Carbon Fiber Composites - SPE Automotive€¢ Broader acceptance of carbon fiber composites for...
Transcript of Carbon Fiber Composites - SPE Automotive€¢ Broader acceptance of carbon fiber composites for...
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Carbon Fiber Composites
Low Cost Materials &
Manufacturing Options
George Husman
Zoltek Companies, Inc.
September 13, 2012
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Toray, 19000
Zoltek, 14000
Toho, 13900 Mitsubishi,
13000
all others, 37600
All China Hexcel Formosa SGL Cytec AKSA Others
2011 Estimated Capacity Total = 97,500 metric tonnes
Source: High Performance Composites, March 2012
Carbon Fiber Markets 2011 – 2020 Estimated Demand
2011 Total = 45,800 metric tonnes 2020 Total = 153,680 metric tonnes
Source: High Performance Composites, March 2012
• Wind Energy is largest market for carbon fiber • Energy and Industrial markets dominate • Should the Automotive forecast be higher??
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10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
80000
wind energy
consumer products
aerospace
automotive
other industrial
Total 45,800 92,490 153,680
2011 2015 2020
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Automotive Applications
Carbon UD Carbon Steel Aluminum
Fiber Composite
Strength (MPa) 4150 ~ 2200 ~ 690 ~ 415
Modulus (GPa) 245 ~ 132 ~ 207 ~ 69
Density (g/cc) 1.81 ~ 1.54 ~ 7.8 ~ 2.7
Why use carbon composites? • high strength & stiffness • low density light weight vehicles
What is needed for broader automotive use of Carbon Fiber Composites?
• Lower cost carbon fiber & intermediate products • High throughput / low cost manufacturing technologies • Design know-how
- crash safety and performance prediction - design for manufacturing - hybrid materials concepts / selective reinforcement
Carbon Fiber Cost
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Typical Aerospace Fiber Prices
Typical Commercial Fiber Prices
Future Commercial Fiber Prices
$ /
KG
Standard Modulus Carbon Fiber Price
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Zoltek / Weyerhaeuser / U.S. Dept. of Energy Project
- Lignin / PAN polymer blend precursor
- renewable source material (up to 45%)
- lower cost material, lower energy, lower CO2
- commercial product in 2013
Lower Cost Carbon Fiber Development
Precursor fibers from Zoltek Pilot Spinning Line
% Lignin Content
0 15 20 25 35 45
Project Targets - Cost = $11.00 / kg
- Strength > 1725 MPa
- Modulus > 172 GPa
- Elongation > 1%
Current Results - Cost ~ TBD
- Strength ~ 2800 MPa
- Modulus ~ 210 GPa
- Elongation ~ 1.3%
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Low Cost Manufacturing
• Broader acceptance of carbon fiber composites for automotive
applications requires low cost / high throughput manufacturing processes
• Technology centers like the Magna – NRC Composite Centre of
Excellence and Fraunhofer – Gesellschaft and equipment manufacturers
like Krauss Maffei are working together with materials suppliers to
develop these needed technologies
• Manufacturing Processes:
Thermosetting Polymers
- prepreg compression molding - resin transfer molding (RTM)
- wet pressing - sheet molding compound (SMC)
Thermoplastics
- direct thermoplastic compounding / injection & compression molding
- thermoplastic sheet thermoforming
- continuous fiber local reinforcement and insert over-molding
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Continuous Fiber / Thermosetting Matrix Processes
Prepreg Product
RTM Preform
Prepreg compression molding and resin transfer molding (RTM) are currently used processes for low volume automotive applications While these result in high structural efficiency composites, they have major drawbacks: - high intermediate product costs - slow cycle times / low throughput - high scrap Substantial improvements are needed to achieve broader use of these processes: - faster curing polymer systems - advanced preforming concepts - automated tow & tape placement - scrap reduction and cost effective use
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Low Cost Carbon Fiber Sheet Molding Compounds
Magna Exteriors and Interiors recently introduced the first carbon SMC product made with low cost commercial carbon fiber.
Typical SMC Composites Properties: Carbon Fiber Glass Fiber Tensile Strength = 200 MPa 140 MPa Tensile Modulus = 30 GPa 13 GPa Specific Gravity = 1.41 gm/cc 1.80 gm/cc
This provides excellent potential for light weight structural applications.
Advantages: • low cost product • mold flow process for complex shapes • net shape molding; near zero scrap • light weight structures • use of existing molding facilities & know-how
Complex parts molded by Magna
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Direct Compounding / Injection Molding
Complex Front End Module Demonstrated at Krauss Maffei
Comparative carbon and glass fiber parts
Advantages:
• No intermediate product costs • High production rates ~ 60 second cycle times • Net shape / complex parts; near zero scrap • Potential for low cost / light weight complex structures • Additional development to achieve better fiber length retention will result in much higher properties
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Carbon Thermoplastic Tapes
Thermoplastic Tapes Can be used as the main reinforcement or as localized reinforcement for injection or compression molding applications.
Potential Parts Seat Backs, Front Ends, Bumpers, B-Pillars, etc.
Strategic placement Localized areas in combination with injection or compression molding produces a low cost, structurally optimized composite structure
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Carbon Thermoplastic Structural Sheets
Zmat Thermoplastic Sheets ZMat is a random orientated fiber mat comprised of 25mm long, unsized Panex® 35 fibers for use in a wide variety of composite applications.
Impregnated with PP, PA, or other polymers, ZMat thermoplastic sheets can be used in thermoforming processes and in association with other thermoplastic processes such as injection molding to produce highly efficient thermoplastic structures.
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• There is great interest in use of carbon fiber composites for light weight automotive applications
• Increased use of these materials for automotive requires:
- lower cost fibers and intermediate products
- low cost / high throughput manufacturing processes
- increased design know-how
• Current processes with continuous fibers (prepreg & RTM) are structurally efficient but are costly and slow. Improved technologies are needed for reduced scrap and faster processes
• Flow molding processes (SMC & carbon LFT) offer low cost and high throughput for light weight complex structures ; combined with localized reinforcement using continuous fibers provides high structural efficiency
• Low cost carbon fibers and intermediate products as well as low cost high through put processing technologies are rapidly evolving
Conclusions & Summary