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ASSIGNMENT DETAILS
Unit Code MEE 30001 Unit Title
Material & Manufacturing 2
Tutorial/Lab Group Lecturer/Tutor Name
Friday 8:30 - 10:30am Dr. Muhammad Rafiq Mirza Bin Julaihi
Assignment Title
Sustainability Assignment - Chassis
Due date Date Received
10/05/19 10/05/19
DECLARATION
To be completed if this is an individual assignment
I declare that this assignment is my individual work. I have not worked collaboratively, nor have I copied from any other student’s work or from any
other source/s, except where due acknowledgment is made explicitly in the text, nor has any part been written for me by another person.

Student Details Student ID Number Student Name Student Signature

Student 1
To be completed if this is a group assignment
We declare that this is a group assignment and that no part of this submission has been copied from any other student's work or from any other
source except where due acknowledgment is made explicitly in the text, nor has any part been written for us by another person.

Student Details Student ID Number(s) Student Name(s) Student Signature (s)

Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
Student 4
Student 5

MARKER’S COMMENTS

Total Mark Marker’s Signature Date

EXTENSION CERTIFICATE
This assignment has been given an extension by
Unit Convenor
Extended due Date Received
date

Version 3, 29 March 2016. Owner: The Academic Board, Sarawak.

This cover sheet is a live document available on the Swinburne Sarawak intranet; a print copy may not be the latest version
 MEE 30001

Material & Manufacturing 2

Sustainability Assignment
(Chassis)

NAME & STUDENT ID:

 Table of Content
Content Page No.
1.0 Introduction 1
2.0 Objective 1
3.0 Product Description 2
3.1 Product Specification 3-5
3.2 Material Selection 5-6
3.3 Manufacturing Process 6-7
4.0 Life Cycle Assessment Results (LCA) 8-9
5.0 Discussion 9-15
6.0 Key Strategies and Consideration Given to Reduce Impacts 15-16
7.0 Conclusion 17
8.0 References 18

List of Figure
Description Page No.
Figure 1: Structure of monocoque chassis 2
Figure 2: Steel Chassis (Design 1 – Solidworks Drawing) 3
Figure 3: Aluminum Chassis (Design 2 – Solidworks Drawing) 4
Figure 4: Press blanking machine 6
Figure 5: Chassis positioning sensor 7
Figure 6: Robot welding and assembly 7
Figure 7: Acidic deposition 13
Figure 8: Formation of water eutrophication 18
 List of Graph
Description Page No.
Graph 1: Comparison of Carbon Footprint between Aluminum
9
Chassis and Steel Chassis
Graph 2: Comparison of Total Energy Consumed between
11
Aluminum Chassis and Steel Chassis
Graph 3: Comparison of Air Acidification between Aluminum
12
Chassis and Steel Chassis
Graph 4: Comparison of Water Eutrophication between
14
Aluminum Chassis and Steel Chassis

List of Table
Description Page No.
Table 1: Specifications of Design 1 3
Table 2: Specifications of Design 2 4
Table 3: Contrast and comparison of environmental impact
8
between Design 1 and 2
Table 4: Summary of Design 1(Steel Chassis) and Design
17
2(Aluminum Chassis)
MEE30001 SUSTAINABILITY ASSIGNMENT

1.0 Introduction

The aim of this report is to study the environmental impacts between different modes of
transportation or individual part of transportation and to help minimize or reduced the
environmental impact through material sustainability by performing a life cycle assessment (LCA)
on the selected transportation. The individual part of transportation that will be analyzed to perform
a life cycle assessment in this assignment is a car chassis. This report will be focusing on the
different type of material used for the chassis.

2.0 Objective

The objective of this report is achieved by:

• Performing a life cycle assessment (LCA) of a chassis with two different types of material
for the chassis frame.
• Performing a life cycle assessment (LCA) for the chassis by using SolidWorks.
• Comparing the environmental impacts with the LCA outputs by paying primary attention
to the carbon footprint and energy consumptions.
• Assessing the environmental impacts of the chassis throughout its life cycle for improved
environmental conservation and resource utilization.

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3.0 Product Description

Figure 1: Structure of monocoque chassis

Chassis or frame of the car is the main support of the car structure. Every vehicle, no matter if its
two-wheeler, four-wheeler or maybe a truck needs chassis or frame for its support. The function
of chassis includes: -

• Absorbs the force coming from the mass of the car body
• Provides meaningful space for various internal and external parts of the car
• Supports the main heavy components of the car which includes transmission, engine, fuel
tank etc
• Absorbs pressure coming from external bad environment coming towards the car
• Absorbs stresses produced from acceleration and braking system of the car

Chassis basically faces four types of loading, these loading are Symmetric bending loading
(Vertical), Asymmetric vertical loading (Longitudinal torsion), Horizontal and Lateral bending.
Keeping all these loading in mind, special materials are selected to develop chassis in order to
withstand tougher conditions. The type of chassis made in this report for both designs is
monocoque type and the materials used to develop are Steel and Aluminum alloy.

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3.1 Product Specifications

Design 1

Cast Alloy Steel

Frame

Tyre

Figure 2: Steel Chassis (Design 1 – Solidworks Drawing)

Criteria Specifications
Material Cast alloy steel
Weight 286000g
Surface Area 8706.90 cm2
Manufacturing Region Malaysia (Shah Alam)
Use Region Malaysia (Kuching)
Duration of Use 10 years
Distance of Transportation 993km
Table 1: Specifications of Design 1

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Design 2

Tyre

1060 Aluminum
Alloy

Figure 3: Aluminum Chassis (Design 2 – Solidworks Drawing)

Criteria Specifications
Material 1060 Aluminum alloy
Weight 114000g
Surface Area 8706.90 cm2
Manufacturing Region Malaysia (Shah Alam)
Use Region Malaysia (Kuching)
Duration of Use 10 years
Distance of Transportation 993km
Table 2: Specifications of Design 2

3.2 Material Selection

The material selected for the car chassis in our report are cast steel alloy and 1060 aluminum alloy.
Cast steel alloy usually contains carbon, manganese, nickel, chromium, molybdenum, vanadium,
silicon, and boron. For 1060 aluminum alloy, the composition are aluminum, copper, iron,

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manganese, magnesium, silicon, titanium, vanadium and zinc. Both materials will be discussed in
the following in term of cost, weight, safety consideration, and mechanical and physical properties.

A. Cost

Cost and price are always the primary consideration that we need to take into account when
developing a product. According to Engineering.com (2008), the price of steel and aluminum is
frequently fluctuating due to the global demand and supply, fuel costs and the price and availability
of raw materials such as iron and boron. Therefore, the price of a finished chassis is generally
depending on the cost of raw materials. Nonetheless, the steel is still always cheaper than
aluminum. In Malaysia, the price for cast alloy steel is RM 2.60 per dmtu while for aluminum is
RM 9.16 per dmtu (Index Mundi 2018).

B. Weight

Weight is one of the important considerations that need to be considered when making the chassis
as the weight of a chassis takes around 30% of the overall vehicle weight. The steel is much harder
than aluminum in term of the strength of material. Steel is strong and less likely to distort under
force while the aluminum is always got dent and scratch easily. Although the steel is stronger, but
it is 2.5 times denser than aluminum.

C. Safety Consideration

Regardless the cost and weight of material, car safety considerations are the most important criteria
in the material selection process. Sometimes, the occurrence of car accidents not only caused by
driver itself but also caused by the vehicle. In term of material, aluminum chassis are safer than
the chassis that made of steel. Aluminum chassis has better energy absorption and thus provide
more protection upon impact.

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D. Mechanical and Physical Properties

In term of strength and malleability of material, aluminum is more malleable and elastic compared
to steel. Aluminum can be easily formed into different shapes without cracking while steel cannot
because of its high hardness properties. In the other hand, aluminum always takes advantages in
the aspect corrosion resistance properties. Further treatment like painting or coating are needed for
steel to prevent from corrosion. However, further treatment for corrosion resistance is unnecessary
for steel.

3.3 Manufacturing Process

Stage 1: Machining Process

In the first stage, few operations such as folding, rolling, pressing, press blanking and bending are
done to incorporate various chassis members. One of the most important process in the chassis
production is press blanking process. In press blanking process, a metal workpiece is removed
from the primary metal sheet by using the punch. The quality and clearance can be controlled by
using press blanking method. The greater the overall precision in terms of fit, the less welding
process is needed. Therefore, the occurrence of corrosion is reduced.

Figure 4: Press blanking machine

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Stage 2: Positioning Process

In this process, positioning sensor are used to check the alignment of the metal cut. In automotive
manufacturing, precision is one of the basic requirement which must be achieved. Therefore, this
positioning sensor is used to maximize the accuracy of the chassis.

Figure 5: Chassis positioning sensor

Stage 3: Welding and Assembly

In the last stages, parts of metals are then welded together by using robots. Robots not only welds
but also assembles chassis into the main components of car. The quality and accuracy can be
maintained by using robot assembly instead of assemble manually.

Figure 6: Robot welding and assembly

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4.0 Life Cycle Assessment Results (LCA)

The table below shown the result of life cycle assessment for chassis Design 1 and 2 which perform
by using solidworks. The purpose of perform life cycle analysis on a product is to assess the
possible environmental impact in every stages of a product’s life cycle in order to reduce the
environmental impacts and to fulfil the requirement of sustainable product. The details of life
assessment result will be further discussed in the ‘4.0 Discussion’ part.

Design Design 1 Design 2

Chassis – Cast Steel Alloy Chassis – 1060 Aluminum Alloy

Material used
Tyres – Natural Rubber Tyres – Natural Rubber
Carbon
62 kg CO2e 86 kg CO2e
Footprint
Total Energy
720 MJ 1100 MJ
Consumed
Air
0.372 kg SO2e 0.573 kg SO2e
Acidification
Water
0.048 kg PO4e 0.019 kg PO4e
Eutrophication
Weight 286000g 114000g
Recyclable
18% 33%
Content
Table 3: Contrast and comparison of environmental impact between Design 1 and 2

According to the Table 3, cast steel alloy chassis has lower carbon footprint compared to the
chassis made of 1060 aluminum alloy. The difference of carbon footprint between two design is
24 Kg CO2e. The total energy consumed to make steel chassis is 720 MJ, while on the other hand

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for aluminum chassis the energy consumed is 1100 MJ. The drastic weight difference between two
chassis is the main reason for huge energy differences. Furthermore, the aluminum chassis weighs
114000g while steel chassis weighs 286000g which is the double weight of aluminum chassis.
Energy consumed and carbon footprint will fluctuate or change heavily depending on
transportation type and distance.

5.0 Discussion

A. Carbon Footprint

Comparison of Carbon Footprint between Aluminum

90 Chassis and Steel Chassis
81
80

70
Carbon Footprint (kg CO2e)

60

50

40 36

30

20
13 13
10
3
0.744 0.503 1
0
Material Manufacturing Transportation End of Life
Aluminum Chassis Steel Chassis

Graph 1: Comparison of Carbon Footprint between Aluminum Chassis and Steel Chassis in
different aspect

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According to Clark (2010), carbon footprint is defined as the overall amounts of greenhouse gases
produced straight forwardly and in a roundabout way bolster support human activities and it is
always stated in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).

From Graph 1, the most noticeable negative impacts of high carbon footprint towards the
environment is in the material aspect. Aluminum chassis has a higher carbon footprint compared
to steel chassis. This is mainly due to the extraction process of the raw materials. The extraction
process of the raw material involves various processing routes that’s required energy in the form
of coal, natural gas and hydroelectricity. Alumina refining process is the most energy exhaustive
process in the raw material production. It is around 10 times more energy intensive than the steel
making process. On the other hand, Basic oxygen steelmaking (BOS) method is used for the steel
production process. In Basic oxygen steelmaking (BOS) process, recycled scrap steel are used to
convert into molten steel. Hence, the use of recycled scrap increases the sustainability of steel
metal.

The impacts of high carbon footprint to the environment is none other than global warming. Global
warming brings various effects to our environment such as severe weather, dirty air, increase of
wildlife extinction rates, acidic oceans and higher sea levels. However, all this problem can be
eliminated by reducing the emission of carbon footprint.

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B. Total Energy Consumed

Comparison of Total Energy Consumed between

1200 Aluminum Chassis and Steel Chassis
1000
1000
Total Energy Consumed (MJ)

800

600
450

400

200 130 140

43
11 6.3 1.3
0
Material Manufacturing Transportation End of Life
Aluminum Chassis Steel Chassis

Graph 2: Comparison of Total Energy Consumed between Aluminum Chassis and Steel Chassis
in different aspect

From Graph 2, we can observe that aluminum chassis has a significantly higher total energy
consumed as compared to steel chassis. The total energy consumed is highly related to the carbon
footprint. Therefore, the more the energy consumed, the higher the carbon footprint. As mentioned
in the carbon footprint section, the main source of total energy consumed is come from the process
of raw material extraction. Generally, the total energy consumed also depends on the weight of
chassis. More energy is needed for a denser vehicle to get moving compared to a vehicle in lighter
weight. According to Scientific American (2012), reducing a vehicle’s weight by 10% can improve
the fuel economy by 6% to 8%.

The most common impacts of high energy consumption to our environment is air pollution.
According to Acciona (2016), air pollution causes around seven million deaths a year worldwide.
Air pollution has been a serious threat to human health. Air pollution is the main causes of lung

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cancer, heart disease and stroke. Hence, as a responsible citizen, we must reduce the energy
consumption to save the next generation.

C. Air Acidification

Comparison Air Acidification between Aluminum

0.6
Chassis and Steel Chassis
0.548

0.5
Air Acidification(kg SO2e)

0.4

0.3

0.2 0.181

0.109
0.1 0.066
0.02 0.016
3.40E-03 1.10E-03
0
Material Manufacturing Transportation End of Life
Aluminum Chassis Steel Chassis

Graph 3: Comparison of Air Acidification between Aluminum Chassis and Steel Chassis in
different aspect

Air acidification refers to the increase in acidity of rainwater which effects from acidifies lakes
and soil. Based on Graph 3, the air acidification of aluminum chassis is much higher than steel
chassis in the term of material. This is due to the chemical reaction of reversibly exchangeable
base cations that contain in aluminum. Hence, this chemical reaction leads to the delay and
diminishes of acidification and delay recovery. Besides that, the emission of Sulphur dioxide
during the burning of coal and fuel in the manufacturing process is also one of the dominant cause.

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Figure 7: Acidic deposition

The impacts of air acidification to our environment can be categorized into two different types.
There are ocean acidification and soil acidification. Ocean acidification has destroyed the marine
life in the sea. Besides that, the increased of acidity in soil has caused the soil depletion and also
damaged the forest. The increased of pH value in the soil results in the reduced of soil fertility.

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D. Water Eutrophication

Comparison of Water Eutrophication between

Aluminum Chassis and Steel Chassis
0.035
0.031
0.03
Water Eutrophication (kg PO4e)

0.025

0.02
0.017

0.015

0.01 8.70E-03
7.00E-03

0.005
7.40E-04 1.50E-03
7.60E-04 2.00E-04
0
Material Manufacturing Transportation End of Life
Aluminum Chassis Steel Chassis

Graph 4: Comparison of Water Eutrophication between Aluminum Chassis and Steel Chassis in
different aspect

Water eutrophication can be defined when the environment becomes enriched with nutrient
(Chislock 2013). The water eutrophication of steel chassis is higher than aluminum chassis in all
the aspects. The phosphorous elements that contain in steel not only caused corrosion of the metals
but also causing eutrophication in water. Generally, the main impacts of water eutrophication to
our environment is that it breaks out the intrinsic equilibrium of the aquatic ecosystem and cause
the death to them. Meanwhile, water eutrophication also affects the quality of drinking water. The
algae growth on the water surface as shown in Figure 7 contains a type of toxin that is harmful to
human body.

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Figure 8: Formation of water eutrophication

6.0 Key Strategies and Consideration Given to Reduce Impacts

A. Use renewable energy

The impacts of carbon footprint and total energy consumption are mainly from the burning of
fossil fuels in manufacturing process and also the extraction process of raw material. Therefore,
machineries in the factory could use cleaner electricity to maintain its operations. Conversely,
electricity generated from renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, hydropower,
geothermal and waves is cleaner with less carbon footprint. Thus, the carbon footprint emits from
the manufacturing process can be lessen.

B. Use recycling scrap metal

In order to reduce the environmental impacts, recycling scrap metal can be used instead of
extracting raw metals. Extracting of raw metals involved various processes such as extracting,
processing and refining. All this process consumed significant amount of energy and results in air
pollution. By using the recycling scrap metal, fewer resources will be used for manufacturing the

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products as the is already refined and processed. Meanwhile, the problems of accumulation of
landfills can be eliminated too as the metals usually takes a long time to break down naturally.

C. Reduce the weight of chassis

Reduce of chassis’ weight can reduce the overall vehicle weight as the chassis takes around 30%
of the overall vehicle weight. Reduce of vehicle weight means by the reduce of fuel consumption
as less energy is needed for the vehicle to move. The weight of chassis can be reduced by changing
the design of chassis. A lightweight vehicle can be built by implemented aerodynamics design
concept. Moreover, if cost of raw material is not the main concern, others material such as carbon
fiber epoxy composite and glass-fiber composites can be used in order to reduce the weight of
chassis. Reduce the weight of vehicles not only results in energy efficient but also enhance the
overall performance.

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7.0 Conclusion

Design Design 1 Design 2

Material used Chassis – Cast Steel Alloy Chassis – 1060 Aluminum Alloy
Material Cost 
Carbon

Footprint
Total Energy

Consumed
Air

Acidification
Water

Eutrophication
Weight 
Recyclable

Content
Table 4: Summary of Design 1(Steel Chassis) and Design 2(Aluminum Chassis)

As a conclusion, there are upsides and downsides for both Design 1 (Steel Chassis) and Design 2
(Aluminum Chassis). As the environmental impacts is the main concern in this assignment, Design
1 is the most ideal material to use in the manufacturing of car chassis. This has been proved by the
result of life cycle assessment (LCA) and summarize in the table above. Based on the table above,
cast steel alloy produced less carbon footprint, less air acidification and consumed less energy as
compared to aluminum chassis. In contrast, Design 1 (Steel Chassis) is more sustainable than
Design 2 (Aluminum Chassis).

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8.0 References

CarBikeTech 2019, What is a Chassis and what are its types?, CarBikeTech.com, viewed 29
April 2019, < https://carbiketech.com/chassis/>.

Chislock, M 2013, Eutrophication: Causes, Consequences, and Controls in Aquatic Ecosystems,

Knowledge Project, viewed 24 April,
<https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/eutrophication-causes-consequences-and-
controls-in-aquatic-102364466>.

Duncan, C 2010, What is a carbon footprint?, The Guardian, viewed 25 April,

<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2010/jun/04/carbon-footprint-definition >.

Ecomelt 2019, 3 Benefits of using lightweight materials when building automobiles,

Ecomelt.com, viewed 2 May 2019, <https://eccomelt.com/3-benefits-of-lightweight-materials-in-
automotive-applications/>.

Energy needed to produce aluminum 2012,Today in Energy, viewed 27

April,<https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=7570 >.

Garden, H., Hood, U. and Manufacturing, A. 2019, How Automotive Metal Cutting Works,
HowStuffWorks, viewed 29 April 2019, <https://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/auto-
manufacturing/automotive-metal-cutting1.htm> .

Hornbacher, A n.d. ‘Steel versus Aluminum

Weight, Strength, Cost, Malleability Comparison’ wenzel metal spinning viewed 25 April,
<https://www.wenzelmetalspinning.com/steel-vs-aluminum.html>.

Isaac, M 2018, The battle of the bodies: steel vs. aluminum in automotive production,
Engineering.com, viewed 2 May 2019,
<https://www.engineering.com/AdvancedManufacturing/ArticleID/16437/The-Battle-of-the-
Bodies-Steel-vs-Aluminum-in-Automotive-Production.aspx>.

Madehow.com. 2019, How automobile is made - production process, manufacture, making,

used, parts, components, product, MadeHow.com, viewed 29 April 2019,
<http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Automobile.html >.

Norton S.A 2013, Environmental Geochemistry,Science Direct, viewed 28 April,

<https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/acidification >.

Pidwirny, M. 2006, "Acid precipitation", Fundamentals of Physical Geography, viewed 26 April

, <https://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/8h.html">.

Worldautosteel.org. 2019, Cost | WorldAutoSteel, World Auto Steel Org, viewed 27 April 2019,
<https://www.worldautosteel.org/why-steel/cost/\>.

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