Sustainable Composite: High Strength Polypropylene Fiber Composite for Metal to Plastic Conversion for Automotive Application

摘要

Emission norms for automotive vehicle are becoming stringent decade after decade. So reduction of green house gases (GHG) in exhaust is big endeavor for all automotive manufacturers. CO2 emission is directly related to mass of the vehicle. Reduction of 100 kg in mass will reduce 7 gram/mile of CO2 and it will fuel economy by 4.00 km/lit. Weight reductions are prime focus for automotive industry to increases fuel economy and reduce emission. To meet future emission legislation automotive industries need to decrease their total weight. Plastics are the best solution for this requirement due to its high strength to weight ratio. This work is about thermoplastic composite of Polypropylene (PP) which is one of low density, versatile and fully recyclable polymer. High strength PP fiber composite was considered in this paper for metal to plastic replacement. Consolidated fiber sheet material is tested and virtually simulated for finite element analysis (FEA) using NASTRAN software for front bumper reinforcement application for low speed impact. PP Fiber has tensile strength ～200 MPa and no break at -40 °C. In simulation it was observed that PP fiber sheet has lower deflection than steel when subjected to equal impact force. Maximum stress developed on part is lower than its tensile strength. Hence considered material can be suitable for above solution with weight saving of more than 50%.