Transparent Composite Material for Automotive Windows

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing materials for automobile windshields, such as tempered glass and plastics like polycarbonate and PMMA, face issues with weight, transparency, impact resistance, scratch resistance, and weather resistance, limiting their use and increasing production costs.

Innovation Solution

A transparent composite material composition is developed by adding an organic hydroperoxide initiator to a thermosetting urethane acrylate resin, which provides superior transparency, impact resistance, scratch resistance, and weather resistance while reducing weight, suitable for use in automobile windows.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If tempered glass is used for automobile sunroofs, then transparency and strength are improved, but weight increases

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovestrengthVSAvoidweight
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the material parameters by using thermosetting urethane acrylate resin with organic hydroperoxide initiator instead of traditional tempered glass, achieving a material that provides equivalent or superior strength while significantly reducing weight for automobile sunroof applications

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a composite material system combining thermosetting urethane acrylate resin with organic hydroperoxide initiator to achieve optimized properties that neither material alone could provide, specifically achieving both reduced weight and maintained/strengthened structural integrity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

2Reliability

If double laminated glass is used instead of tempered glass, then safety is improved, but manufacturing complexity and production cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovesafetyVSAvoidmanufacturing process complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the safety function from the complex double laminated glass structure and implements it through a simpler single-material thermosetting resin system with organic hydroperoxide initiator, achieving equivalent safety performance with reduced manufacturing complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the material state from a multi-layer glass structure requiring complex lamination processes to a single thermosetting resin system that cures in place, simplifying the manufacturing process while maintaining safety performance

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Weight of moving object

If polycarbonate (PC) is used as a plastic material, then weight is reduced, but rigidity and scratch resistance deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveweightVSAvoidrigidity and scratch resistance
Core Design Contradiction:
Weight of moving objectVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the material parameters by using thermosetting urethane acrylate resin with organic hydroperoxide initiator instead of polycarbonate, achieving a material that provides equivalent weight reduction while significantly improving rigidity and scratch resistance properties

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a composite material system combining thermosetting urethane acrylate resin with organic hydroperoxide initiator to achieve optimized properties that balance weight reduction with enhanced rigidity and scratch resistance, overcoming the limitations of pure polycarbonate

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

4Illumination intensity

If PMMA is used as a plastic material, then transparency is improved, but impact resistance deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovetransparencyVSAvoidimpact resistance
Core Design Contradiction:
Illumination intensityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the material parameters by using thermosetting urethane acrylate resin with organic hydroperoxide initiator instead of PMMA, achieving a material that provides equivalent or superior transparency while significantly improving impact resistance for automobile window applications

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a composite material system combining thermosetting urethane acrylate resin with organic hydroperoxide initiator to achieve optimized optical and mechanical properties, providing both the transparency needed for windows and the impact resistance required for safety

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The composite material achieves enhanced properties like superior transparency, impact resistance, and weather resistance while reducing weight, improving fuel efficiency and surface quality, and can be applied to various automotive glass products.

Implementation Method 1

an organic hydroperoxide initiator is added to a thermosetting urethane acrylate resin

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectPolymerization: Photopolymerisation

Data Source

PatentUS9938395B2Transparent composite material composition and method of preparing transparent composite material using the same
Publication Date: 2018.04.10 HYUNDAI MOTOR CO LTD

AI summary

A transparent composite material composition, comprises, based on a total amount of the transparent composite material: 90 to 99% by weight of a thermosetting urethane acrylate resin; and 1 to 10% by weight of an organic hydroperoxide initiator. Such a transparent composite material composition exhibits superior properties such as superior transparency, impact resistance, scratch resistance, and weather resistance while realizing weight reduction.