Aluminum for Automobile Manufacturing
The world's leading supplier of automotive sheet metal, Novelis provides automakers with a wide range of high-quality products and materials, backed by innovations in process and metals engineering that are second to none in the aluminum industry.
The Future of Aluminum in Cars
Our teams develop novel alloy and surface solutions used in the automotive body-in-white (BiW) materials for virtually all original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the global automotive industry.
We bring together specialists from our R&D divisions, engineering departments, mill facilities and sales offices to work closely with leading automotive manufacturers during the concept phase of new model development, and study their production processes, requirements and challenges.
We focus on developing innovative aluminum alloy solutions that can be applied to automotive hoods, trunks, fenders and doors. Our research continues to develop new, lightweight outer body panels and materials that are more resistant to dents, with the surface quality and bending characteristics needed to achieve a visually crisp finish.
Novelis also is the pioneer in developing innovations in the inner alloys used in the car body structure. These are the places where very high formability, pedestrian protection and controlled energy absorption can be achieved, along with various reinforcements to fulfill increasing demands for recycling-friendly materials.
Lightweighting of the vehicle is also one of the most effective ways to reduce CO2 emissions. For example, a 100kg weight saving on the mass of a passenger vehicle is equivalent to a reduction of nine grams of CO2 per kilometer. By developing and supplying best-in-class, safe and cost efficient lightweight aluminum sheet solutions, which can be applied with little adaptation across all car models, Novelis is the development partner of choice for most of the globe's leading automotive OEMs.
Aluminum Vehicle Technology (AVT) and Unibody Vehicle Structures
Novelis Aluminum Vehicle Technology (AVT) makes the volume production of unibody, or monocoque, aluminum vehicle structures possible. The principle is similar to conventional stamped steel structures, but much lighter and stiffer.
The result is a significant achievement for aluminum and for the automotive industry, namely:
- 40-50 percent weight savings over a comparable steel structure
- High torsional stiffness and structural integrity
- Excellent crash energy management
Before AVT, aluminum body structures were limited to low-volume, 'spaceframe" vehicles. But the unibody frame achieves all the weight-saving benefits of aluminum with modern mass production techniques.
Selective Bonding
Key to Novelis AVT technology is a joining system that combines adhesive bonding with spot welds and mechanical fasteners, such as rivets, to achieve a continuous joint between selected body sections. This improves torsional and bending stiffness, structural integrity and joint fatigue performance.
By selectively applying adhesive bonding to critical joints, Novelis is able to optimize the gauges of aluminum used throughout the structure. This allows thinner gauges of sheet aluminum to be used in some areas, aiding in weight reduction without sacrificing structural stiffness.