JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #142 - September/October 2021 - 30

FEATURE
market
Composites innovation in U.S.
commercial trucks and vans
Like the broader automotive sector, the U.S. commercial truck
industry is on the brink of major change, including a transition away
from the internal combustion engine. Composite materials have a
role to play, but will it be a starring one?
T
he U.S. commercial trucking industry
is capacity constrained, with a
shortage of drivers, trucks, tractors
and trailers. The industry is also working on
decarbonization strategies. Most major original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have
electric vehicles (EVs) under development,
slated for release in 2022 and beyond. Some
of them, such as Nikola Motors, are developing
trucks that use hydrogen fuel cells for
power. For fleet owners, the cost per mile to
operate, including maintenance expenses, is
the dominant decision-making factor.
How will composite materials and components
be used in the trucking industry,
particularly beyond how they are today? It
is hard to say. Companies are holding their
material-and-processing path cards close to
the vest. Here is what we do know...
Lightweighting and aerodynamics
Truck and trailer manufacturers care about
weight. The lighter the tractor-trailer, the
more cargo it can carry without going over
government-regulated gross weight
limits.
Aerodynamic truck and trailer design also
helps vehicles reduce drag and optimize fuel
consumption.
Wabash National, a supplier of engineered
solutions for transportation, logistics and distribution,
uses composites in several product
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jec composites magazine / N°
lines. The company's DuraPlate® composite
panel technology goes into truck bodies and
trailers. The DuraPlate sandwich design is a
high-density polyethylene core thermally
bonded between two high-strength steel
skins. The company's composite core solutions
are evolving to include honeycomb and
next-generation skin options.
To help with truck aerodynamics, Wabash
also offers the AeroSkirt, a glass-reinforced
thermoplastic skirt for attaching to the
bottom of a truck trailer to reduce drag and
lateral truck movement.
For refrigerated trailers, the company's
Molded Structural Composites (MSC)
Technology helps reduce weight by 20 to
25% and increases thermal performance by
25%. MSC products have a high-efficiency
foam core encapsulated in a polymer
fibre-reinforced shell. There is no metal or
wood in MSC panels or in the refrigerated
trailer flooring system.
The material is bonded to the trailer side
walls for a smooth finish.
Crane Composites also offers fibre-reinforced
composite materials for transportation
applications, including fibreglass-reinforced
plastics (FRP) for trailers and truck bodies.
The firm offers ultraviolet (UV) stabilizers to
extend trailer roof life.
Ford's new electric-powered E-Transit commercial van is scheduled to hit the U.S. market in 2022. Ford
continues to explore how to integrate composite materials into the Transit line, such as for the bulkhead,
leaf springs and ladder
142 September - October 2021

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #142 - September/October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #142 - September/October 2021