraun- hofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, in Germany. The latest innovation: a new
battery pack specifically designed
for electric vehicles, which combines several lightweight engineering tech- nologies as well as new types of cooling and structural strategies. Among them is use of austenitic, ultra-high-strength stainless steel (Forta H1000 from Outokumpu).
limits.
“With Forta
Says Stefan Lindner, senior technical
manager for Outokumpu’s automotive
segment: “A high capacity for energy
absorption and increased stiffness with
thinner wall thicknesses are crucial char-
acteristics for the development of future light-
weight designs in automotive engineering. The Forta H series ful- fills these requirements.”
H1000, we were
Because the batteries for electric vehicles typically are installed in the underfloor area, their casings have very high require-
a weight reduction of about 20 percent.”
able to engineer a safer casing despite its leaner structure, and thus save a considerable amount of weight,” comments Dipl.-Ing. Paul Heinen, of the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Tech- nology ILT. “Using 1.2-mm-thick sheet instead of 1.5-mm allows
Outokumpu: www.outokumpu.com