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26/01/2011 Summary: Researchers at Aachen University seek to develop a cost effective method to mass produce car body panels made of carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP).
Researchers to develop mass production system for CFRP car panels
A research team at RWTH Aachen University has set out to make automobile panels with a similar material Airbus uses to manufacture the wings of its new A350. With an unmatched strength-to-weight ratio (stronger than steel yet much lighter) carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) boast numerous applications, from aircraft wings to the monocoques of Formula 1 race cars. However, CFRPs also hold potential for consumer cars. If used for lightweight vehicle structures, CFRPs can play an important role in future sustainable mobility. This potential faces a major hurdle due to new challenges designing CFRP parts as well as high cost and complex manufacturing required to produce CFRPs. Researchers from the Institut fßr Kraftfahrzeuge (ika) at RWTH Aachen University in Germany hope to overcome these obstacles by developing a new design method for CFRP body panels. The design considers a new manufacturing process that will make CFRPs a practical and affordable reality for all automobiles. The automobile researchers are working in close cooperation with their colleagues of the Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV) in Aachen, who have developed a process called gap impregnation to establish an automated mass production system, which allows high process stability and short cycle times. The researches plan to release a hood prototype by the end of 2012 that will offer greater strength using lighter materials at an affordable production cost. Focal points of the research include analysis of technological and economic potential, simulation of CFRP structures under static and dynamic loads, structural optimisation in compliance to loads, material and manufacturing and further development of manufacturing concepts concerning cycle times and class-A surface quality. Ika’s research partners for the project are: Composite Impulse, Evonik Degussa, Ford Forschungszentrum Aachen, Henkel and Toho Tenax Europe. Funding was awarded by the PRESS4TRANSPORT is funded by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research under the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7)
German state of North Rhine-Westphalia within the research challenge Hightech.NRW funded by the EU. Contact: Kristian Seidel seidel@ika.rwth-aachen.de Phone: +49 241 80 25 641
PRESS4TRANSPORT is funded by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research under the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7)