Innovative Stainless Steel Applications in transport ... - Euro Inox

Weight reduction target
10 %
8 %
5 %
3 %
Weight reduction that compensates high material costs (bus frames)
(Fuel consuption 2 l/100 km per 1000 kg, no recycling credits)*
75 000 km/year 100 000 km/year
0 %
6 years 10 years
Operating lifetime
15 years 20 years
*(Discount rate 8%, fuel price 1.2 €/l w ith annual increase of 5%, difference in material cost is 1 €/kg )
Figure 72. Proportional weight savings that offset a 1 € per kg higher material price in the life
cycle fuel cost of bus components.
These calculations demonstrate the importance of vehicle weight in bus transportation.
The same principle also applies to other road transport vehicles. The diesel consumption
of trucks and other commercial vehicles also depends on the payload and, once again,
weight savings can be used to increase payload or lower fuel consumption. In the case
of heavy trucks, a vehicle weight saving of 1000 kg reduces fuel consumption by
approximately 1 litre per 100 kilometres (Nylund 2006). This can be significant,
because of ever longer driving distances and the continued increase in freight transport
by road. In typical service conditions, the potentially higher initial cost of using
stainless steel, compared with carbon steel, is largely offset by the effect of the resulting
weight saving on fuel consumption.
Although they go beyond the scope of this study, the following factors, which have a
further influence on life cycle cost, should be addressed:
• In contrast to carbon steel, where metallic and organic coatings and painting
provide corrosion protection, with stainless steel, these essentially have only a
decorative function. The number of layers can therefore be reduced and the
overall structure of the coating simplified. Because of stainless steel’s intrinsic
corrosion resistance, corrosion-related repair costs can be expected to be lower.
• Accidental damage or wear and tear that locally weaken or remove the corrosion
protection on carbon steel have no effect of the intrinsic corrosion resistance of
stainless steel. Even if damage should lead to localised discolouration
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