Sustainable design and manufacture of lightweight vehicle structures

Abstract: Alternate fuels and powertrain systems will force an increased premium on vehicle mass reduction both to make vehicles more fuel-efficient and to enable greater range. an analysis will shows that life cycle analysis can be used to quantitatively assess how the use of alternate materials to reduce mass will contribute to energy savings and carbon footprint reduction. This justifies aggressive mass reduction driven by the use of alternative materials Also, a detailed look at auto construction shows that the vehicle of the future will likely be made from many materials. This poses many new challenges in design, manufacturing, joining and durability.