Automobiles magnesium

Magnesium Properties and Applications for Automobiles, SP962, Society of Automotive Engineers, Warrendale, Pa., 1993. 

Pure magnesium metal is lighter in weight than aluminum and, thus, would make an excellent construction metal were it not for its high reactivity and flammability at a rather low temperature when compared to other metals. It is an excellent metal to alloy with other metals for use in the aircraft, space, and automobile industries. 

Aluminum is a very versatile metal with many uses in today s economy, the most common of which are in construction, in the aviation-space industries, and in the home and automobile industries. Its namral softness is overcome by alloying it with small amounts of copper or magnesium that greatly increase its strength. It is used to make cans for food and drinks, in pyrotechnics, for protective coatings, to resist corrosion, to manufacmre die-cast auto engine blocks and parts, for home cooking utensils and foil, for incendiary bombs, and for all types of alloys with other metals. 

Insulation fiberglass is glass wool used for thermal and acoustic insulation of homes, commercial buildings, industrial equipment, and automobiles. It has a sodium aluminoborosilicate-based composition, often with additional modifiers, such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium, which vary by... 

The most extensive use of magnesium castings in automobiles commenced in 1936. with the inlroduciinu of the Volkswagen Beetle. Each Beetle used from 40 to 51) pounds (18 m 2.3 kg) of primary magnesium ingot plus scrap metal. 

Recently, Sharma [299], at General Motors, proposed a low cost method for the production of Al-Mg alloys, which can be used in the automobile industry and for desulfurization of steel. The unit cell is shown in Figure 29. The cathode of liquid aluminum is at the bottom of the cell where magnesium is deposited. The electrolyte is a mixture of molten chlorides in which partly dehydrated MgCl2 is dissolved and the electrolysis temperature is 750°C. The same author also described another method to produce magnesium metal using an electrochemical cell with bipolar electrodes, shown in Figure 30. 

Magnesium is a moderately hard, silvery-white metal. It is the lightest of all structural metals. These metals are strong enough to be used in constructing buildings, bridges, automobiles, and airplanes. 

Strength and low density are important properties in the manufacture of airplanes, automobiles, metal luggage, ladders, shovels and other gardening equipment, racing bikes, skis, race cars, cameras, and power tools. A typical magnesium alloy contains about 90 percent magnesium, 2 to 9 percent aluminum, and small amounts of zinc and manganese. 

Magnesium occurs widely in carbonate ores, but most Mg comes from salt brines and from the sea (Figure 22-5). Sea water is 0.13% Mg by mass. Because of its low density (1.74 g/cm ), Mg is used in lightweight structural alloys for such items as automobile and aircraft parts. 

Magnesium, which was virtually unused in automobiles in the 1970s, now makes up 0.2 percent of the typical family car. 

Magnesium is another material that has increased in use. One large application for magnesium in automobiles has been the instrument panel for GM s full-sized car and full-sized van that consists of a one-piece die casting that provides the entire structure of the front dashboard. 

Corrosion control technology is a mainstay of automobile coatings as well as household appliances for example, the lifetime of water heaters is extended and often governed by the presence of a magnesium sacrificial anode that represents a small fraction of the appliance price. 

Worldwide magnesium production is more than 800,000 tons (725,748 metric tons) annually. As demand for lightweight automobile components grows to increase fuel efficiency, demand for magnesium should continue to increase. 

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