Glossary

Agressivity: Energy transferred in a vehicle crash

AHSS: Refers to Advanced High Strength Steel

AIVs: Refers to Aluminum Intensive Vehicles

Alloy: A substance composed of two or more metals or of a metal and a non-metal intimately united usually by being fused together and dissolving in each other when molten

Aluminum anodizing: A type of finishing that is classified as an electrochemical process producing a clear oxide porous layer on the surface of the metal. When colored, dye or ink is deposited into the pore structure and sealed. Sealing locks the color in and stabilizes the surface

Aluminum-intensive: Any product, such as a vehicle containing high-levels of aluminum components within its core structure

A-pillars: The framing around a vehicle's windshield

ASF: Refers to Aluminum Space Frame

Automotive applications: The physical aluminum structures built into the design and construction of vehicles

Axial collapse: Energy absorption in automotive structural components that are a direct result from front and rear end crashes

Bending mode collapse: A common mode of energy absorption in automotive structural components

BIW: Refers to Body-In-White

Brazing: To remove oxides from aluminum due to its natural affinity to oxidize upon exposure to air, there are various methods, the most common being salt-dip bath, vacuum and flux (either torch or furnace)

Buckling: Occurs when a stress factor reaches the strength of the aluminum material and the metal folds. For example, pushing on the ends of a business card or bookmark can easily reproduce the buckling

Bumper-to-frame rail attachments: Designed to transfer the impact force from a vehicle crash directly to the lower front rails

Castability: Refers to combined factors contributing to how well aluminum molds including "castability" because of its fluidity, weldability and corrosion resistance; as well as not being prone to shrinkage, segregation, cracking or hot tears

Cast alloys: Comprised of four main families of brasses:

1. copper-tin-zinc alloys (red, semi-red and yellow brasses)
2. leaded "manganese bronze" alloys (high strength yellow brasses)
3. leaded "manganese bronze" alloys (leaded high strength yellow brasses)
4. copper-zinc-silicon alloys (silicon brasses and bronzes)

Casting: The most widely used method of forming. The process of pouring molten aluminum into a mold to duplicate a desired pattern. The three most important methods are die casting, permanent mold casting and sand casting

Control arms: Essentially hold the rear wheels on a vehicle and impact ride and handling performance

Crash pulse: The deceleration-time response

Crashworthy: A vehicle designed to deform according to a deceleration-time response or crash pulse which is defined as the deceleration-time response

Cross-contamination: When the same tools are used on different metals resulting in problems with welding, finishing and potential bimetallic corrosion

Crush zones: Structural zones that absorb crash energy outside the passenger compartment

Extrusion/extruded products: The act or process of shaping aluminum by forcing the metal through a die. Applications include: space frames, suspension, seat frames and rails, sun roofs, window and door frames, and aluminum/aluminum metal matrix composite drive shafts

Finishing: Processes of coating aluminum to protect its surface

Forging: The process of hammering, upsetting, pressing or rolling metal, either hot or cold, or by a combination of several of the following processes: drop forging in which the metal shape is formed by repeated blows from a drop or steam hammer onto a bar or billet placed between a pair of dies; upset forging; press forging accomplished by hydraulic presses with the deforming pressure applied for longer intervals giving opportunity for plastic flow to take place; roll forging produced by two rotating rolls

G force: Equal to the force of gravity

GMA: Refers to Gas Metal Arc; a welding method used to join common metals together

Hard-coat anodizing: A type of finish that penetrates the aluminum while building up its surface. This process is ideal for parts that need extra protection under extreme conditions

HAZ: Refers to Heat Affected Zone; when laser welding, the process leaves a very narrow weld and heat affected zone

Heat-shrinking: A technique used to repair dents in aluminum panels

HIC: Refers to Head Injury Criteria

HSS: Refers to Hollow Structural Sections; a cold-formed welded steel tube used for welded or bolted constructions of various types of structures

Hydroforming: A metal forming process that uses water as a forming medium

IP beams: Essential structural components to modern vehicles that support the instrument panel, airbags, steering column and pedal box as well as a variety of heaters, electrical modules and other ancillary equipment

Joining: The process of fusing aluminum to other metal mediums through welding

Laser welding: The process of joining two (or more) pieces of metal together by using a laser beam leaving a very narrow weld and heat affected zone (HAZ)

Life cycle analysis: The long-term measurement and value of aluminum products and the renewable nature of aluminum

Lightweighting: The act of decreasing the weight of a vehicle by using lighter constructing materials such as aluminum components

Local heating: A heating technique that temporarily softens an aluminum part so that the damaged area can be corrected

Lowered agressivity: Less energy transferred in a vehicle crash

Machining: The broad term used to describe removal of material from a workpiece in the form of chips by covering several different processes such as; cutting, grinding, milling, drilling, tuning

MIG welding: Metal Inert Gas or as it even is called GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding) uses an aluminum alloy wire as a combined electrode and filler material. The filler metal is added continuously and welding without filler-material is therefore not possible

MSW: Refers to Municipal Solid Waste

Nodes: Points where several frame members join together

NHV: Refers to Noise, Harshness and Vibration; characteristic standards that engineers desire to be as minimum as possible, key indicators of the vehicle's performance outcome

PNGV: Refers to the Partnership for New Generation Vehicles; a combined government/industry program to investigate materials and technologies for future vehicles. The task is to triple fuel economy in cars without sacrificing performance, affordability or safety

Product forms: Includes all aluminum products that are either: rolled, extruded, cast or forged

Recyclability: The ability for a metal such as auto aluminum to be completely reused for future use

Rolled products: Aluminum products including sheet, plate and foil used to create automotive applications including heat exchangers, heat shields, bumper stock as well as closure sheet and structural sheet for complete body assemblies

Rolling: The process of passing metal between high-pressured rolls in order to reduce its cross-section

Stamping /blanking: The process of cutting up a large aluminum sheet into smaller workable pieces

UBC: Refers to Unburned Carbon

Unsprung mass: The weight that is not supported by the suspension of the car, typically includes the weight of the wheels, brakes, tires, and a percentage of the weight of the suspension itself, including control arms, anti-roll bars, shocks, and struts

Vehicle compatibility: To design vehicles that would be sufficiently compatible in body structure, bumper height, center of gravity and crush zones so that crashes between larger vehicles and smaller ones would not result in such an uneven distribution of damage and risk

VRP: Refers to Vehicle Recycling Partnership

VVA: Refers to Versatile Vehicle Architecture; a vehicle platform constructed almost entirely from aluminum subcomponents

Welding: Permanently joining metal parts. In this process, heat is applied to metal pieces, melting and fusing them to form a permanent bond

Work-hardened: The deformed section of an aluminum part before correcting

Wrought alloys: Alloys comprised of three main families of brasses: Copper-zinc alloys; copper-zinc-lead alloys (leaded brasses); and copper-zinc tin alloys (tin brasses)

Wrought products: Products such as; sheet, rod, bar, tube, plate and wire that are produced by rolling and extrusion mills as well as forging. These products start off with metal that has been cast into a form or shape that is suitable for further processing into a specific product