Submitted to:- Presented by:- Dr. R. Alagirusamy Vijay S Khoiwal (2010TTE3678)

NATURAL FIBER COMPOSITES FOR AUTOMOTIVES

What is composite?

When two or more materials with very different properties are combined together they form a composite material.

Why composites in automotive

Costs Reduction Reduced material scrap Automated Processing Technologies Reduction of Vehicle Weight Reduction of Fuel Consumption Greatly improved recyclability Environmental Protection. Reduction

of CO2 emissions

Composite material is a composed of two distinct phaseMatrix phase

Organic matrix composite Metal matrix composite Ceramic matrix composite

Reinforcing phase Fibrous composite Liminate composite

Classification

Natural Fibre Composites

In the composite materials where natural fibres are the reinforcing material.

Types of fibre used

Why NFC?

1) Environmental reasons: Renewable resources Thermally recyclable, biodegradable, Low energy consumption2) Cost: often low cost (not silk)3) Health & safety: more pleasant to handle4) Good specific mechanical properties5) Good thermal & acoustic insulation property

Challenges of NFC

Low impact strengthPossibility of degradation, biological attack of

fungi and mildew.Fibres are hydrophilic

Issues of compatibility with polymersSensitive to humidity

UV resistance – not better than plastics

Mechanical Properties

Fibre type Density (g/cc) Tensile strength (MPa)

Tensile Modulus (GPa)

Sp. Modulus (GPa cc/g)

Jute 1.4 393 55 38

Sisal 1.3 510 28 22

Flax 1.5 344 27 50

Material Selection (Fibres)

Material Selection (Polymer)

Different Techniques Hand lay-up Filament winding Resin transfer moulding Pultrusion Continuous lamination

Hand lay-up

Advantage:- High flexibility, Simplicity Cheap tooling

Disadvantage:- Long production time Poor possibilities for automation Labor intensive

Resin Transfer Moulding

• The technique enables the manufacture of very large products with high mechanical properties.

• Pressing the mats with a small amount of binder into a more compact shape• Better resin flow can then be obtained by using the thicker leaf fibers like sisal

Pultrusion

Pultruded profile

Sandwich Construction

Composite laminates are produced in a continuous way up to a width of 3 m and with infinite length.Bonded on two sides of a foam block they build stiff sandwich panels that are used a lot in trucks, trailers and building construction.

Advantage of sandwich composites High rigidity combined with higher strength to weight ratio Smoother exterior

Better stability

High load carrying capacity

Increased fatigue life

Crack growth and fracture toughness characteristics are better compared to solid laminates

High load bearing ability

Tensile strength

Tensile strength for composites based on different fiber materials and pure PP in comparison to tensile strength for separate fibers (white bars).

Young’s modulus

Parts where composites used…

Door cladding floor panels seatback linings

Some of the example..Flax

sisal

hemp

Seal bottoms back cushions Head restraints

coconut

Seal back

Wood fiber

Floor body panels

Abaca

Cotton is used to provide

sound proofing

Weight distribution…

• Front door lines1.2-1.8 kg

• Rear door linens0.8-1.5 kg

• Boot linens1.5-2.5 kg

• Parcel shelvesUp to 2.0 kg

• Seat backs1.6-2.0 kg

• Sunroof slidersUp to 0.4 kg

• headlinersAvg. 2.5 kg

Typical amounts of plant fibers used for different applications the automotive industry are:

Automotive Parts made of NFCVolkswagen: back of seats,door panels, trunk panelsAudi: back of seats, side panels, trunk covering, speakers holders BMW: door panels, headliners, trunk floor panel Daimler Chrysler: door panels, business tables, padding-pillars reinforcing, dashboard partsOpel: headliners, door panels, dashboard partsPeugeot: back of seats, trunk coveringsMercedes Benz trucks: front sections for the trucks.

Renault Ellypse concept car: natural fibres for acoustic damping

Mixed NF – PP inner door panel(s)

Application

Flax-Carbon hybrid bike (JEC 2007)(prepreg technology)

A flax-reinforced car roof

Application as CarInteriors for Noise Control

Natural fibers such as banana, bamboo, and jute fibers use for the automotive interiors to reduce noise.

The blend proportions were:. Bamboo/Polypropylene in the ratio of 50 : 50. Banana/Polypropylene in the ratio of 50 : 50. Jute/Polypropylene in the ratio of 50 : 50

References1. Rajesh D. Anandjiwala and Sunshine Blouw, “composite from bast fibres prospects and potential

in the changing market environment”, composite from bast fibre, 1 (22)

2. Peijs T., “Composites for recyclability”, Materials today, vol.6, No. 4, 30-35 (2003).

3. W. D. (Rik) Brouwer, “Natural Fibre Composites in Structural Components: Alternative Applications for Sisal?”,http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/Y1873E/y1873e0a.htm#bm10.

4. Dieter H. Mueller and Andreas Krobjilowski “New Discovery in the Properties of Composites Reinforced with Natural fibers”, Journal of Industrial Textiles 2003; 33; 111.

5. Bledzki, A.K. and Gassan, J. (1999). “Composites Reinforced with Cellulose Based Fibers”, Progress in Polymer Science, 24: 221–274.

6. Paul A Fowler, J Mark Hughes and Robert M Elias Review Biocomposites: technology, environmental credentials and market forces, Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture J Sci Food Agric 86:1781–1789 (2006)

7. Ulrich Riedel, Jorg Nickel “Applications of Natural Fiber Composites for Constructive Parts in Aerospace, Automobiles, and Other Areas”

Continue….8. Ulrich Riedel, “natural fibre reinforced biopolymers as construction”, 2nd

International Wood and Natural Fibre Composites Symposium June 28-29, 1999 in Kassel/Germany

9. Mueller, Dieter H. and Krobjilowski, A. (2002). Optimized Car Interiors made of Reinforced Composites – Comparison Between Natural Fiber and Glass Fiber Composites, In: Proceedings of the INTC – International Nonwovens Technical Conference, Atlanta, Georgia/USA, September 24–26th.

10. Alireza Ashori “Wood–plastic composites as promising green-composites for automotive industries!”, Bioresource Technology 99 (2008) 4661–4667

Thank you