Lightweight is the future of automotive choice for commercial vehicles forging aluminum alloy wheel market

Wang Liyao, deputy director of the Special Branch of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, has been busy with the research and promotion of lightweight technology for special vehicles. In view of this, he is very concerned about the development prospects of forged aluminum alloy wheels. On June 5th, it happened to be World Environment Day. An interview with reporters started on this topic.

Global car sales have increased by 100 million vehicles in the past five years. Cars have already challenged energy and the environment. If they cannot solve environmental and energy problems, they will not have the future of automobiles. This view has become the consensus of many countries. Concerns and pressures have made energy conservation and emission reduction the top priority for the global automotive industry.

For energy conservation and emission reduction, many people are concerned about the current high-energy new energy vehicles. In Wang Liyao's view, whether it is a new energy car or a traditional car, the lightweight trend is an inevitable choice for the future of cars.

Wang Liyao introduced: “Each vehicle with a weight loss of 100kg can reduce CO2 emissions by about 5g/km. Moreover, according to data provided by the World Aluminum Association, under normal circumstances, every 10% reduction in the weight of a car, fuel consumption It can be reduced by 6%~8%, so with the continuous increase of transport vehicles, lightweight design has become an urgent need to reduce the emission of transport vehicles.At present, Europe and the United States have increased research and promotion efforts in this regard, especially In the United States, projects involving the use of high-strength weight-reducing materials for lightweighting vehicles can be approved by government agencies.

With regard to the research and application of vehicle weight reduction, there is still a big gap between China and the developed countries in the world. Wang Liyao gave an example: In the United States, a two-axle box semi-trailer, usually 14 meters long, has a weight of 7 tons or less. China's commonly used 13-meter two-axis box semi-trailer, the weight is about 7 tons. From the point of view of solving the problem of self-respect, we still have many problems to study.

“Lightweight cars are essentially light weight parts. Using forged aluminum alloy wheels can greatly reduce the weight of the car. For example, a heavy-duty truck and semi-trailer transport system with 40 tons of trailers, a total of 22 wheels, plus There are a total of 24 front and rear spare tires, which are calculated on steel wheels that we often use nowadays, and if replaced with forged aluminum alloy wheels, the weight can be reduced by nearly 600kg.Not only that, aluminum alloy materials have good heat dissipation and prevent the aging of tire rubber. With the use of forged aluminum alloy wheels, trucks, buses, and trailers can save tire consumption by 26%. It can be seen that the effect of energy saving and emission reduction is obvious. Wang Liyao said, “In the United States and Canada, a large number of commercial vehicles are equipped. Forged aluminum alloy wheels. In Europe, South Africa, and Australia, a large number of forged aluminum alloy wheels are also used.

Wang Liyao said while taking photos of special vehicles from the computer. This is what he photographed from the commercial vehicle exhibitions around the world. From a single photograph, forged aluminum alloy wheels, such as handicrafts, are fitted on various special vehicles. Not only that, aluminum is used in the top part of the special car where aluminum can be used. Wang Liyao told reporters: "To lighten up the car, my generalization is that aluminum can be used wherever aluminum can be used.

Wang Liyao explained: “Now most vehicles are made of steel, and few people are willing to try to use lighter aluminum structural materials. The same vehicle, made of aluminum materials, can halve its weight due to structural strength issues. The benefits of energy saving and emission reduction are self-evident, just as the two sides of a coin, forged aluminum alloy wheels, have many advantages, but also have fatal weaknesses, high prices, and steel wheels. In comparison, the price is three times that of steel wheels, and this cost factor, which is critical to the market, can easily be discouraged.

In this regard, Wang Liyao calculated an account: “The weight reduction must be Dora, assuming that the transportation price of ordinary goods for road vehicles is 0.5 yuan/ton km. If we put a 40 ton heavy semi-trailer frame (longitudinal beam, Beams, fuel tanks, wheels, traction seats, guard rails and other parts are replaced with aluminum materials and vacuum tires. Conversion, the total mass can be reduced by more than 3 tons. Under this premise, assuming the daily mileage of the car is 1000 Kilometers will save more than 1,000 yuan per day, if calculated in 300 days a year, the weighted semi-trailer can save hundreds of thousands of yuan compared with the weightless ones.At present, there are already some logistics companies in this area who have tasted the sweetness.