INNOVATIVE COMPOSITE MATERIALS APPLICATION IN THE DESIGN OF SEATS AND INTERIOR PARTS by Gerardo Alvino A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies through Mechanical, Automotive and Materials Engineering in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Applied Science at the University of Windsor Windsor, Ontario, Canada 2012 © 2012 Gerardo Alvino Library and Archives Bibliothèque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-84426-7 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-84426-7 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l'Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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Innovative composite materials application in the design of seats and interior parts by Gerardo Alvino APPROVED BY: ______________________________________________ Dr. Sreekanta Das, Outside Program Reader Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering ______________________________________________ Dr. Peter Frise, Program Reader Department of Mechanical, Automotive and Materials Engineering _____________________________________________ Dr. Vesselin Stoilov, Advisor Department of Mechanical, Automotive and Materials Engineering ______________________________________________ Dr. Andrzej Sobiesiak, Chair of Defense Department of Mechanical, Automotive and Materials Engineering September 14th, 2012 DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify that I am the sole author of this thesis and that no part of this thesis has been published or submitted for publication. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge, my thesis does not infringe upon anyone’s copyright nor violate any proprietary rights and that any ideas, techniques, quotations, or any other material from the work of other people included in my thesis, published or otherwise, are fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard referencing practices. Furthermore, to the extent that I have included copyrighted material that surpasses the bounds of fair dealing within the meaning of the Canada Copyright Act, I certify that I have obtained a written permission from the copyright owner(s) to include such material(s) in my thesis and have included copies of such copyright clearances to my appendix. I declare that this is a true copy of my thesis, including any final revisions, as approved by my thesis committee and the Graduate Studies office, and that this thesis has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other University or Institution. iii ABSTRACT The constant increase of petroleum price and the always more strict regulations regarding the emissions level and environmental impact are today the main leading factors that drive worldwide car makers to make efforts in the research of lightweight solutions in order to decrease the fuel consumption and, as a consequence, to reduce the CO2 amount released in the atmosphere. In this work the attention is focused on innovative materials, such as thermoplastic composites due to their low density, easiness of manufacturing and possibility to be recycled. The case study is geared towards the design of interior components, and in particular to the substitution of a current rear seat back steel structure, meeting stringent weight and stiffness requirements. Abaqus software is used in the conduction of Finite Element Analysis of the component. Cost and manufacturing aspects of the proposed design solution are investigated on order to provide a detailed feasibility overview. iv DEDICATION To my family, Jackie, and all the best friends that always supported me. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY .............................................................................. iii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iv DEDICATION .....................................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... xii NOMENCLATURE ..........................................................................................................xx CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION TO LIGHTWEIGHT VEHICLE STRUCTURES AND PROBLEM STATEMENT 1.1. Introduction and problem statement ..............................................1 1.2. History of composite materials ......................................................8 1.2.1. Lightweighting in the automotive sector ....................................9 II. LITERATURE REVIEW: COMPOSITE MATERIALS, THEIR MANUFACTURING, END OF LIFE TREATMENT (LCA AND RECYCLABILITY) AND MARKET TREND 2.1. New material concepts and future trend……..............................11 2.2. An overview on composite world................................................12 2.2.1. Fibrous reinforcement ...............................................................13 2.2.1.1. Glass fiber reinforcement ......................................................14 2.2.1.2. Aramid fibers reinforcement ..................................................14 2.2.1.3. Carbon fibers reinforcement ..................................................15 2.2.1.3.1. Automotive challenges due to carbon fibers ......................17 2.2.2. Matrixes and their properties ....................................................21 2.2.3. Processing of product forms: fabrics and performs ..................23 2.2.4. Sheet molding compound (SMC) preparation ..........................24 2.3. Design and structural simulation with composite materials ........26 2.4. Composite materials modeling ....................................................26 2.5. Manufacturing aspects during composites production ................28 2.5.1. Molding processes....................................................................30 2.5.2. Compression molding process ..................................................31 2.5.3. Resin transfer molding (RTM) process ....................................32 2.5.4. Injection molding process .........................................................34 vi 2.5.5. Injection charge compression molding (ICCM) .......................37 2.5.6. Part Fabrication Method ...........................................................38 2.5.7. New advanced processes: Quickstep and melding ...................40 2.5.8. Resin spray technology (RST) process .....................................43 2.5.9. Endless-LongFiberThermoplastic process................................45 2.5.10. Part design with sandwich structures ......................................48 2.5.11. Honeycomb design solution ...................................................51 2.5.12. Sandwich structures with corrugated core ..............................52 2.5.13. Nano-tubes technology ...........................................................55 2.6. Methods of composites repair ......................................................57 2.7. Life cycle assessment ..................................................................58 2.8. Composite recycling methods ......................................................61 2.8.1. Mechanical recycling method ...................................................65 2.8.2. Fiber reclamation methods .......................................................65 2.8.3. Pyrolysis treatment ...................................................................66 2.8.4. Oxidation treatment ..................................................................67 2.8.5. Other chemical treatments ........................................................67 2.9. European composites market .......................................................72 2.9.1. BMW and SGL group joint venture .........................................73 2.9.2.