Alloy and process design of forging steels for better environmental performance

In material development processes, the question if a new alloy is more sustainable than existing one becomes increasingly significant. Existing studies on metals and alloys show that their composition can make difference regarding environmental impact. this case study, recently developed air hardening forging steel used to produce U-bolt as an example component in automotive engineering. The production process analyzed performance compared with standard quench tempering steels 42CrMo4 33MnCrB5–2. analysis based results from applying method of Life Cycle Assessment. First, alterations material, product, level are defined. resulting flows were quantified attributed impacts covering Carbon Footprint, Cumulative Energy Demand, Material Footprint they represent best resource-, energy- thus carbon-intensive industry. leads higher impact reference when considered. Otherwise, allows changes manufacturing process, which why additional assessment was conducted. It seen has savings it enables skipping heat treatment process. Superior characteristics enable application lightweight design principles, further increases potential savings. present work shows does not end analyzing raw only. Rather, entire product must be study also methodological questions specification for alloying elements, processes metalworking industry data availability quality