Lightweighting gives composites new life

摘要

Progress in fiber-reinforced resin composite technology opens the prospect of replacing metal chassis and body structures. Back in the 1990s, when aerospace manufacturers started to build airframe components of business jets and commercial airliners from polymer composite materials, many industry observers felt that it would be only a few years before large-volume automakers would begin to follow suit. After all, the lightweight but strong and stiff composites of fiber-reinforced resin had already made the transition from military aircraft structures to civilian ones, and racecars and exotic sports car prototypes featuring mass-efficient carbon-fiber bodies had started to appear. Yes, composites were still too expensive, but many experts believed that continued technical advancement would in due time yield low-cost, mass-produced auto chassis and bodies that could save fuel while enabling new designs that were never previously possible.