NEXT GENERATION VEHICLE ENGINEERING GUIDELINES FOR STAINLESS STEEL IN AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS
The objectives of the NGV (Next Generation Vehicle) Project were to demonstrate that stainless steel can be used to reduce weight and costs, and to improve safety and sustainability in structural automotive systems. The deliverables include enabling technologies, virtual technology for design and development, processing and testing. The compilation of the results as well as aspects such as new design criteria for the application of stainless steels in automotive components were arranged in an Engineering Guideline for car manufacturers and their suppliers. The program was approved by constructing several newly designed B pillars where the deliverables were successfully applied. After performing some regular crash tests the cost efficiency was estimated by the NGV cost model. The NGV Project deliverables and data base establish a sound basis for the use of stainless steels in automotive series production. Introduction The automotive industry of today is characterized by faster cycles in materials invention, development and application, coupled with the ability to tailor materials for specific end users requirements i.e. multi material solutions. It is therefore essential for materials development to be closely integrated with the final product and process concurrent engineering practice. This means being aware of the market and customers, industrial and environmental trends and forces, recycling, cost efficiency, and technology development. The aim of the project is to point out to the automotive industry that stainless steel can be used to reduce weight and cost in the manufacture of motor vehicles and to improve safety and sustainability in automotive body structures. The competiveness of stainless steels should be approved in the same process steps which a standard automotive development follows: the virtual development supported by FE simulations, the analysis of forming, tooling, joining and determination of surface and corrosion properties. These different areas mark the structure of the NGV Project. The material choice for the project and the main results of the different research areas are explained in the following. Because of the complexity of the topic and the large experimental effort the project was organised by the three stainless steel producers ThyssenKrupp Nirosta GmbH ArcelorMittal Stainless and Outokumpu Oyj. The European car manufacturers were represented by AUDI AG,