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Steel Treatment Paves the Way For Radically Lighter, Stronger, Cheaper Cars (gizmag.com)

Posted by timothy on from the nu-perfect-improved dept.

Zothecula writes: Radically cheaper, quicker and less energy-intensive to produce than regular steel, Flash Bainite is stronger than titanium by weight, and ductile enough to be pressed into shape while cold without thinning or cracking. It's now being tested by three of the world's five largest car manufacturers, who are finding they can produce thinner structural car components that are between 30-50 percent lighter and cheaper than the steel they've been using, while maintaining the same performance is crash tests. Grain of salt: the positive claims here are mostly coming from the company responsible for the process.

2 of 236 comments (clear)

  1. Re:If it sounds too good to be true... by Nutria · · Score: 5, Informative

    Probably. But the US ARMAMENT RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND ENGINEERING CENTER did an evaluation of the process and gave it positive -- but not perfect -- marks in 2011.

    http://www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc...

    --
    "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
  2. Worked with this material by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    I did some graduate work with this company (I'm a Welding Engineer) and it is indeed interesting, but I realllllly wish they would stop calling it Flash Bainite. There is 0% bainite structure in the material, it can only form with slower heating/cooling rates. Call it "flashite" or something else. The problem with the material is as soon as you heat the material back up you lose all of the bonus properties. Right now all of the panels/pieces that automotive would look to replace with this have lots of spot/mig welds on them, so those areas would be much weaker after the fastening work was done.