Hyundai Steel to supply premium product for cars
Hyundai Steel has succeeded in the mass production of the world’s first 1.8 Gigapascal (GPa) premium hot stamping steel. The company announced on Feb. 10 that it has developed the up-to-date steel product in association with the Hyundai Kia Namyang R&D Center.![Hyundai Steel manufactures car parts with high-strength hot stamping steels [HYUNDAI STEEL]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2022/03/02/071b32ab-f1b8-4880-b7cd-fdf627b275f3.jpg)
Hyundai Steel manufactures car parts with high-strength hot stamping steels [HYUNDAI STEEL]
The new 1.8 GPa Ultra High Strength Steel has the advantage of not only lessening vehicles’ weight but also securing passenger safety in the case of a collision. Compared to the existing 1.5 GPa hot stamping steel, the upgraded version has improved its tensile strength by 20 percent while reducing about 10 percent of the weight of parts manufactured with it.
An ordinary hot stamping process heats steel sheets in a furnace to a high temperature of over 900 degrees Celsius, puts them in a mold and produces parts by rapid cooling. Hyundai Steel and Hyundai Kia Namyang R&D Center left behind the existing method by developing a specialized steelmaking method that lowered the temperature of a heating furnace by more than 50 degrees Celsius.
Moreover, the method prevents internal cracks by avoiding hydrogen from penetrating the steel plate. Through this method, it became possible to produce corrosion-resistant steel sheets with stronger weldability.
The energy consumption of the production process is also reduced by lowering the temperature. Thus, the company established quality assurance of steel sheets along with a green production system.
In addition, Hyundai Steel has installed 22 hot stamping lines in Yesan, South Chungcheong Province, and two lines in Ulsan to supply the eco-friendly automobile material market. Both factories can manufacture up to 58 million sheets per year. Its production scale was ranked No.1 in Korea and third in the world. Since the company keeps its eye on the international market, additional investments to strengthen international competitiveness are ongoing.
As the core task of green cars is to become lighter, Hyundai Kia Motors is gradually increasing the application rate of hot stamping parts to achieve this goal. For instance, hot stamping steel was applied to some 15 percent of engine cars, but the application rate has been raised to 20 percent for electric vehicles (EVs).
Hyundai Steel moved ahead in developing materials for lightweighting with Hyundai Kia Namyang R&D Center. TWB hot stamping 1 GPa material for automotive bodies used for center pillars is the representative product developed by both companies.
“Light-weighting and development and application of high strength steels that secure passenger’s safety is the core of future eco-friendly cars,” an official at Hyundai Steel research institute said, adding “we will continue to expand the development and application of parts using hot stamping to become the world’s best eco-friendly car material company.”
BY HAJIN KIM (kim.hajin@joongang.co.kr)
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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