The March meeting of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter took place on Thursday, 27 March at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel, Pittsburgh, Pa. A social hour and dinner allowed attendees to network prior to the panel discussion. Two panelists, one from the steel industry and the other from the aluminum industry, spoke regarding the topic, “Lightweighting Trends in the Automotive Industry.” Lighter weight materials are part of the auto industry’s efforts to meet the CAFÉ Standards of 54.5 mpg by the year 2025.
 
Sherri McCleary, vice president of technology and operations for Alcoa, discussed the development of Alcoa 951, a pre-treatment bonding technology that replaces the weaker spot welding. Ms. McCleary indicated that aluminum in car bodies meets the 10-year durability expectations of manufacturers and consumers, and also offers superior corrosion resistance. Dent resistance also is not an issue because of the latest improvements in bake and paint hardening. Alcoa’s plans are under way for three major expansions, for a total investment of US$670 million, to address the capacity issues that would arise with the increased use of aluminum in automobiles: the recent US$300 million expansion of its aluminum sheet rolling mill in Davenport, Iowa; a US$275 million expansion at its rolling mill in Alcoa, Tenn., to be completed by mid-2015; and expansion of its joint-venture rolling mill in Saudi Arabia, to be completed by the end of 2014.
 
The second panelist was Jody Shaw, director of technical marketing and product research at United States Steel Corporation. His presentation focused on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study on Light Weight Vehicles (LWVs). The study compared four scenarios for mass reduction in a comprehensive redesign of the 2011 Honda Accord: (a) all advanced high-strength steels (AHSS), (b) LWV materials involving AHSS, (c) all aluminum and (d) a composite of magnesium, plastics and carbon fiber. The study revealed that the AHSS vehicle was the least expensive of the four different solutions, with the emissions per pound also remaining lower than those of the other solutions. Yet mass reduction alone is not enough to meet the 2025 CAFÉ regulations. In all four scenarios of the study, fuel economy did not exceed 32.8 mpg. Mr. Shaw stressed that other avenues, such as powertrain improvements and alternative fuels, will likely be the sources of improved fuel economy.
 
The audience was able to ask questions of the two presenters prior to the meeting’s adjournment.