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Composites for Automotive Applications
Product Code: 00/05
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> Publications > Products and Applications > Composites for Automotive Applications
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Rapra Review Reports, Vol. 11, No. 6, Report 126, 2001
C.D. Rudd, Nottingham University
Various factors in the automotive sector have combined to create a favourable climate for the development of materials and fabrication techniques for polymer-based composite body panels and structures. The context in which composites are used within the automotive industry has been reviewed in a new Rapra Review Report and those materials and processes that are used in the fabrication of components and structures are described in detail. For this reason, this report is essential reading for the composites, plastics industries and the land transport/automotive sectors.
The author initially gives an overview of the automotive market trends in Europe and North America. He observes the drivers for lightweight materials, the role of safety features as a marketing tool for new vehicles and the cost of developing designs based on the large-scale use of composites. A section on materials discusses the role of steel, aluminium, and discontinuous fibre products in the quest for automotive weight reduction. Further information is included on reinforcements, namely glass fibres, carbon reinforcement, aramid fibres and natural fibres. A segment on matrix materials, initially focussing on thermosets, i.e., resins (epoxy, phenolic, and acrylic), vinyl esters, and polyurethanes follows. Thermoplastic resins are similarly reviewed, concentrating on glass mat thermoplastics, polypropylene, polyamides, polyether ether ketone and polyphenylene sulphide.
The next part of the report is devoted to the processing of thermoset matrix composites, starting with SMC Compression Moulding. Professor Rudd continues with a look at liquid moulding, including foam-in-place, preforms (i.e., braiding, stamping, directed fibre performing, slurry performing, and knitting), filament winding, and pultrusion. The processing of thermoplastic matrix composites details vacuum and diaphragm forming and compression moulding (i.e., extrusion deposit compression moulding and stamping of fabrics). The review finishes with the author predicting the future trends in the automotive composites market.
The author is the Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the Director of Research at the School of Mechanical, Materials, Manufacturing Engineering and Management at Nottingham University. He is a Fellow of both the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, and the Institute of Materials. He has over 180 publications in total, including 60 in refereed journals, 5 patents, 1 book, and 6 book chapters.
A Rapra Review Report comprises a concise expert overview, accompanied by an indexed section containing approximately four hundred references and abstracts from the Rapra Abstracts database. These will provide the reader of this report with a valuable reference for further information relating to the automotive applications of composite materials.
Available on request
Format: Soft-backed, 122 pages
Price: £80.00 (Ex VAT)
This product has a maximum purchase quantity of 1.
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