A two-year research initiative aims to further develop the next-generation aluminum alloy materials and processes for application in automotive body structures.
The Carbon Aluminium Automotive Hybrid Structures (CAAHS) project will be partly funded through the Innovate UK framework and led by Gordon Murray Design with partners Innoval Technology, Constellium, BCAST and Bentley Motor Company.
The major deliverables from the CAAHS project will be a new generation of the iStream technology, and body structures for application in the automotive industry that will offer significant weight savings over the current steel-based system, will be inherently recyclable, and will provide a development path for future weight reduction in body, chassis and powertrain systems through the development higher strength recyclable aluminum alloys and enabling joining technologies.
The participation of Gordon Murray Design in the CAAHS project is focused upon the opportunity to greatly reduce body structure weight by utilizing an aluminum frame structure that uses a novel high-strength extrusion alloy and which is stabilized with advanced composite panels based on recycled carbon fiber, while maintaining the high-volume, low-cost benefits of the original iStream technology. The target is to develop a frame that is 40% lighter than the incumbent steel frame.
December 9, 2016
