Deep-Drawn Composite Materials for Lightweight Vehicle Panels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing composites for automotive and construction materials face challenges in meeting stringent performance specifications, particularly in deep drawing processes without breaking, while maintaining lightweight and mechanical properties.
Innovation Solution
A composite material comprising a fiber reinforced polymer core with a skin material having a basis weight of at least 65 g/m2 and an elongation at break of at least 20%, which can be bonded to the core, allowing deep drawing up to 5 cm without breakthrough, using a torture tool test method.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a traditional composite material is used, then the material can maintain structural strength, but it cannot undergo deep drawing processes without breaking
Solution Approach 1:
The composite is divided into two functional layers: a flexible skin material layer that enables deep drawing without breaking, and a structural core material that provides strength. This segmentation allows each layer to perform its specific function independently, resolving the contradiction between formability and structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite structure combining a flexible skin material (with elongation ≥20%) and a fiber-reinforced polymer core. This composite material approach allows the skin to accommodate large deformations during deep drawing while the core maintains structural strength, solving both requirements simultaneously.
2Ease of manufacture
If the skin material has high elongation to prevent breaking during deep drawing, then formability improves, but the overall composite weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible skin material is applied only as a thin surface layer (not throughout the entire composite), providing the necessary elongation and formability locally where needed during deep drawing, while the lightweight fiber-reinforced polymer core provides structural strength without adding significant weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a thin flexible skin material layer (acting as a shell) that provides the necessary elongation and formability during deep drawing processes. This thin film approach achieves the required formability without the weight penalty of making the entire composite from highly elongatable materials.
3Strength
If the skin material basis weight is increased to improve strength, then mechanical properties improve, but the composite becomes less lightweight
Solution Approach 1:
The skin material is used as a thin surface layer rather than a thick component, achieving sufficient peel strength and mechanical integrity through its flexible properties and bonding to the core, while minimizing weight addition. The thin film approach provides the necessary strength without compromising the lightweight characteristic.
Data Source
AI summary
Certain embodiments described herein are directed to composite materials effective for use in deep draw processes. In some examples, the composites can be used to provide vehicle panels such as, for example, vehicle underbody panels. In some configurations, the composite comprises a fiber reinforced polymer core and a skin material disposed on at least some portion of the fiber reinforced polymer core, in which the skin material comprises a basis weight of at least 65 g/m2 and an elongation at break of at least 20%.