Better material selection can raise fuel efficiency by 7% : CII-CMC

Proper material selection in auto industry can increase fuel efficiency by 7%, according to Confederation of Indian Industry-Corrosion Management Committee (CII-CMC).

"Material selection is crucial in many ways. With every 10% of weight eliminated from a vehicle's total weight, fuel economy improves by 7%. Lightweight materials offer great potential for increasing vehicle efficiency," an official of CII-CMC said.

He said corrosion in automotive leads to loss of material, leading to failure and breakdowns, dimensional inaccuracy, degradation of aesthetics, deterioration of mechanical properties and increase in maintenance cost. CII-CMC was constituted in 2006.

"Corrosion is widely recognised as one of the biggest challenges faced by automotive industry, and is probably one of the single largest factor causing exterior degradation of automotive surfaces, resulting in huge warranty claims that the automotive manufacturers have to face," CII said in a release.

It observed the estimated direct cost of corrosion across the world exceeds $2.2 trillion, which is about 3-4% of the Gross Domestic Product of industrialised countries.

Corrosion accounts to a loss of about Rs 80,000 crore a year in India, of which automotive industry accounts for Rs 4,000 crore, the release said.

It is estimated 25-40% of corrosion cost could be saved by implementing proper corrosion management practices.

"Investment in preventive methods is more cost-effective than spending on repairs and maintenance later, which account for $2.5 billion and $6.5 billion respectively," said Kamachi Mudali, CII-Faraday Council of Corrosion Chairman and Associate Director of Corrosion Science and Technology Group, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam.