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Expanded Automotive Research at Brunel University

University Technology Center
Melt preparation for billet casting at the Constellium University Technology Center.

Constellium N.V. inaugurated the Constellium University Technology Center (UTC) at Brunel University London, a dedicated center of excellence for the design, development, and prototyping of aluminium alloys and automotive structural components. Featuring industrial size aluminium casting and extrusion equipment in the first phase, the UTC will provide rapid prototyping capability that is expected to reduce development times by at least 50% for advanced aluminium alloys required for the continued lightweighting of automotive structural components.

“As the leading Tier 1 supplier of aluminium structural components to the global automotive market, and a leader in innovation in our industry, we are excited about the advantages Constellium’s University Technology Center will offer to automakers,” stated Paul Warton, president of Constellium’s Automotive Structures and Industry business unit. “A one-of-a-kind center of excellence, the Constellium UTC will allow us to prototype alloys and components on full-scale equipment with unprecedented speed and time to market.”

Through a fellowship program for PhD students and post-doctoral fellows, Constellium in partnership with Brunel University will train the scientists and engineers of the future. These students will work in cooperation with a dedicated team of 15 Constellium researchers, engineers, and technicians to develop breakthroughs in material science research to practical solutions for future vehicle programs.

The UTC at Brunel is expected to provide a fully integrated rapid prototyping capability, from alloy development to full component manufacture in a single location. The alloy and process technologies developed are expected to be transferred to Constellium’s extrusion and automotive structures plants worldwide, thereby closing the gap between fundamental R&D and series production.

Constellium University Technology Center.
Welding a prototype bumper at Constellium’s Gottmadingen, Germany facility.

Advanced Metal Casting Center

In addition to the UTC, Brunel University opened its Advanced Metal Casting Centre (AMCC), an on-campus research facility dedicated to the development of lightweight, high-performance aluminium alloys for the automotive and rail industries. The £17 million center is housed in a 1500 sq m building equipped with

  • A commercial 1,600 tonne locking force high pressure die caster for aluminium and magnesium alloys
  • A commercial 240 kN closing force low pressure die caster
  • A pilot scale hot-top direct chill caster for 2m long billets up to 204 mm in diameter
  • A commercial 16 MN direct extrusion press with taper controlled billet heating
  • A scaled-up twin roll caster incorporating Brunel’s novel melt conditioning technology
  • High resolution real-time X-ray inspection

Managed by Brunel University, Jaguar Land Rover, and Constellium, the AMCC will be expanded next year with the addition of the Advanced Metal Processing Centre (AMPC) to include fabrication and testing of aluminium automotive structural components.

“The Advanced Metal Casting Centre (AMCC) at Brunel’s Uxbridge Campus will provide Jaguar Land Rover’s engineers with a facility to create and develop the new lightweight alloys and technologies of the future, said Mark White, Jaguar Land Rover chief technical specialist, Advanced Body. “As well as supporting collaborative research, the findings from the AMCC will develop and test breakthrough advanced lightweight technologies and develop the skills across the automotive industry, academia and the supply chain.”

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