Car Weight is a Big Deal in the Fuel Economy
World
Weight is considered a very important factor for fuel
consumption. Cars today are very heavy and can easily weigh in at over 2000 pounds. The science of nanomaterials promises
new materials that have the potential to bring that weight down by a factor of six and actually improve the safety of the
automobile. Companies such as Keronite Ltd, based in England, and Raymor Industries have been working on light weight ultra-strength
nanomaterials.
Keronite, however, has been more directly focused on
the automotive market. The company, which has developed a surface treatment process that permits steel to be replaced with
lighter weight magnesium and aluminum alloys, points to United States government sources that indicates that for every 10
percent reduction in the weight of a car, a 7 percent reduction in fuel consumption and emission is obtained.
Other companies have also picked up on the weight idea.
Starfire Systems for instance has developed light-weight brake rotors for SUVs. That company says that its light-weight brakes
permit fuel savings in SUVs in the order of 8 percent per axle. With such a large fuel savings, it could be safe to assume
that the SUV rotors are fairly heavy items.
Car manufacturers have made strides in car weight reduction.
Through the United States Automotive Materials Partnership (USAMP) there is an on-going research effort among auto companies
to reduce the weight of cars. Magnesium and titanium are the preferred light-weight materials. These metals as well as nanotechology
altered metals offer the potential to reduce car weight in the order of 25 to 75 percent. In fact, the Corvette Z06, is reported
to have a magnesium engine cradle that is 35 percent lighter than your standard engine cradle.
Titanium holds promise as a metal because of its great
abundance in the earth’s crust. However, getting it out and processing it has been an expensive proposition. Altair
Nanotechnologies may be one company that has a low-cost solution to the processing of titanium. Altair, so far, has an agreement
with Titanium Metals Corporation to use its titanium process. The agreement at some point may make titanium a cost-effective
and fuel efficient alternative to steel.
Other companies, such as Raymor Industries, have developed
nanomaterials that have the potential to lower weight of cars in the order of 85 percent, while improving the overall strength
of the car. Raymor is in production with its low-cost carbon nanotube technology, but it has yet to be seen if it will be
practical and cost-effective as a metal base for the mass production of low-cost, light-weight cars. Raymor hasn’t indicated
directly that its nanotubes will have applications for ultra-light weight cars.
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