PREFACE Indian auto industry has come of age. Passenger vehicle ...

PREFACE
Indian auto industry has come of age. Passenger vehicle sales in the year 2003-2004 crossed
one million units for the first time in our country. Exports went up by 56% this year, earning over
$ one billion, a record for India. It is interesting to note that this strong growth in the domestic market
is also accompanied with the emergence of India as a possible hub for global auto majors. Following
facts are noteworthy:
• Delphi Corporation, the world’s largest auto parts producer announced that by the year 2007
it would have $ 250 million/year worth of components including forged engine parts and
intricate plastic moldings outsourced from India. Similarly Ford and Volvo also plan to
outsource more than $ 100 million and Euro 100 million ($ 117 million) worth of auto
components for India respectively.
• Exports of auto parts from India are projected to reach US $ 25 billion with in next 20 years
accordingly to the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA).
• Russia has the potential to become one of the world’s largest automotive markets with in next
15 to 20 years. Major Russian auto producers like Lada, Kamaz and Gaz are keen to out
source auto components from India.
• Some of global auto majors like GM, Suzuki, Hyundai are either setting up and/or expanding
their R&D activities in India.
• A team of auto sector companies along with academic institutions and national laboratories
in India have set up a group to focus on R&D for products, systems & components including
alternate fuels, low cost safety systems and recycling of components.
Considering the growth prospects of the auto segment in India, the R&D sector is also anticipated
to get a much needed boost and it will contribute significantly towards enhancing the competitive edge
of Indian auto & auto component manufacturers. It is in this context that the editorial board of Trans
IIM decided to bring out this special issue on Advances in Materials for Automotive Applications.
The objective is to present a review of the technological status of the advanced materials currently in
use as well as to identify the material challenges facing the auto industry. This issue of Trans. IIM
contains nine invited contributions from well-known experts covering certain important facets of
materials processing that are of particular relevance to the auto industries.
The paper by S. Elangovan, H. Hartvigsen, R. Lashway, S. Balagopal and I. Bay describes a
metal interconnect development for solid oxide fuel cells. S. Guruswamy, P. Mungsantisuk,
R. Corson, and N. Srisukhumbowornchai present their work on Fe-Ga based magnetostrictive
alloys for actuators and sensors in the second paper of this issue. The contribution from S. Das deals
with the development of aluminium alloy composites for automobile applications. C. Blawert,
N. Hort and K.U. Kainer reviewed the automotive applications of magnesium and its alloys in their
paper. Jayashree Bijwe, Nidhi and B.K. Satapathy present the salient findings of their work on the
development of non-asbestos organic friction materials for brake pad applications. K. Funatani reviews
the advances being made in the heat treatment processes with respect to the manufacture of auto
components. T.R. Ramachandran, P.K. Sharma and K. Balasubramanian present a comprehensive
review of the status of use of aluminium and its alloys in the automotive industry. Rajiv Shivpuri
describes the work being carried out in his laboratory on the numerical modeling of manufacturing
processes of relevance to aerospace and auto sectors. O.N. Mohanty and N.Gope present their
experience with the commercial development of dual phase steels at Tata Steel. The nine papers in
this special issue thus provide a glimpse of the R&D opportunities becoming available to materials
scientists and engineers today in the field. Major breakthroughs seem to be on the horizon.
Automotive industry has identified automobile weight reduction as a key technology driver in the
coming decade, leading to improved fuel efficiency, reduction in exhaust emissions, enhanced safety
and better vehicle performance while driving (Journal of Metals, JOM, February 2003, p.32). Weight

eduction of an automobile without compromising other stability/safety issues is thus a challenge to
those involved in development of new materials. While aluminium, titanium, magnesium and their
alloys are strong contenders, the steel industry has come up with several new varieties to meet the
industry requirements. While steel continues to dominate, depending on the car models, several auto
components made of alternate materials are in commercial use. For example, even though titanium
and titanium alloys suffer from high cost disadvantage, in certain high end car models and racing
cars, components made of titanium alloys, such as the connecting rods, suspension springs, turbo
charge wheel, brake pad guide pins, wheel rim screws and valve gears are currently available as
standard items (JOM, February 2004, p.40). Considering the growing interest of the R&D community
in the development of advanced materials for the auto industry, we expect to see more papers published
in Trans. IIM on these topics.
The introduction of fuel cell technology will be the next important breakthrough for the auto
industry. With the delivery of the first Honda FCX, the first fuel cell certified car for everyday
commercial use as well as the announcement of substantial investments in hydrogen fuel cell research
in USA (JOM, April 2003, p.9), the future of cleaner automobiles suddenly looks much brighter.
Any discussion on the advances in materials for the automotive applications cannot be complete
with out a section on the related environmental issues. The European Union will require 95% of an
automobile to be recyclable by the year 2015. End-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling is therefore an
important issue in the European Union. While a series of separation processes enable recovery of
ferrous and non-ferrous metals from the scrapped vehicle, the residue of the shredding process known
as automobile shredder residue (ASR) represents about 20-25% of the ELV weight. It is a combination
of metals, rubber, resins, fabric, paper, wood and urethane foam. Recycling/recovery and/or disposal
of ASR is an unsolved problem today. Future vehicles have to be designed keeping the recyclability
issue in mind, in particular to ensure that ASR is free of hazardous substances like Pb, Hg, Cd and
Cr(VI). Appropriate national policies and voluntary agreements by major auto majors are being
developed to address the ELV issue (JOM, Aug 2003). We hope to review some of these important
topics in our future issues of Trans. IIM.
I sincerely hope that the readers of Trans IIM do find this special issue interesting and useful. I
would like to place on record my grateful thanks to all the authors of this issue for their valuable
contributions. I sincerely thank all the reviewers for their crucial inputs towards enhancing the value
of this issue. I am grateful to Prof. Mathai Joseph, Executive Director, Tata Research Development
& Design Centre, Pune for his encouragement and support in this effort. I thank Anupama Jadhav for
her expert secretarial assistance in preparing this issue for publication. Timely guidance, help and
support provided by Dr. Baldev Raj (Chairman, Publciations Committee, IIM), Dr. K. Bhanu Sankara
Rao (Chief Editor, Transactions, IIM) and Dr. (Mrs.) R. Sandhya (Associate Editor, Transaction,
IIM) at Kalpakkam in bringing out this issue are gratefully acknowledged.
May 2004
Pradip
Tata Research & Design Centre
Pune