Investigation of the Impact of Fiberglass on the Performance of Injected Thermoplastic Automotive Parts

Manufacturing processes impact many factors on a product. Depending on the selected method, development time, part performance and cost are affected. In the automotive sector, there is a growing demand for weight reduction due to the advent of electrification and the greenhouse gas emission regulations. In addition, geometric complexity is a challenging factor for the feasibility of mass production of parts. In this scenario, plastic materials are a very interesting option for application in various vehicle parts, since these materials can be molded by injection, vacuum forming, among others, while maintaining good mechanical properties. Almost a third of a vehicle’s parts are polymeric, making the development of these materials strategic for car manufacturers. This article investigates the impact of the presence of fiberglass in a thermoplastic automotive body part. Three rounds of injection simulations were performed using Autodesk Moldflow Adviser considering polypropylene with 20 %, 30 %, and 40 % of fiberglass in its composition. A parametric analysis is performed and the performance curves for volumetric shrinkage at ejection and deflection are plotted. The higher the fiberglass percentage, the higher the impact strength, dimensional stability, and stiffness.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.4271/2023-36-0046
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/01487191
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission of SAE International.
• Authors:
  • de Oliveira Neto, Raimundo Arrais
  • da Rocha Loi, Monique
  • Junior, Luis Roberto Martins Rego
  • Junior, Georges Louis Nogueira Guimarã
• Conference:
  • SAE Brasil 2023 Congress
  • Location: Sao Paolo , Brazil
  • Date: 2023-10-10 to 2023-10-11
• Publication Date: 2024-1-8

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References;
• Serial:
  • SAE Technical Paper
  • Publisher: Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
  • ISSN: 0148-7191
  • EISSN: 2688-3627
  • Serial URL: http://papers.sae.org/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Glass fibers; Manufacturing; Properties of materials; Thermoplastic materials; Vehicle bodies
• Subject Areas: Highways; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01905280
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: SAE International
• Report/Paper Numbers: 2023-36-0046
• Files: TRIS, SAE
• Created Date: Jan 22 2024 3:31PM