DOT HS 810 863 November 2007 DOT-VNTSC-NHTSA-07-02 A Safety Roadmap for Future Plastics and Composites Intensive Vehicles This document is available to the public from the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161 PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Notice This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. A SAFETY ROADMAP FOR FUTURE PLASTICS AND COMPOSITES INTENSIVE VEHICLES Form Approved REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188), Washington, DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED November 2007 Final Report November 2007 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS A Safety Roadmap for Future Plastics and Composites Intensive Vehicles 6. AUTHOR(S) HS53/DG066 Aviva Brecher, Ph.D., National Technical Expert, Policy and Planning Division 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION U.S. Department of Transportation REPORT NUMBER Research and Innovative Technology Administration DOT-VNTSC-NHTSA-07-02 John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center Advanced Safety Technology Division 55 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02142 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING U.S. Department of Transportation AGENCY REPORT NUMBER National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE DOT HS 810 863 Washington, DC 20590 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, RITA, U.S. DOT 12a. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE This document is available free of charge from the NHTSA Web site at: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/NRD/Multimedia/Crashworthiness/4680P CIV_SafetyRoadmap-Nov2007.pdf 13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words) This report summarizes the approach, activities, and results of a study to evaluate the potential safety benefits of Plastics and Composites Intensive Vehicles (PCIVs), to enable their deployment by 2020. The main goals were to review and assess the state of knowledge in order to identify gaps, key research needs, and the challenges and opportunities for safety enhancements. PCIV- related safety enhancements that could benefit an aging driver population were selected as a priority research focus. The Situation Analysis was conducted, based on a review of technical literature, national research efforts on automotive light-weighting and the crash safety performance of advanced materials, complemented by a focused survey of diverse subject matter experts. The analysis identified near-term, midterm, and long-term research needs and priorities to facilitate future PCIV deployment. A PCIV Safety Roadmap was developed, which synthesizes the study findings and outlines follow-on research and milestones to measure progress towards the design, development and technology integration of fuel-efficient and safe PCIVs by 2020. 14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF PAGES Automotive crash safety; plastics and composites intensive vehicles (PCIVs); light-weighting 104 advanced materials; older driver safety; technology integration roadmap; public private partnership; crash safety standards; integrated safety strategy 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT OF REPORT OF THIS PAGE OF ABSTRACT Unlimited Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 298-102 iii PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) provides research, evaluation, and technical analysis support to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Office of Vehicle Safety Research to assess, develop, and implement research strategies for improving vehicle safety. In November 2005, the American Plastics Council, in cooperation with NHTSA, sponsored a Technology Integration Workshop on “Enhancing Future Automotive Safety With Plastics,” and published its findings in a Technology Integration Report in May 2006. The major opportunities and challenges for enhancing the safety of next generation vehicles using advanced plastics and composite materials in structural and safety applications were identified, as well as the need to develop a safety roadmap. The FY06 Transportation Appropriations Senate Report 109-109 provided both the resources and the guidance to NHTSA to explore the potential safety benefits of light-weight, fuel efficient Plastics and Composites Intensive Vehicles (PCIVs), and develop the foundation for research cooperation with the Department of Energy, industry, universities and other safety stakeholders. NHTSA tasked the Volpe Center to assess the current state of knowledge and emerging safety technology opportunities to enhance the crash safety of PCIVs by 2020, with special emphasis on improved protection of older drivers and occupants. This report summarizes the results of a foundational study undertaken in support of NHTSA to identify the research needs and priorities in the near-, mid-, and long-term, as well as the challenges and opportunities to the development and commercial deployment of light-weight, plastics-rich, and fuel efficient vehicles by 2020 that would be designed to comply with all applicable crash safety standards and regulatory requirements. Taking an international and national perspective, the Volpe Center reviewed relevant literature, interviewed subject matter experts and ongoing research, developed a PCIV 2020 safety Vision, and identified the major R&D needs, challenges, and opportunities to develop a roadmap for PCIV safety. The primary author of the report is Dr. Aviva Brecher, Principal Investigator, with technical support from Dr. John Brewer, as the expert on materials science, composites testing standards, and vehicle crash safety. Other Volpe Center managers and colleagues who contributed to many aspects of this study and provided technical review and quality assurance include: Kevin Green, Chief of Advanced Safety Technology Division; Dr. Wassim Najm for issues related to NHTSA integrated safety technologies and strategy; Samuel Toma and Emily Lumley for assistance with graphics, report formatting, and organization; and John O’Donnell, Director, and Robert Dorer, Deputy Director, Office of Surface Transportation, for their continued support and guidance. Special appreciation is due to Dr. William Thomas Hollowell, NHTSA Director of Vehicle Safety Research, and Sanjay Patel, NHTSA project manager, for their effective oversight and timely review. Dr. David Smith, Chief, Structures and Restraints Research Division, and Barbara Hennessey, manager of the Hydrogen Vehicle Safety Research Program are thanked for providing technical support, feedback, and guidance as needed. Thanks are due to all NHTSA regulatory, policy, and technical staff who conducted an agency-wide review and provided helpful comments to improve this report. A SAFETY ROADMAP FOR FUTURE PLASTICS AND COMPOSITES INTENSIVE VEHICLES iv PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The American Chemistry Council- Plastics Division (ACC-PD) industry partners supported this safety-oriented study with insights from previous technology integration roadmaps, and provided technical review comments and inputs throughout the process. They are Dr. Michael Fisher, Technical Director, Mr. James Kolb, Communications Director of the Automotive Center, and Ms. Suzanne Cole, President of Cole and Associates, Inc. The Volpe team made several presentations to NHTSA and ACC-PD collaborators and engaged them in regular telephone conferences to obtain feedback. Valuable inputs are gratefully acknowledged from the Department of Energy (DOE) managers of the FreedomCAR partnership, the DOE National Laboratories Research program managers, the industry principals involved in cooperative USCAR R&D efforts, and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from professional, standards, and trade associations, industry, and academia. Those who agreed to be interviewed and generously shared their insights and publications are listed by name in Appendix 4.2 and cited or mentioned in footnotes. A SAFETY ROADMAP FOR FUTURE PLASTICS AND COMPOSITES INTENSIVE VEHICLES v LIST OF ACRONYMS LIST OF ACRONYMS AARP American Association For Retired Persons ABS Antilock Brake Systems ACC Automotive Composites Consortium, affiliated with USCAR ACC-PD American Chemistry Council- Plastics Division ACE Advanced Compatibility Engineering AFVs Alternative Fueled Vehicles APC American Plastics Council (renamed ACC-PD) ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials ATP