Caricamento in corso...
Materials for lightweight design
01USRLO
A.A. 2025/26
Course Language
Inglese
Degree programme(s)
Master of science-level of the Bologna process in Automotive Engineering (Ingegneria Dell'Autoveicolo) - Torino
Course structure
| Teaching | Hours |
|---|
Lecturers
| Teacher | Status | SSD | h.Les | h.Ex | h.Lab | h.Tut | Years teaching |
|---|
Co-lectures
Context
| SSD | CFU | Activities | Area context | ING-IND/21 | 6 | D - A scelta dello studente | A scelta dello studente |
|---|
2024/25
The course covers the materials which are used in the automotive industry for the car-body, the chassis and the powertrain, with special focus on those components that have the greatest influence on the total car weight and on those materials that can be used for the purpose of lightweight design.
Within this scope, the course intends to provide a more advanced and complementary knowledge, with respect to the basic knowledge offered by the B.Sc. level courses of the Italian Universities.
The course especially emphasizes the understanding of the interdependency between the choice of the material, the design of its production cycle (including thermal and mechanical treatments), the material structure and microstructure and its evolution during the production cycle, and the final service properties.
The course covers the materials which are used in the automotive industry for the car-body, the chassis and the powertrain, with special focus on those components that have the greatest influence on the total car weight and on those materials that can be used for the purpose of lightweight design.
Within this scope, the course intends to provide a more advanced and complementary knowledge, with respect to the basic knowledge offered by the B.Sc. level courses of the Italian Universities.
The course especially emphasizes the understanding of the interdependency between the choice of the material, the design of its production cycle (including thermal and mechanical treatments), the material structure and microstructure and its evolution during the production cycle, and the final service properties.
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.
The student is expected to know and understand the main classes of materials used for car-body, chassis and powertrain parts, their main fabrication and processing routes, their more relevant mechanical, thermal, and electromagnetic properties, and their ensuing lightweight design potential.
Basic knowledge of physics, chemistry, structural mechanics, and science and technology of metallic materials.
The teaching requires a basic knowledge of physics, chemistry, structural mechanics, and science and technology of metallic materials.
Car-body and chassis materials, including:
- deep-drawing steels;
- high-strength steels: HSLA steels, dual phase steels, TRIP and multiphase steels, quenching and partitioning steels, martensitic and hot-stamping steels, TWIP steels;
- wrought aluminum alloys: 5000 series, 6000 series, 7000 series;
- wrought magnesium alloys;
- metallic foams;
- carbon-fiber reinforced polymers;
- processing and performance: formability, weldability, tailored processing, strength, impact energy absorption, fatigue, hydrogen sensitivity.
Materials for mechanical power transmission, including:
- High-strength, quenched and tempered steels;
- Titanium alloys.
Materials for internal combustion engines, including:
- Cast iron;
- Cast aluminum-silicon alloys;
- Cast magnesium alloys;
- Wrought aluminum alloys for heat exchangers;
- Stainless steels for exhaust systems.
Materials for electric engines, including:
- 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.
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).
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.
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
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.
Hydrogen sensitivity and embrittlement: fundamentals and applications to automotive alloys.
Advanced materials:
- Composite materials.
- Titanium alloys.
- Magnesium alloys.
The course consists mainly of lessons, with some classroom and laboratory exercises.
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
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
Dispense; Video lezioni dell’anno corrente; Video lezioni tratte da anni precedenti;
Lecture notes; Video lectures (current year); Video lectures (previous years);
E' possibile sostenere l’esame in anticipo rispetto all’acquisizione della frequenza
You can take this exam before attending the course
Modalità di esame: Prova scritta (in aula);
Exam: Written test;
...
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.
Gli studenti e le studentesse con disabilità o con Disturbi Specifici di Apprendimento (DSA), oltre alla segnalazione tramite procedura informatizzata, sono invitati a comunicare anche direttamente al/la docente titolare dell'insegnamento, con un preavviso non inferiore ad una settimana dall'avvio della sessione d'esame, gli strumenti compensativi concordati con l'Unità Special Needs, al fine di permettere al/la docente la declinazione più idonea in riferimento alla specifica tipologia di esame.
Exam: Written test;
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 5 open questions. 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.