JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - 2020 1st Quarter - Innovation report - 36

OVERMOULDED ORGANOSHEET
BOLSTER

Construction

While reducing fuel consumption and pollutant emissions is a major
concern for the whole automotive industry, Valeo designed an
overmoulded organosheet bolster for mass production (300,000
parts/year; SOP end of 2018) that complies with its customers'
aesthetic, mechanical and recyclability
requirements.
Valeo worked on a hybrid metal/plastic
technology offering cost efficiency.
The team naturally thought of using
composites instead of metal as the
goal was to reduce weight without compromising on mechanical
performance or cost. Recyclability was also considered as it is a
potential concern with this type of material. The company intended to
use its industrial know-how as much as possible.
Considering all these constraints, thermoplastic composites were
definitely the best candidate. The main challenge was to thermoform a
composite insert directly inside an injection tool and make it "one step
and net shape".
The concept retained was basically to replace the metal insert of a
hybrid metal/plastic bolster with a pre-impregnated thermoplastic
glass-reinforced composite. Thanks to the process maturity and cost
competitiveness, Daimler asked Valeo to develop the GLE/GLS-class
(BR167) composite front-end bolster. www.valeo.com

Multi-sector

Automotive

INNOVATION REPORT
INNOVATIVE PROCESS FOR
FULL-COMPOSITE STRUTS AND RODS

Somocap and Epsilon Composite, specializing in struts and
structural elements made of thermoplastic and thermosetting
composites, present an innovative process for overmoulding
a composite thermoplastic end fitting on a hollow pultruded
carbon
composite
profile.
This
advanced,
patented
technology
combines two processes known for
their high reliability and production
rate: pultrusion and injection. The direct
over-injection of high-performance
thermoplastic composite end fittings on an ultra-stiff pultruded tube,
specifically configured and treated, makes it possible to meet extreme
requirements. It also gives the designer the possibility to consider
complex geometric shapes for the junction elements in order to integrate
a maximum number of functions in a single operation.This technology
is a perfect solution to replace traditional methods such as structural
bonding or riveting, because it provides high reliability, reproducibility
and competitiveness. Moreover, thermoplastics also allow end-of-life
recycling of the products. Airbus chose this innovative technology
developed by Somocap and Epsilon Composite for structural rods on
its aircraft, especially the A350 XWB. Other industries already use this
technology for medium- and large-series applications, such as robotics,
agriculture and sports. www.somocap.com

MODULAR MULTI-PROPERTY INSULATION PANELS

Automotive

Isolaform is a cutting-edge substitution to standard insulations, walls, perforated sheets, or regular insulated fittings. It
can be installed in refurbishment or in first assembly applications. The panels are made in Stratiforme's factories and
delivered as individual components or in plug-and-play sets.
Isolaform panels protects from extreme environments, with the following advantages :
- High acoustic, thermal, and fire barrier properties;
- Supply chain optimisation (no multi-layer systems);
- Stiff and light composite sandwich panels. www.stratiforme.com

FORWARD ENGINEERING: MULTI-MATERIAL BATTERY ENCLOSURES
Forward Engineering shares insights into effective strategies for efficient structural integration of multi-material battery enclosures in series
automotive applications. Achieving the optimal mass/cost/performance balance is critical to the adoption of advanced materials and
manufacturing processes in the very competitive automotive industry. Forward Engineering team members present the fundamentals of battery
enclosure to vehicle structure integration as well as case studies demonstrating the potential for cost-effective lightweighting with compositeintensive mixed material solutions. www.forward-engineering.com

MONOCOQUE COMPOSITE FUEL TANK CONTAINER

The Honda NSX composite fuel tank container is designed with a meticulous selection of materials that each has its unique
functional properties, yet able to integrate together to become a stronger structure. The most inner layer of this fuel tank
container is made from a CFRP material impregnated with an epoxy resin system that has an excellent 90°C tensile strength,
thus enhancing the damage resistance of carbon fibre composites. The EPO-624 resin system is low in viscosity and well
flow-controlled. It has a high impact resistance, which is extremely important when the vehicle travels at high speed, especially
at corners where the gravity force adds to the weight of impact. To bond the CFRP with the aluminium honeycomb securely, the
EPO-622 L adhesive layer is used as a bonding agent because it combines a high viscosity, resilience and toughness. Generally speaking, the thicker
the adhesive layer is, the better it can hold materials together. However, EPO-622 L has excellent adhesive toughness so that even a thin layer can
secure the CFRP and the aluminium honeycomb together. And as metal expands when heated while CFRP does not, EPO-622's adhesive toughness
has a remarkable influence on the elongation at break, thus ensuring different materials are adhered securely. A flame-retardant CFRP is used on the
outward surface of the fuel tank container, using EPO-MTC 2RF resin to comply with FIA requirements. www.epotechcorp.com

jec composites magazine / January-February-March 2020

http://www.valeo.com http://www.somocap.com http://www.stratiforme.com http://www.forward-engineering.com http://www.epotechcorp.com

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - 2020 1st Quarter - Innovation report

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