LIGHTER & LIGHTER

Among the automobile applications discussed here are DuPont's Kevlar, are aramid fiber, used for belts for radial tires and mechanical rubber good such as belts and hoses; in Denmark Kevlar prototype brake pads and clutch plates are being tested. At the Ford Motor Company, a sink-resistant plastic has been developed with a thermoplastic additive to temper the tendency of polyester sheet molding compound to shrink and sink; reinforcement is provided by short (0.5in) glass fibers for the undesirable of a truck hood and long (2in) glass fibers for the surface. Ford is also experimenting with a graphite-fiber reinforced composite part. It is reported that General Electric has developed epoxy resins which will be able to handle a number of processes including: compression; transfer, injection, reaction injection molding (RIM) and reinforced reaction injection molding (RRIM); pultrusion; filament winding; and liquid molding with a minimum amount of processing problems. General Motors' most widely used resin is polypropylene -- 230 million lb (104 million kg) of it will be used in 1979. It's followed by urethane (foam and RIM), ABS and PVC. A 1980 Dodge Mirada CMX is almost 450 lb lighter than earlier models of its type, thanks mainly to expanded use of plastics.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/31209162
• Corporate Authors:

  Automotive Industries International

  Chilton Way
  Radnor, PA  United States  19089
• Authors:
  • McCann, M K
• Publication Date: 1979-9

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 38-47
• Serial:
  • Automotive Industries
  • Volume: 159
  • Issue Number: 9
  • Publisher: Randall Publishing Company
  • ISSN: 1099-4130
  • Serial URL: http://www.ai-online.com

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles; Composite materials; Epoxy resins; Fibers; Graphite; Hoses; Lightweight materials; Manual safety belts; Plastics; Polyester resins; Radial ply tires; Reinforcement (Engineering); Rubber; Trip generation; Urethane; Vehicular materials; Weight
• Old TRIS Terms: Automobile materials; Belts; Radial tires
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Materials; Vehicles and Equipment; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00324994
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Engineering Index
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 15 1981 12:00AM