Composites Use in Automotive
Composites are used frequently in motorsports and lower volume, high-end/luxury vehicles, which typically favor continuous carbon fiber materials. They are also often used to fabricate exterior structures in racing vehicles, where their relative light weight provides speed and performance advantages over metals. Within mid- and high-volume production vehicles, common composite applications include glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) leaf springs, suspension components, and drive shafts, sheet molding compound (SMC) body panels and frames; bulk molding compound (BMC) housings and support structures; and injection-molded thermoplastics for bumper frames, lift gates and seat structures.
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FAQ: Automotive
How are composites used in automotive structures?
Within mid- and high-volume production vehicles, common composite applications include glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) leaf springs, suspension components, and drive shafts, sheet molding compound (SMC) body panels and frames; bulk molding compound (BMC) housings and support structures; and injection-molded thermoplastics for bumper frames, lift gates and seat structures.
As electric vehicles (EV) become more prevalent on the road and in development by automotive manufacturers, new opportunities exist for composites and composite materials development. For example, a lighter-weight, composites-intensive vehicle is likely capable of driving for a longer range between charges. Battery enclosures present one large market opportunity in the EV market.
Why use composites for electric vehicle (EV) battery enclosures?
As the automotive industry rapidly electrifies its fleets, interest is growing among OEMs and battery module producers in using composite materials for battery enclosures — covers and trays that hold and protect the frames and battery cells themselves.
There are many reasons for this, including the ability to reduce mass and stack tolerances, the fact that battery enclosures are multicomponent assemblies and poor impact performance of metals. In each of these areas, composite battery enclosures offer quantifiable benefits versus metals: lower mass, higher design freedom with greater space efficiency, faster assembly, no corrosion, greater durability and — with specific formulations — better flame resistance/fire containment.
Source: Price, performance, protection: EV battery enclosures, Part 1
