Development of a Thin-Wall Magnesium Automotive Door Inner Panel

Cast magnesium (Mg) door inner panels can provide a good combination of weight, functional, manufacturing, and economical requirements. However, several challenges exist including casting technology for thin-wall part design, multi-material incompatibility, and relatively low strength versus steel....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:SAE International journal of materials and manufacturing 2020-01, Vol.13 (3), p.199-208, Article 05-13-03-0016
Main Authors: Wang, Gerry Gang, MacKenzie, K., Sweet, C., Carter, J.T., O'Kane, J.C., Resch, S.A., Sachdev, A.K., Luo, A.A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Casting
Corrosion and anti-corrosives
Design
Development projects
Die casting
Door inner
Founding
Incompatibility
Lightweight
Magnesium
Side impact
Stiffness
Thin-wall
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Summary:Cast magnesium (Mg) door inner panels can provide a good combination of weight, functional, manufacturing, and economical requirements. However, several challenges exist including casting technology for thin-wall part design, multi-material incompatibility, and relatively low strength versus steel. A project was supported by the US Department of Energy to design and develop a lightweight frame-under-glass door having a thin-wall, full die-cast, Mg inner panel. This development project is the first of its kind within North America. The 2.0 mm Mg design, through casting process enablers, has satisfactorily met all stiffness and side-impact requirements, with significant mass reduction and part consolidation. In addition, a corrosion mitigation strategy has been established using industry-accepted galvanic isolation methods and coating technologies. The performance of the Mg design has been demonstrated through component and vehicle tests. This article is an updated publication of a previously published International Mg Association (IMA) proceedings paper [1] (with agreement from the Association).
ISSN:1946-3979
1946-3987
1946-3987
DOI:10.4271/05-13-03-0016