New developments in the automotive industry are based on weight savings, system cost reduction and modular design. In order to show how these developments reflect themselves in modern material developments three examples are shown in this lecture. First all-polymer modular concepts for car building are growing in importance. This applies also for body panels, e.g. fenders and hatch-back doors. Examples are Citroen C2 and Renault Modus. Main drivers are integration (system cost) and weight. New material developments give rise to further possibilities for exterior design. The importance of dimensional stability for the automotive industry is evident from the fact that a car consists of a combination of metal, fibre reinforced composites and polymer blends. Metals have a coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CLTE) in the order of 25 x 10-6/K (aluminum) or 12 x 10-6/K (iron). Design and construction requires an optimum set of expansion coefficients. Typical requirements for a tough polypropylene are CLTEs below 90 x 10-6/K and shrinkages, 24hours after moulding at room temperature, below 0,9 %. Standard ways to reach those requirements are for example the addition of fillers; this leads to an increase in weight and a different property balance concerning E-modulus and impact strength. In this paper, new concepts to combine low weight, good mechanical properties and dimensional stability are shown. The basis of a changing dimensional stability lies in the surface morphology and is achieved by introducing a layered rubber-PP structure.
Polypropylen im Automobilbau: Neue Entwicklungen für den Karosseriebau
Polypropylene in automotive engineering. Developments for body panels
2007
10 Seiten, 7 Bilder, 3 Tabellen
Conference paper
German
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