1st ICAI 2020

International Conference on Automotive Industry 2020

Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic

Technical and Economic Aspects of Using Magnesium Alloys for Production of Car Components Josef Bradáč 1 , Jiří Sobotka 2 ŠKODA AUTO University 1,2 Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Na Karmeli 1457, Mladá Boleslav, 293 01 Czech Republic e-mail: josef.bradac@savs.cz 1 , jiri.sobotka@savs.cz 2 Abstract Due to its low weight, magnesium and its alloys are among the progressive technical materials. This is especially true for the automotive industry, where the requirements for weight reduction of parts are becoming increasingly important with a view to reducing car emissions. The production of pure magnesium is possible in two main ways, namely by electrolysis of magnesium chlorides or by thermal reduction of magnesium oxide with a suitable reducing agent. However, pure magnesium does not have suitable technological properties and therefore alloy elements such as aluminium, zinc and others are used. The aim of the paper is to show the possibilities of production and utilization of magnesium alloys in the automotive industry for car components including economic and ecological aspects of production of these parts and possibilities of their recycling. Keywords: car components, magnesium, production JEL Classification: L62, Q53, R41 1. Introduction At present, very rapid development of new non-standard materials and processing technologies can be observed. In addition, the ecological aspects of production and material processing, including recycling aspects, can be observed. This is also related to sustainability and resource usage efficiency. Despite the increase in the use of plastics, metals, whether ferrous or non-ferrous, are considered as basic construction materials in the manufacture of engineering products in many sectors. One of the very dynamically developing industries is the automotive industry, where basic units are still produced from ferrous and non-ferrous metals. It is mainly a car body and drive system consisting of an internal combustion engine and gearbox. Given the significant proportion of the weight of these components in the total weight of the vehicle, there is a clear potential for reducing the weight of the vehicle. For this reason, the effort to use low-weight materials is very actual, but which ensures the required properties of the final parts. Therefore, light non-ferrous metals such as aluminum and magnesium have been used in the construction of the body and drive components for a long time. While the use of aluminum primarily for engine and chassis components is common, magnesium alloys have only recently started to be used more recently. The main reason is the very low density, which is about 35% lower than the density of aluminium alloys

46