Photo: Nissan
When it introduced the new version of the Infiniti QX50 on the U.S. market last March, Nissan said the SUV comes with parts made from a type of steel never used before in the automotive industry.
Called Super High Formability steel (SHF), the material has been developed by Nissan with the help of metallurgical company Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp.
According to the carmaker, the new steel it developed can offer a previously unachievable degree of formability, comes with high tensile strength and is at the same time lighter than other materials currently used in car manufacturing.
The new type of metal can be cold-pressed, meaning it is ideal for use for the mass production of cars. It also comes with a tensile strength of 980 megapascals, well above other similar materials.
In the Infiniti QX50, SHF was used for the front and rear side members, as well as for other body frame parts. In the near future, Nissan said it plans to expand the use of the new steel to more vehicles, but stopped short of naming any specific models.
The reason for choosing the SHF steel for mass production is the fact that it may help the carmaker reach the goal it set for itself of lowering CO2 emissions from its new vehicles by 40 percent by the year 2022, as compared to the levels registered for the year 2000.
Using the new steel might help it achieve that goal as the new metal is lighter than other materials, meaning the cars built with it would burn less fuel. In the QX50, for instance, SHF accounts for 27 percent of the car and has helped both reduce weight and increase torsional rigidity.
For the future models, Nissan would try and provide SHF steel for about 25 percent of the parts used in assembling them.
According to the carmaker, the new steel it developed can offer a previously unachievable degree of formability, comes with high tensile strength and is at the same time lighter than other materials currently used in car manufacturing.
The new type of metal can be cold-pressed, meaning it is ideal for use for the mass production of cars. It also comes with a tensile strength of 980 megapascals, well above other similar materials.
In the Infiniti QX50, SHF was used for the front and rear side members, as well as for other body frame parts. In the near future, Nissan said it plans to expand the use of the new steel to more vehicles, but stopped short of naming any specific models.
The reason for choosing the SHF steel for mass production is the fact that it may help the carmaker reach the goal it set for itself of lowering CO2 emissions from its new vehicles by 40 percent by the year 2022, as compared to the levels registered for the year 2000.
Using the new steel might help it achieve that goal as the new metal is lighter than other materials, meaning the cars built with it would burn less fuel. In the QX50, for instance, SHF accounts for 27 percent of the car and has helped both reduce weight and increase torsional rigidity.
For the future models, Nissan would try and provide SHF steel for about 25 percent of the parts used in assembling them.
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