{"id":3440,"date":"2015-11-25T12:00:18","date_gmt":"2015-11-25T17:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/knowledge\/?p=3440"},"modified":"2018-05-08T15:23:06","modified_gmt":"2018-05-08T21:23:06","slug":"pe-near-breakthrough-thermoplastic-composites-automotive-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/3440\/pe-near-breakthrough-thermoplastic-composites-automotive-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Near breakthrough for thermoplastic composites in the automotive industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

In comparison to thermosetting polymers, the processing of thermoplastics composites leads to much faster manufacturing speeds. But the manufacturing process is not always problem-free. However, the findings of two PhD students in the ThermoPlastic Composite Research Center <\/a>(TPRC) at the University of Twente<\/a> (UT) suggest that this may now largely be a thing of the past. The TPRC is a research centre in the field of pre-competitive research into thermoplastic composites and has several partners, including Boeing<\/a>, TenCate <\/a>and Fokker<\/a> Aerostructures.<\/p>\n

\"Twente
Researchers from The University of Twente are working to solve problems associated with the manufacturing of thermoplastic composites.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ulrich Sachs and Sebastiaan Haanappel are on the verge of a breakthrough that will allow for the wide-scale use of thermoplastic composites in the automotive industry, for which weight reduction and reduced cost must be satisfied. These ‘futuristic materials’ are ultra-light, while being strong and rigid and also sustainable and recyclable. Sachs and Haanappel have recently overcome the last hurdle, which is to design practically faultless components and to make the process for doing so predictable. This makes it possible to determine at an early stage of the design process whether a component can be manufactured at all.<\/p>\n

\n

Need to search for automotive approved plastics?<\/h3>\n

Automotive Plastics Search in Prospector can help you quickly find plastics approved for automotive applications from more than 70 automotive OEMs.<\/p>\n


\nLearn more
\n<\/a><\/h3>\n
\n

“All of the large car manufacturers have a need for thermoplastic composites,” says Bert Rietman, business developer at the TPRC. “Products made with these materials can be up to around 40% lighter than the materials usually used in cars and therefore bring great advantages. But many manufacturers are still not keen. The experience they have gained processing\u00a0steel<\/a>, for example, cannot be wholly transferred to composite processing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TwenteTo come up with the right form and to avoid trial and error as much as possible during the design process, Sachs carried out research into \u00a0thermoplastic composites. Only when designers completely understand the way the materials bend and slip will it be possible to make completely faultless products. “Designers want to know whether a component can be manufactured or not as quickly as possible,” explains Sachs. “For example, they want to know whether the material will wrinkle during forming, and whether the final product and the manufacturing process will be satisfactory. The automotive industry requires simulation of new materials and processes, but the software for forming metal currently in use is not suitable for simulating the behaviour of\u00a0thermoplastic<\/a>\u00a0composites. This means that totally new software is needed in order to allow all of the pieces to fall into place. And we have now designed this software.”<\/p>\n

To be able to predict distortions during the press forming process for thermoplastic composites, the TPRC uses\u00a0AniForm<\/a>\u00a0Suite software, developed by AniForm Engineering, a UT spin-off company. The simulation software makes it possible to evaluate whether a product can be manufactured at an early stage in the design process, and also helps to gain a better understanding of the way a particular composite material behaves.<\/p>\n

An innovative final product was the result of one of the collaborations that came into being through the TRPC, when\u00a0Johnson Controls\u00a0<\/a>developed a concept for a lightweight car seat. The seat was first presented at ITHEC (a large international exhibition on thermoplastic composites held in Bremen) in October 2014. This biennial event is held in the International Congress Centre of the Bremen Exhibition Centre, and is aimed at international industrial companies and research groups from a range of specialist fields, such as the automotive, aerospace and energy sectors.<\/p>\n

\"CYTPR002b-(1)--HP-RTM-equipment-in-Use-at-Penso-Consulting-Ltd\"
HP-RTM equipment in use at Penso Consulting Ltd.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That is not to say that developments in thermosetting composites are standing still. At\u00a0CAMX<\/a>\u00a02015 (Dallas, October), and\u00a0Composites Europe<\/a>\u00a02015 (September, Stuttgart),\u00a0Cytec\u00a0<\/a>exhibited new composite materials and technologies for high volume automotive production, including structural and tooling pre-pregs, resin infusion systems and structural adhesives that are complemented by a range of process materials available as roll stock or tailored kits.<\/p>\n

For the automotive industry, Cytec is offering a new rapid cure resin systems for hot compression moulding of tailored pre-preg flat blanks with MTM 710 and MTM 23, as well as HP-RTM with XMTR50TM. For aerospace applications, Cytec\u2019s out of autoclave (OOA<\/a>) product collection includes vacuum bag only (VBO) pre-pregs such as\u00a0CYCOM 5320-1\u00a0<\/a>and MTM 45-1, and the primary structure ready\u00a0PRISM EP2400\u00a0<\/a>resin system.<\/p>\n

Products on show at the European show include:<\/p>\n