Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/72403

Title

Magnesium for crashworthy components

Author(s)

Abbott, Trevor B.;  Easton, M.;  Schmidt, R.

Abstract

With the emergence of new materials in automotive applications there is a tendency among design engineers to be cautious until the properties of the new materials are fully characterised. Often the properties which receive the greatest attention are those where the current materials have some deficiencies. These deficiencies do not necessarily carry over to the new material. A case in point is strain rate sensitivity for crash worthiness of steel and magnesium. Low carbon steels exhibit a distinct yield point during deformation, usually followed by a drop in load followed by work hardening. As the strain rate is increased, the yield point tends to increase such that it exceeds the post yielding ultimate tensile strength. In this situation there is no effective work hardening, resulting in the localisation of deformation such that only a small part of the component participates in energy absorption. From their past experiences in steel, design engineers are keen to understand the high strain rate properties when deciding whether to design a component in magnesium. The work described in this paper shows that magnesium does indeed show a strain rate dependence, and that the degree of sensitivity is highly dependant on the aluminium content of the alloy. However, the nature of the strain rate sensitivity is quite different to steel and appears to be beneficial to energy absorption. This paper discusses how these beneficial properties can be applied to the design of efficient energy absorbing components.

Publication type

Conference paper

Source

Paper presented at the 132nd Annual International Meeting and Exhibition of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS 2003), San Diego, United States, 02-06 March 2003

Publication year

2003

Keyword(s)

Crashworthiness;  Energy absorption;  Magnesium alloys;  Strain rate;  Tensile strength;  Vehicle impact

Publisher

United States

Publisher URL

http://www.tms.org/Meetings/Annual-03/AnnMtg03Home.html

Copyright

Copyright © 2003.

Peer reviewed