BASF, L&L Products, and Stellattis have been recognized for their successful lightweight applications in the composite application of Jeep® Grand Cherokee L in 2021. The car was launched in May and has just won the prestigious Altair Enlighten Award for weight reduction in vehicles. Achievements.
The transmission suspension system (TMS) is a focus area when studying opportunities to reduce quality and improve durability without compromising safety performance. The Composite Application Reinforcement Device (CTR) is located at the bottom of the vehicle and is part of the entire transmission suspension system. For example, in the event of a minor collision between a vehicle and an opposing vehicle, CTR transfers the energy load from the outer rail to the transmission mounting beam, improving the performance of the field and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) standard for small offset rigid obstacle tests.
The use of Continuous Composites™ pultrusion technology and BASF's polyurethane chemistry technology are key factors for the success of CTR. Continuous composites combine a fiber-reinforced pultruded composite carrier with highly engineered sealants and adhesives in a two-dimensional profile. This is a continuous process used to create straight or curved composite profiles reinforced with continuous fibers and felt. This combination of materials is designed to provide strength, stiffness and stiffness to lightweight structures.
"Continuous composite materials enable L&L Products and Stellattis to achieve a new design that reduces packaging while also reducing mass, and uses the surrounding environment on the vehicle to help the load transition to CTR. Hank, product engineering manager of L&L Products Richardson said: "We have also made technological improvements and achieved the industry's first processing speed because we doubled the output of ordinary profile pultrusion. "
Chris Korson, Manager of the Chassis Market Division of BASF`s Performance Materials Division, said: “This is also the first application of L&L Products using its CCS technology and BASF’s Elastocoat® 74850 polyurethane pultruded material. Our Elastocoat polyurethane chemical material plus continuous glass fiber When used in this type of application, it has an excellent strength-to-weight ratio compared to ultra-high-strength steel. We have also developed a new computer simulation method using our proprietary CAE modeling software Ultrasim® to capture The behavior of the pultruded structure to accurately capture the additional load provided by the composite material after failure."
Brian Dwyer, Chassis Engineering Manager of Stellantis, said: "We are always looking to improve the design, function and efficiency of our vehicles. It is not easy to find a weight reduction program that can improve overall performance, but this is what we will do in the 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. L`s composite material application."
The interior and exterior design of the most advanced 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L provides unparalleled capabilities and perfect driving performance. Its famous four-wheel drive system has instilled the legendary four-wheel drive capability of the Jeep brand into the Grand Cherokee L. A new architecture combined with a sculptural aerodynamic body style improves vehicle performance, safety and reliability, while greatly reducing vehicle weight, noise, vibration and harsh sounds. The Grand Cherokee L is designed to maximize the overall passenger safety, comfort and convenience. It has a strong impact and has a new generation of features and technologies that make it stand out in the field of full-size SUVs.