Knowledge of the main classes of materials used for car-body, chassis and powertrain parts, of their main fabrication and processing routes, of their more relevant mechanical, thermal, and electromagnetic properties, and of the ensuing lightweight design possibilities.

Basic knowledge of physics, chemistry, structural mechanics, and science and technology of metallic materials.

Sheet steels used for car-body and chassis parts: - Fundamentals of steelmaking, including main production routes, continuous casting, hot and cold rolling. - Fundamentals of steel metallurgy, including phases and phase equilibria, phase transformations, heat treatments, and effects of alloy elements. - Processing and properties of mild and HSLA steels. - Formability requirements, processing and properties of deep-drawing steels. - Processing and properties of high-strength steels, including: dual phase, TRIP, complex-phase, quenching and partitioning, martensitic and hot-stamping steels (including tailored processing), and TWIP steels. Wrought aluminum alloys used for car-body and chassis parts: - Fundamentals of wrought aluminum metallurgy: main production routes, heat treatments, and effects of alloy elements. - Processing and properties of 5000 series, 6000 series and 7000 series alloys. Hydrogen sensitivity and embrittlement: fundamentals and applications to high-strength automotive materials. Weldability and welding: - Weldability of steels. - Overview of welding technologies used in car-making. - Resistance spot welding of steels and aluminum alloys. Steels used for mechanical power transmission: - Processing and properties of high-strength, quenched and tempered steels - Surface treatments Materials for internal combustion engines: - Cast iron. - Cast aluminum-silicon alloys. - Wrought aluminum alloys for heat exchangers. - High-temperature materials for exhaust systems, including: fundamentals, Si-Mo cast irons, stainless steels. Materials for electric engines: - Fundamentals of ferromagnetism. - Soft magnetic materials: commercially pure iron, iron-silicon electrical steels. - Hard magnetic materials: hard magnetic steels, ferrites, Nd-Fe-B alloys. - Copper and aluminum for electrical wiring. Advanced materials: - Cast and wrought magnesium alloys. - Metallic foams. - Carbon-fiber reinforced polymers for car-body applications. - Titanium alloys.

The course consists mainly of lessons, with some classroom and laboratory exercises.

Learning is based mainly on the lecture notes provided by the lecturer and on the students’ own notes. The following textbooks (which are freely accessible in the form of e-books trough the university libraries) are recommended for consultation: G. Krauss, "Steels, Processing, Structure, and Performance", 2nd ed., ASM International F.C. Campbell, "Elements of Metallurgy and Engineering Alloys", ASM International M.Y. Demeri, "Advanced High-Strength Steels: Science, Technology, and Applications", ASM International J.D. Rowe et al., "Advanced Materials in Automotive Engineering", Elsevier

Exam: Computer-based written test in class using POLITO platform;

The exam aims to ascertain the knowledge and understanding of all the topics covered in the teaching and of their interrelationships. The exam is written and includes 10 open questions requiring short answers (about two lines each), which in total have a weight of 2/3 of the final vote, and 1 topic, requiring an extended answer (about one page), which have a weight of 1/3. The duration of the exam is 1 hour. All the answers will be evaluated on the basis of correctness (in respect to the state of the art) and completeness (in respect to the topics covered in the teaching). Textbooks, lecture notes, formularies, and electronic devices cannot be used during the exam.

In addition to the message sent by the online system, students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are invited to directly inform the professor in charge of the course about the special arrangements for the exam that have been agreed with the Special Needs Unit. The professor has to be informed at least one week before the beginning of the examination session in order to provide students with the most suitable arrangements for each specific type of exam.