Experiments have shown that for every 10% reduction in vehicle weight, fuel efficiency can be increased by 6% to 8%, and for every 100 kg weight loss of a car, fuel consumption per 100 kilometers can be reduced by 0.3-0.6 liters, and carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by 1 kg. The use of lightweight materials is one of the main ways to reduce the weight of automobiles.
Basalt fiber is a lightweight material for automobiles
Basalt fiber is a green and environmentally friendly high-performance fiber material. The production process is often used in the industry to describe its production process, which means that natural basalt ore is crushed and melted in the temperature range of 1450~1500℃, and then drawn into basalt. fiber.
Basalt fiber has a series of advantages such as good mechanical properties, good high temperature resistance, stable chemical properties, environmental protection in the production process, and excellent comprehensive performance. The fiber-reinforced composite material prepared by compounding it with resin is a lightweight material with excellent performance. Basalt fiber helps lightweight cars In recent years, lightweight cars made of basalt fiber composite materials have frequently appeared in major international auto shows.
The German Edag company's concept car uses basalt fiber composite materials to build the car body, which has the advantages of lightness and stability, and is 100% recyclable.
The environmentally friendly concept car from the Italian caravan company uses basalt fiber composite wall panels, which reduces the weight by 30% compared to traditional materials.
The city electric vehicle launched by the Russian company uses a basalt fiber composite body. The total weight of the vehicle is only 700kg.
The future prospect of basalt fiber in automobile lightweight
① Application prospects in passenger cars
In recent years, with the urgent need for light weight of pure electric vehicles, and the development of advanced molding processes such as high-pressure RTM, molding and injection molding, continuous fiber-reinforced composite materials have begun to be used in automobiles in batches. Continuous fiber reinforced composite materials have been widely used in door modules, hoods, battery boxes, anti-collision beams, leaf springs, bottom guards and other components.
②Application prospects on commercial vehicles
In recent years, the application of composite materials in commercial vehicles has expanded rapidly, especially in heavy trucks. They are widely used in cab roofs, air deflectors, air deflectors, front wall masks, bumpers, fenders, and side enclosures. Boards, pedals, wheel covers and their decorative panels, under-door decorative panels, front wall decorative covers, side skirts, etc.
Basalt fiber composite materials have better comprehensive properties than traditional materials, and are expected to be mass-produced and applied to the above-mentioned components of commercial vehicles.