A Model For Working With Manufacturers –

NIST Center for Automotive Lightweighting

Tim Foecke, Director
The US Automotive Industry

• Is a HUGE part of the GDP, and improving CAFE has multi-benefits

• Is primarly driven by cost, but also by government regulation

• Crashworthiness, Roll-over, CAFE

From the newly-released White House report.
US Auto industry has identified lightweighting as a primary way to meet goals . . .

Lightweighting metrics:

• Save 26M gallons of fuel, per pound off each car, over fleet lifetime

• 10% weight savings 6-7% increase in fuel economy

54.5 avg Weight

• CAFE standards flat for

25 years, despite rising

fuel costs

• Average vehicle weight

in 2009 EQUALS 1975

• Several factors:

• SUVs and pickups

• Accessories

• Performance

3750 lbs

2520 lbs

3800 lbs

The US Automotive Industry

Gas prices: $4.20 to $1.60 to $4.40 (2010 $)
2010 Audi A8

Sheet metal means more than fenders and hoods . . .
• Is highly reliant on empiricism and experience: “An Industry of Empiricism”

• There is “a guy” who knows how to fix various problems

• There is “a guy” who guides trial-and-error developments

• Design tools trained on data from existing materials, fail with new ones

• Limited ability to capture what “the guy” knows, and if s/he leaves . . .

• Is risk-averse regarding new materials, but wants to incorporate

• Knows that lightweight multi-material vehicles will be the norm

• Uses design paradigms that do not facilitate adoption of new materials

• Empirically-trained models with many assumptions

• Strain-based simulations (non-state) vs. stress-based (state)

• Is mostly aware of what it needs to know, but needs help developing it

The US Automotive Industry

(this includes the materials and Tier-1 industries to various extents . . . )
Our Boundary Conditions

• Want a “NIST-y” role

• Measurements, Data, Standards, Helping Industry

• Broad-based Impact on the Industry

• Don’t “Pick Winners and Losers”

• Timely and Appropriate Impacts

• They need both long-term and short-term help
Purpose: Developing the next-generation test methods, 

standards and metrology to assist the US auto industry 

with introducing lightweight materials into vehicles.
NCAL Timeline

1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013

ATP 2mm

project

ATP Springback

Predictability 

Project

Marciniak

machine

begun

ILO 

industry

survey

First ever

data on 

yield surface

evolution

Xray

Stress

Meas.

WTC Investigation

Dir. Jeffrey

hires

Mark Iadicola

Springback

Compensation

Project (Industry)

NCAL 

founded

Auto/Steel

Partnership

Strain Path

Project (DOE)

Auto/Steel

Partnership

Strain Path

Project

(Industry)

ARRAFunded

New 

Equipment

NCAL

Workshop

US Auto Industry

Experiences

“Difficulties”

GM

MGI

Project

Dr. May

$300K

ASTM2462

Bldg

231

Effort

Level
NUMISHEET Conferences

• Where the worldwide automotive industry shows their wares every 3 years

• Presentations + Benchmark Competitions (benchmarks studied for years)

• NUMISHEET 2002 (Korea)

• Contributed talks

• NUMISHEET 2005 (Detroit)

• Invited talk, Stress measurements for BM3

• NUMISHEET 2008 (Zurich)

• Invited talk, Stress measurements for EBM3

• NUMISHEET 2011 (Je-Ju Island, Korea)

• Technical Co-Chair, Invited talks

• NUMISHEET 2014 (Melbourne, Australia)

• Technical Co-Chair, Symposium Organizer, Invited 

talk, Benchmark data

• We are asked to participate more all the time . . . 
NCAL Workshop

Participants: 

• Automotive - Ford, GM, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda

• Steel Companies – Arcelor Mittal, Nucor, USS, Severstal,

Thyssen-Krupp

• Aluminum Companies – ALCOA, Novelis

• Polymer Companies – DuPont, Dow, SABIC, PPG, BASF

• Academics – NWU, CMU, Wayne State, Colo. School of Mines, 

UCF, Ga Tech, OSU, MSU, Mich Tech, UNH

• Other government: DOE, OSTP, ONR, Army, NSF, ORNL

May 23-24, 2013

Purposes:

• Assessment of current activities and new facilities of NCAL

• If we expand, what are the prioritized list of needs?

• Consortium discussion

Industry-Authored Report on Industry Needs Out Mid-Summer
Results:

• NCAL staff are essential partners, national resource

• NIST is go-to organization for measurements and data

• If NCAL is expanded, the priorities are:

• Polymer composites – constitutive laws, failure, high rate, fiber meas.

• Multipath multiaxial stress-strain data – (in progress)

• New constitutive laws – (new staff Oct. 1)

• Digital Image Correlation (DIC) standards and best practices

• Retained Austenite and Residual Stress measurement – (in progress)

• Friction – (BIG nut to crack)

• Bulge Testing, Hole Expansion, . . . (direct simulative tests)

• Lightweighting Consortium

• “Great Idea”, “The sooner the better” (GM), 

“Does it have to be a check or can it be a P.O.?” (Ford)

• HOW?

NCAL Workshop

May 23-24, 2013
Timely Convergence

2010: Auto Industry

Recovery

2012: New CAFE

Regulations

2009: President’s 

Thrust Areas:

Manufacturing, 

Adv. Materials

2013: NCAL 

ARRA Tools

2013: NNMIs on

Lightweight Metals

and 

Digital Manufacturing

2011: Materials

Genome 

Initiative

Real Impact

Opportunity
Working With Industry – Lessons Learned

• Bring patience and fresh eyes

• Consortia + Individual Interactions

• Be clear and consistent in the NIST role

• Management support essential (impact meas.)

• Find “open space” and welcome others there

Thanks, and Questions?