Towards Affordable, Closed-Loop Recyclable Future Low Carbon Vehicle Structures - TARF-LCV

Completed

Energy Efficiency(Transport)
Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Environmental, social and economic impacts)

Basic and strategic applied research

PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Chemistry)
PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Metallurgy and Materials)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Professor Z Fan
Ctr for Advanced Solidification Tech
Brunel University

Standard

EPSRC

01 December 2011

31 May 2016

54 months

£4,221,482

Mechanical engineering

London

Manufacturing : Manufacturing

Professor Z Fan, Ctr for Advanced Solidification Tech, Brunel University

Dr DS Balint, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London
Professor M Blundell, Engineering and Computing, Coventry University
Dr JP Dear, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London
Mr M Dickison, Engineering and Computing, Coventry University
Professor A Hutchinson, Faculty of Tech, Design and Environment, Oxford Brookes University
Dr M Johnson, Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nottingham
Professor J Lin, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London
Dr JD Robson, Materials, University of Manchester
Dr L Savage, Engineering Computer Science and Maths, University of Exeter
Professor GM Scamans, Ctr for Advanced Solidification Tech, Brunel University
Dr I Stone, Ctr for Advanced Solidification Tech, Brunel University
Professor JL Thomason, Mechanical Engineering, University of Strathclyde
Professor GE Thompson, Materials, University of Manchester
Professor NA Warrior, Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nottingham
Dr PH Winfield, Faculty of Tech, Design and Environment, Oxford Brookes University
Dr X Zhou, Materials, University of Manchester

Project Contact, Aston Martin Lagonda (Gaydon)
Project Contact, SAIC Motor UK Technical Centre Ltd
Project Contact, Bentley Motors Ltd
Project Contact, Ricardo AEA Limited
Project Contact, Lotus Engineering

The UK automotive industry is a large and critical sector within the UK economy. It accounts for 820,000 jobs, exports finished goods worth 8.9bn annually and adds value of 10bn to the UK economy each year. However, the UK automotive industry is currently facing great challenges, such as responsibility for a 19% and growing share of UK annual CO2 emissions, strong international competition, declining employment and hollowing-out of the domestic supply chain, and enormous pressure from regulatory bodies for decarbonisation. A solution to these challenges comes from the development and manufacture of low carbon vehicles (LCVs), as identified by the UK government. Vehicle lightweighting is the most effective way to improve fuel economy and to reduce CO2 emissions. This has been demonstrated by many vehicle mass reduction programmes worldwide. Historically vehicle mass reduction has been achieved incrementally by reducing the mass of specific vehicle parts piece-by-piece, with little consideration of the carbon footprint of input materials and closed-loop recycling of end of life vehicles (ELVs). Our vision is that the future low carbon vehicle is achieved by a combination of multi-material concepts with mass-optimised design approaches through the deployment of advanced low carbon input materials, efficient low carbon manufacturing processes and closed-loop recycling of ELVs. To achieve this vision, we have gathered the best UK academic brainpower for vehicle lightweighting and formed the TARF-LCV consortium, whose members include 8 research teams involving 18 academics from Brunel, Coventry, Exeter, Imperial, Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford Brookes and Strathclyde. TARF-LCV aims to deliver fundamental solutions to the key challenges faced by future development of LCVs in the strategic areas of advanced materials, enabling manufacturing technologies, holistic vehicle design and closed-loop recycling of ELVs. We have developed a coherent research programme organised 6 work packages. We will develop closed-loop recyclable aluminium (Al) and magnesium (Mg) alloys, metal matrix composites (MMCs) and recyclable polymer matrix composites (PMCs) for body structure and powertrain applications; we will develop advanced low carbon manufacturing technologies for casting, forming and effective vehicle assembly and disassembly; and we will develop mass-optimised design principles and specific life cycle analysis (LCA) methodology for future LCV development. To deliver the 4-year TARF-LCV programme, in addition to the EPSRC funding requested, we have leveraged financial support for 2 post-doctoral research fellows from the EPSRC Centre-LiME at Brunel University and LATEST2 at Manchester University, and for 9 PhD studentships from partner universities. Consequently, the TARF-LCV research team will include 18 academics, 11 post-doctoral research fellows and 18 research students. This not only ensures a successful delivery of the TARF-LCV research programme,but also provides a training ground for the future leaders of low carbon vehicle development in the UK

30/01/12