Audi Q7 361 - Body Materials and Composition

Body
Mat e rial s
I n addition t o the jo in ing tec h niq u es e mp l o y ed,
selection of th e cor r ect materials is vital f o r
ac hieving both cr a s h saf e ty and body rigidity .
D e pending on l o a d ing a nd weig ht, the most
suita b le materi al is deter mined f o r eac h
component.
T h e pr opor tions of the individua l materi al s used ar e
as
fo ll o w s :
– S tandard steels 36 %
– H igh-str e ngth steels 26 %
– H igher - str e ngth an d super high-strength steels
32
%
– A l u m i n i u m 6 %
T h e wing panel s , b o nne t a nd tailgate ar e made of
a l uminium, making them some 22 kilogr ammes
lighter than th e i r stee l co unterpar ts. T h e weight wa s
fur t her r e duced thr o ugh the use of various semi-
f i nished pr oducts*. With ta ilor ed r o lled b l an ks, f o r
e x ample , the wall thic kne sses c a n be adapted t o
withstand dif f ering component load ing . T h e
r e inf orcements f o r the r e ar longitudinal members
and the f l oo r cover pa nel a r e made fr om tai l or ed
r o ll ed bla n ks.
* Semi-f inished pr oducts: P r e-p r ocessed materials
f o r the manuf a ctur e of par t s and componen ts
T h e sill tube consists of a r o lled section bec a use t h e
manuf a ctu r ing t o ler a nces a r e lo wer in this c a se
than f o r an e x truded tu be , enabl i ng smal le r wal l
thic knesses. In order t o me et pedestrian pr otection
r e q u ir ements, pla s tic par t s ar e used in the ple num
c h amber / bulk head ar ea .
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