JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #82 - July 2013 - 46

seats

- develop a robust process for forming and
overmoulding CFRT inserts.

Fig. 5: Rear crash impact for composite backrest:
correlation of simulation and experimental test

it at low temperature (-30°C) and high
temperature (80°C). The seat passed the
test in all conditions and the integrity
between the CFRT, the metal insert and
the overmoulded plastics was maintained.
There was a very good correlation between
the simulation and the experimental tests,
as shown in Figure 5. The deformation of
the seat back was adequately predicted, as
well as the dummy’s kinematics in the case
of the rear crash.
A new seat backrest was developed using
a one-piece composite-plastic hybrid part
that replaces the existing metal structure and minimizes foam and trim. The
complete trimmed seat back weighs about
20% less than the reference car seat and is
approximately 30 mm thinner.

Collaborative projects:
LYCOS and DEMOS

LYCOS is a FUI (French funded) project
led by Faurecia that involves 10 partners.
Three universities contribute to the development tasks, as shown in Figure 6. INSA
Lyon develops the CFRT forming step
(materials characterization, thermostamping process simulation). Mines de Douai
optimizes the process parameters for overmoulding of the CFRT inserts by injection
moulding. Mines ParisTech is in charge of
CFRT characterization and mechanical
simulation. Other partners include Solvay
(CFRT development), ESI (simulation
tools) and four SMEs (Activetech, Prodhag, RJP Modelage, Styl’monde) involved
in the process development.
A second project entitled DEMOS
(Design and Manufacturing of Composite Seat Structures) was launched more
recently, at the end of 2012. It is funded
by ADEME and Investissements d’Avenir
and will focus on the development of a
multi-material front seat structure with a
target to reduce weight by 30% as compared to standard steel structures. Beyond
the design work, the project will develop
suitable processes for the mass production
of such automotive structures.

Concluding remarks
The multi-functional seat pan and composite backrest projects demonstrate that
materials and simulation tools are now
available for the development of efficient
thermoplastic composite parts for automotive seating applications. Current weight
savings for the complete seat range from
15 to 20% and the technologies need to
be optimized to further reduce the weight
of the functions and to reach a price level
where they can compete with standard
platform seat structures.
In the short term, plastic and composite
seat components can be used in niche applications to take advantage of the design
possibilities offered by plastics, combining
comfort with a modern, thin-walled, highend component affording greater design
freedom and improving the feeling of
space. For mid- to long-term applications,
the integration of these technologies in
the current metal industrial footprint and
the strategy of platforms will need to find
a way to become modular while retaining
the advantages of function integration, one
of the key assets of moulded materials. n
More information:
www.faurecia.com

The combined use of continuous fibre
reinforcement and overmoulding of
injected plastics is ready for production,
as shown in the example of the composite
backrest, but the technology is still in its
infancy and a lot of optimization is needed
before it reaches a suitable maturity level
for use in high-volume car applications.
Therefore, Faurecia decided to start two
collaborative projects to further develop
the materials, engineering tools and processes. The first project is entitled LYCOS
(Lightweight Hybrid Composite Structures). Its objectives are to:
- develop and characterize continuousfibre-reinforced thermoplastics (CFRT),
- design and validate a seat cushion structure,

Fig. 6: The LYCOS collaborative project – Tasks performed by the academic partners

46 jec composites magazine / No82 July 2013
http://www.faurecia.com
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #82 - July 2013

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