In the innovative project RACE-TP (lightweight recyclable automotive thermoplastic composite structural components suitable for mass production), Arkema and its partners have developed an acrylic-based thermoplastic Elium, which is designed to achieve the required mechanical properties and Ensuring easy recycling provides economic potential.
The innovative project alliance produced 64 parts in a continuous production process of 1 hour, and the impact test showed that the required performance was obtained.
A robot puts the glass fiber sheet used as the skeleton (preform) into the mold in 3 minutes, then casts Elium resin, removes the part after molding, and then starts the production of the next part.
Based on the past experience of IRT-M2P partners, it is believed that using the same resin raw materials, the cycle time can be accelerated by 30s.
The final resin-based components are integrated into the door structure to protect the occupants in the event of a collision.
The component weighs 1.3 kg, compared to the current steel structure that weighs close to 3.5 kg.
Now, partners from the RACE-TP innovation project hope to provide automotive manufacturers (such as Renault and PSA) with affordable thermoplastic solutions as soon as possible.
The main goal of the innovation project is to establish a pilot plant that is almost similar to the final industry manufacturing conditions and conduct pilot tests on the IRT-M2P facility to verify the feasibility of manufacturing resin-based structural components under actual industrial conditions.
The success of the project is inseparable from the participation and cooperation of partners in the fields of education, research and business. Based on a set of material mechanical properties tests, Ghent University simulated the performance of composite materials and specific products.
The new product will bring considerable environmental benefits: these parts made of thermoplastics weigh only 1.3 kg, while the corresponding parts made of steel weigh about 3.5 kg. Reduced the weight of nearly 10kg, which will help reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
In addition, this material is fully recyclable.
Based on successful processes, manufacturing processes that fully meet the requirements of the industry (such as producing 30 parts per hour), and products that meet standards such as impact resistance, these new products should soon be adopted by the automotive industry.
The advantages of this material are:
▶ Compared with steel parts with the same impact resistance, the parts can be reduced by 30% to 50%;
▶ Perfectly suitable for complex designs; can be seamlessly combined with glass fiber or carbon fiber;
▶ Compatible with traditional thermosetting resin production technologies such as resin transfer molding, infusion, etc .;
▶ Excellent post-forming, such as welding and bonding;
▶ Compared with unsaturated polyester, it does not contain styrene;
▶ The parts are easy to thermoform and recycle, and have mechanical properties comparable to epoxy resin parts;
▶ Compared with other thermoplastic technologies, the manufacturing cost is low.
Recycling of composite parts made of Elium resin
In 2017, the R & D team participated in the development of a depolymerization and recycling process for composite parts made of Elium resin. The principle is: coarsely crushed parts, and then thermally depolymerized, so that Elium resin is recovered and purified into performance and virgin resin The same resin, at the same time, reuse the remaining carbon fiber or glass fiber.
Being able to recycle parts made from Elium resin is a huge asset, especially for wind turbine manufacturers that currently use non-recyclable epoxy resin to make blades.