{"id":5719,"date":"2016-12-30T08:25:25","date_gmt":"2016-12-30T14:25:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/knowledge\/?p=5719"},"modified":"2017-03-01T13:31:05","modified_gmt":"2017-03-01T19:31:05","slug":"pe-car-engine-plastic-polymers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/5719\/pe-car-engine-plastic-polymers\/","title":{"rendered":"Harsh underhood conditions raise the stakes for car engine plastics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Conditions aren\u2019t getting any easier under the hood. But many are working to ensure that car engine polymers rise to the occasion and can meet the increasing performance demands of today\u2019s — and tomorrow\u2019s — vehicles.<\/p>\n

Faced with U.S. regulations that call for 54.5-mpg corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) ratings by 2025, automakers are furiously working to eliminate every ounce they can from their cars and light trucks without sacrificing performance. Materials supplier DuPont Co. estimates that eliminating 110 pounds of vehicle weight reduces CO2<\/sub> emissions by 5 grams\/km and boosts fuel efficiency by up to 2 percent.<\/p>\n

Plastic car engine challenges<\/h4>\n

Smaller engines weigh less, but they also tend to deliver less power — a tradeoff many consumers are not willing to make. So automakers, particularly in Europe, are turbocharging these smaller engines to maintain their performance. This, however, also drives up the operating temperatures under the hood, and can create challenges when it comes to managing noise, vibration and harshness (NVH).<\/p>\n

At the same time, automakers are weighing other properties, such as sustainability and recyclability; part consolidation; component manufacturing speeds; and standardization across platforms and geographies — all with cost containment in mind.<\/p>\n

Plastic car engine pioneers<\/h4>\n

A company that began life in 1979 as Polimotor Research Inc. has been perhaps the highest-profile player in trying to bring the plastic automotive engine to life. Back then, founder Matti Holtzberg wanted to replace several traditionally metal components in a 2.3-liter, four-cylinder engine with lightweight, injection-molded, carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastics. After a few years of development, he demonstrated the engine\u2019s viability by showcasing it in a race car in 1984 that performed admirably well.<\/p>\n

Encouraged by Belgian chemicals and resins giant Solvay SA, Holtzberg — who now heads his own firm, Composite Castings LLC — revived the project in 2015. The current product — dubbed the Polimotor 2 — is a plastics-intensive, four-cylinder, double-overhead cam engine that weighs 63-67 kg (138-147 pounds), or about 41 kg (90 pounds) less than today\u2019s standard production engine.<\/p>\n

Holtzberg developed a special process to fabricate the Polimotor 2\u2019s engine block, cam block and oil pan from an undisclosed thermoset resin. He now is focusing on replacing metal in an even broader array of engine components, including the water and oil pumps, water inlet\/outlet, throttle body, fuel rail, cam sprocket and others.<\/p>\n

This latest project plans to leverage a broad range of car engine plastic polymer technology from Solvay Specialty Polymers<\/a>, including:<\/p>\n