Following extensive trials, Corus has announced that it can now offer production ready coils of Dual-Phase 600 Hot Rolled Steel (DP600HR) that it says can help carmakers reduce weight.
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The new hot-rolled product will allow customers to benefit from the material’s enhanced properties for a larger number of automotive applications, Corus says.
Existing dual-phase cold rolled steels offer carmakers weight reduction benefits via the ability to down gauge, or reducing the thicknesses of the steel sheet used, for certain applications. However, cold rolled products can only be used for vehicle applications with a gauge range of between 0.6mm and 2mm.
Importantly, Corus says its new hot rolled product now allows automotive customers to benefit from dual-phase steel properties for applications that require a thicker gauge above 2mm.
The company says early trials of Corus hot rolled dual-phase steel have already proven that it can help reduce weight in sub-frame applications, including lower and upper control arms and wheel centres, where these applications require improved durability and strength and therefore thicker material gauge.
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By GlobalDataSignificantly improved material properties of dual-phase steels, such as better fatigue durability and tensile strength, allow automotive designers to use less material but at equivalent performance. This results in typical weight savings of between 10-20 percent, dependent on application use.
Dr Rachel Haigh, Product Manager Corus Strip Products UK, said: “We are delighted to offer our new hot rolled dual-phase steel product to customers and have already registered significant interest from the industry.”
Corus also offers its customers added value technical and engineering application support to help them maximise the value of the new steel it supplies. The extensive trials for the new hot rolled dual-phase product were supported by Corus’ specialist predictive modelling technique, Forming to Strength (F2S), to help validate the strength of sub-assembly components.
Dr Haigh continues: “When introducing new materials, component manufacturers and carmakers need to understand how a new steel will perform and behave as it is formed into shape. By developing a range of modelling techniques, including F2S, our customers can quickly and more robustly evaluate the potential benefits of introducing new materials to the production process during the life span of a vehicle without incurring prohibitive cost and time.”
