Design, Development and Material Choice in Automotive Technology; Lectures Design Systems

Dear Colleagues,

In the last years the progressive climate change and an enormous degradation of flora and fauna became obvious. It is inevitable that the design, production, operation and recycling of all technical systems consider the limitation of the available resources. It is of paramount importance to assure adequate living conditions for future generations; it is crucial to include sustainability consideration in all decisions in the life cycle of these technical systems. Automobiles play an enormous role in the daily life of many humans; they enable individual mobility needed for commuting, social interaction and leisure. The potential for sustainability in the life cycle of cars is enormous, ranging from less toxic raw material production, reduced energy demand of manufacturing and assembly operations, lower emissions in operation to higher reuse rates in recycling. One of the main current trends in automotive industry is the transition to electrical vehicles. This can lead to improvements in terms of sustainability, especially if renewable electrical energy sources are used. However, the inclusion of batteries and the challenges concerning vehicle weight can lead to serious problems in term of sustainability. Lightweight materials such as Aluminum or Carbon Reinforced Plastics can lead to a reduced energy consumption during the operation of the vehicle, but may lead to additional energy consumption during production and recycling or to the emission of substances which may be toxic or may contribute to the climate change. The most important decisions concerning the material and process choice for batteries and other components of a vehicle are already made in the design phase of the car. One of the main challenges for the design engineers is the well-founded evaluation of the consequences of the design choices already in this early stage, Consequently, a wide and deep knowledge base of the consequences of certain design choices such as material or manufacturing process selection is highly desirable. Several research activities and even commercial tools aim at supporting this phase such as systems for a prognosis of the energy efficiency in production or material databases which allow detailed analyses of the application consequences. Still, much more research activities are desirable due to the enormous potential of further improvements and the urgency of increasing the sustainability in the automotive sector.

Addressing this prominent need, Sustainability will release a Special Issue dedicated to these issues. As Guest Editor, I am pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue. My hope is that this Special Issue will contribute to expanding and deepening the knowledge base for automotive engineers in industrial practice but also for further research. The thematic scope of this Special Issue includes, among others, the following aspects of the automotive life cycle: improved technologies and innovations for raw material production, improved technologies and innovations for manufacturing and assembly processes, improved technologies and innovations for the operation of cars and improved technologies and innovations for recycling. Also welcome are articles which discuss strategies and methods for the assessment of the consequences of certain design choices in all phases of the life-cycle as well as computer tools which support these strategies and methods. Additionally, engineering frameworks which enable the integration of analyses and simulations concerning the sustainability of cars would complement this Special Issue. Finally, papers describing internal and external policies and the implementation of sustainable practices in the car industry and the sector of individual mobility would also be appreciated; this includes also future mobility concepts which aim at satisfying the individual mobility needs while leading to an increased sustainability.

Prof. Dr. Ralf Stetter
Guest Editor

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