aluminium in commercial vehicles - European Aluminium Association

EUROPEAN ALUMINIUM ASSOCIATION ALUMINIUM IN COMMERCIAL VEHICLES CHAPTER IV 33
2) A minimum stiffness is generally
required.
• If this stiffness has to be equal
with standard steel models,
weight savings obtained with
aluminium will be around 45%
with a superior strength, but
high strength steel cannot
achieve any weight saving.
• If the minimum stiffness
required is lower than the one of
standard steel models, weight
savings obtained with aluminium
will be somewhere between
45% & 60% and weight savings
obtained with high strength
steel somewhere between zero
and half of what can be
achieved with aluminium.
3) Vehicles durability must be
insured. As aluminium vehicles
are much more intensively used
than conventional ones, their
resistance to fatigue must be
higher. This result is obtained
with a proper design. Among of
a lot of others, higher sections,
smooth transitions and clever
joints are keys to success.
Chassis for aluminium tipper (Leciñena)
2.2. Are there different aluminium chassis designs?
Each manufacturer has its own
design, which to a high degree
depends on the working conditions
the vehicle is made for and
on the specific manufacturing
experiences of the chassis producer
(e.g. some prefer fully
welded constructions whereas
others prefer mixed welded and
bolted constructions). It is also
important to underline that aluminium
vehicles are much more
intensively used than conventional
ones, and this fact is
taken into account in the design
of vehicles. Apart from that,
there are two dominating
design philosophies in the chassis
world.
In countries like Italy, where
equal stiffness with steel models
seems to be a must, deflection is
the main criteria, and this generally
leads to longer lifetime than
conventional models, coupled
with an attractive weight saving.
In other countries, equal lifetime
with steel models will be the
main criteria. A good design will
lead to, at least, an equivalent
lifetime, stiffness within requirements
(even though it may be
slightly lower than steel models),
but the weight saving will
be maximized.
In any case, they will usually be
stronger than classic models,
and the risk for starting yield
failure from static overload will
be lower for aluminium chassis.