Sustainability Score Comparison of Welding Strategies for the Manufacturing of Electric Transportation Components

Elizabeth Hoyos (), María Camila Serna, Jeroen De Backer and Jonathan Martin
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Elizabeth Hoyos: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad EIA, Envigado 055428, Colombia
María Camila Serna: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad EIA, Envigado 055428, Colombia
Jeroen De Backer: Friction Welding and Processing Section, TWI Ltd., Cambridge CB21 6AL, UK
Jonathan Martin: Friction Welding and Processing Section, TWI Ltd., Cambridge CB21 6AL, UK

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-17

Abstract: Sustainability scores can be used to assess manufacturing strategies, going one step beyond a standard economic assessment. This work uses a previously proposed methodology to evaluate two of the most common welding processes for aluminium alloys that are specifically used in the fabrication of components for the transport industry based on their advantages in generating lightweight and dimensionally efficient parts. For comparison and as proof of concept, two welding methods were selected: Friction Stir Welding (FSW) and Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW). FSW attained a higher overall sustainability score. Values were calculated for an existing aluminium product, which was part of the opening and closing system of an electric train door, and the final score was 0.78 from FSW compared to 0.69 from GTAW, which was 11% higher in FSW compared to the conventional arc welding process. The analysis carried out included economic, physical, social, and environmental impacts. Finally, an example pertinent to a current EV component is described and considered along with a plan to determine the best welding process for a particular application, and with the calculations, the score obtained for GTAW was 0.43 and 0.68 for FSW, which was 36% higher that the result for the conventional arc welding process.

Keywords: sustainability; electric vehicles; welding; railway system (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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