This important initiative is linked with one of the research lines of IK4-Azterlan, directly related to the hot stamping technology. Specialists from the technical centre have shared with the emergency services the main characteristics of the Ultra High Strength Steels (UHSS) increasingly used in a wide range of components from the body in white of passenger vehicles. The working session has allowed sharing advanced knowledge about these new materials which will help to define more effective and safer rescue protocols in case of car crash accidents.
Safety and weight reduction are two clear demands of the automotive sector, which has been incorporating in the new vehicle designs components that improve significantly the safety conditions of their occupants.
From the perspective of what is generically referred as chassis, there is a difference between exterior components or “skin parts” and the ones belonging to the main structure or “body in white”. While the first ones are generally made with conventional steels and small thickness, the second ones are produced with ultra high strength steels (UHSS), resulting particularly complex any rescue operations in case of car crash. Hot stamped components with a full martensitic structure exhibit ultrahigh tensile strength and hardness.
Members of different rescue teams have worked together and acquired new knowledge on this important challenge to improve their response in future extrication processes in vehicle accidents.
The commitment and corporate social responsibility of IK4-Azterlan and the Gestamp Group has facilitated this opportunity for a public-private partnership that will allow setting advanced rescue protocols, taking into consideration the characteristics of these new materials.
