Polyurethane composite materials will be a breakthrough in the automotive textile industry

In the field of automobile manufacturing, the combination of light weight and high flexural strength plays a key role in the breakthrough development of polyurethane fiber composites. The new Mercedes-Benz A, B and S models produced by Intier Automotive Naher GmbH in Rastatt, Germany, use this material on the floor of the car; Opel Meriva and Opel Corsa from Grupo Desarrollo Empresarial SLU, Spain, load-bearing floors The support is also applied to polyurethane fiber composites.

Dirk, a specialist in polyurethane composites at the American Nonwovens Industry Association, pointed out that the performance of these polyurethane fiber composites has been further improved due to improvements in polyurethane materials and production methods.

Lightweight parts Bareg

Only moderate deformation occurs when subjected to heavy loads

The Bayer Group of Germany has recently launched Bareg, a lightweight component for polyurethane fiber composites for automobiles. The material consists of a light honeycomb layer and two layers of two-layer heat-activated polyurethane system fibers, which are directly compression molded at about 130 °C. The resulting assembly will weigh less than 3 kg/m2, which is a 60% reduction in weight compared to the same components made from conventional materials such as wood or steel. It is because the outer layer thickness is only 0.4 mm to 0.6 mm, and the fiber is reinforced, and the elastic coefficient of the outer layer is about 13000 MPa, so that the assembly only undergoes moderate deformation even under heavy load.

According to Wirtz, a polyurethane processing specialist at Bayer Group, the work aims to improve the overall plasticity and component quality of key parts such as edges and support points to ensure that attractive products are processed without trimming. For example, these measures allow wall thicknesses to vary up to 50 mm and simplify the production of complex 3D components. It even allows the round roof to withstand significant deformations, even in sharp corners.

Polyurethane fiber composites will be more widely used in automotive interiors in the future. “We are now considering the wide range of applications for this material, such as multi-dimensional and specially shaped car floors, trunk floors for trough cars, seats, rear grained backs and their wagon storage tank floor "Wirtz said.

Door panel material Elastoskin

An ideal substitute for PVC materials for vehicles

In June of this year, BASF of Germany introduced Elastoskin, an improved aromatic polyurethane elastomer skin material for automotive interior decoration, which can be used for the surface layer of instrument panel and door panel interior parts. Its performance is better than the current PVC. (PVC) and other skin materials, the cost is lower than the use of PVC and other skin materials, is an ideal replacement for PVC.

It is understood that Elastoskin material has excellent mechanical properties, very good leather grain feel, flexibility and luxury, can be used for two-color products; excellent durability (weather resistance, high temperature resistance, scratch resistance) makes it high The first choice for the quality of the C-class and above car interior parts. The linear thermal expansion coefficient of Elastoskin material is about 7×10-6/K, which is much lower than that of aluminum alloy. When the temperature changes, there is no gap, and the sealing property is good, and the heat insulation in the environment with large temperature difference is ensured. The material is currently used in the dashboard and door panels of cars such as Buick Park Avenue, Oldsmobile Aurora and Cadillac CTS, and will also be used in new models such as Cadillac Seville and Cadillac Deville.

Xu Dawei, director of operations of BASF's technical production department, said that the application of this material in automotive interior parts has just begun. The greater significance of using aramid to spray the skin is to provide a polyurethane-compatible recyclable instrument. An effective way.

It is reported that BASF also introduced a microporous polyurethane foam composite material in the same period, and it is expected to replace the rubber material in most car bodies as the underbody cushion. As a substitute for rubber car body assembly, microporous polyurethane has a competitive price, can effectively improve shock absorption performance, extend material performance retention time, reduce quality, and improve assembly process. Another advantage of using microporous polyurethane is that by changing the material density, it is convenient to optimize the chassis anti-vibration pad, rather than having to adjust the material production recipe or product geometry as in conventional processes. The latter has to be prototyped, which is costly and time consuming.