Eureka! Institutional Repository

In the following thesis with the title „‟Aluminium as construction material in vehicles‟‟ is going to be presented the use of aluminium as a material for the construction of passenger vehicle bodyworks where it is used as an alternative solution of steel with main purpose the reduction of their mass. In the first chapter are mentioned historical data about the use of aluminium in the earlier vehicles as well as the development which followed in its use in vehicles construction while is analyzed the process by which aluminium is produced as well as its properties. In the second chapter are analyzed the alloys groups, the process by which they are produced and formed, their properties, the benefits which they provide in vehicle‟s construction as well as the vehicle‟s bodywork components in which their use is recommended in order to get the best possible result. In the third chapter are explained the various configurations of modern bodyworks and are analyzed the groups of bodyworks which exist in modern automotive industry. There also analyzed the differences in structure and its configuration in order to get equal or better strength and stiffness than the solution with use of steel. Finally, in the fourth chapter are introduced the various methods of joining the vehicle‟s bodywork parts such as adhesive bonding, arc welding but also with the help of rivets, showing their advantages and disadvantages in terms of strength of bodywork during its loading as well as the benefits in its mass reduction.