Shape up

A process for heat-forming aluminium alloys could help meet the growing demand from the automotive industry for lightweight materials.

Researchers at

, in a project supported by

and

, will investigate a process called solution heat treatment, forming and cold-die quenching (HFQ).

It will be used for shaping components such as bonnets and side wing panels out of sheet aluminium alloys in a single operation.

Imperial's Prof Jianguo Lin said: 'Lightweight automotive parts are very important for energy and reducing emissions, so many components are made from aluminium alloys. For example, Jaguar doors were previously formed in one piece from mild steel because it is more ductile and has higher formability, which means we can have larger deformation without failure.

'But then the company changed to aluminium alloy, which is difficult because the formability is very low. So the panel had to be redesigned so it could be made with a number of fibre components that are welded and joined together to form one piece. That would be much lighter, but it is very expensive.'