Mazda is now the first carmaker to build vehicle components using 1,800 MPa ultra-high tensile steel, with the super-strenght steel set to make its debut in the Mazda CX-5 crossover, which will arrive on the market next year.
The 1,800 megapascal ultra-high tensile steel is used to build bumper beans, located inside the front and rear bumpers, with the aim of reducing damage in the event of a crash. The new bumper bars are 20 percent stringer and 4.8 kg lighter than the previous versions, being a part of Mazda’s next-generation vehicle architecture, which aims to be both lightweight and highly rigid.
“Reducing the weight of bumper beams is particularly important because, as they are incorporated into the body structure at the farthest point from the vehicle's centre of gravity, outside of the wheelbase and adding to the polar moment of inertia, their weight has a considerable effect on dynamic performance and responsiveness,” a company statement explains
“However, stronger materials are less pliant (more rigid) and therefore absorb less energy in a collision. To overcome this, Mazda conducted extensive research into how bumper beams deform in a crash, and created a new design that absorbs energy more efficiently.”
“Reducing the weight of bumper beams is particularly important because, as they are incorporated into the body structure at the farthest point from the vehicle's centre of gravity, outside of the wheelbase and adding to the polar moment of inertia, their weight has a considerable effect on dynamic performance and responsiveness,” a company statement explains
“However, stronger materials are less pliant (more rigid) and therefore absorb less energy in a collision. To overcome this, Mazda conducted extensive research into how bumper beams deform in a crash, and created a new design that absorbs energy more efficiently.”