From vehicles to rotor blades, from construction to home furnishings…the trend to “lightweighting”,necessitated by the need for energy efficiency and environmental protection, is now everywhere in our lives.
Though it looks like an exquisite toy, smart forvision is no-kidding matter, rather it is a forward-looking electric concept vehicle jointly developed by BASF and Daimler,one of the world’s most successful automotive companies.
smart forvision successfully combines the brisk style of smart with a high percentage of plastics in wheels, doors, exteriors, interiors and other components. The result is a 30% weight reduction compared withmodels of the same level.
“The lightweighting trend is obvious,” said Dr. Piyada Charoensirisomboon, Vice President of BASF Innovation Campus Asia Pacific (Shanghai). “This is especially true in the transportation industry.”
In June, the European Union (EU) agreed to acompromise deal to enforce stricter rules on carbon dioxide emissions for all new EU automobiles from 2020, aiming to ensure an average of 95 grams of CO2per kilometer. However, statistics show that by the end of 2011 German-made cars still emitted more than 143g CO2/km on average.
“Lightweighting is a must to realize this emission reduction goal,” Dr. Charoensirisomboon said. It’s estimated that, on average, aweight reduction of 100 kg reduces CO2 emission by 10g/km.
The trend to lightweight can now be found everywhere in our lives. People want lighter clothes, lighter computers and lighter mobile phones, among other things. Home furnishings needing frequent movement are becoming lighter.
“As for transportation, the lighter planes, cars, trains and yachts are, the less energy they consume. It’s no doubt that people favor lighter things, but with one condition – that their performance and safety are not negatively affected,” said Dr. Ates Erk, Head of China Technical Research &Development Center, BASF Polyurethane Specialties.
From Decoration to Function
Innovations in lightweight materials provide the basis for lightweighting. To many people, plastics can only be used for decorative or non-important purposes in daily life. Nevertheless, BASF’s innovations in materials are changing this kind of view: plastics are finding their way toreplace steel.
“In the automotive sector, plastics are evolving from non-load-bearing decorative components to high-strength functional and structural components that require excellent resistance to impact and heat,” said Michael Sun, Senior Manager specializing in Automotive Market Development for Engineering Plastics at BASF in Greater China.
Currently, many lightweight plastic automotive parts and components, including engine covers,front-end modules, lower bumper stiffeners, transmission cross-members, turbo charged engine pipelines, oil pans and body structural inserts, have been commercialized. In addition, the doors of smart forvision are made of carbon-fiber-reinforcedepoxy resin. Thanks to their unique advantages, BASF’s lightweight solutions are now benefiting the transportation sector, including high-speed railway and yachting.
The plastic wheels on smart forvision, however, provide an even better demonstration of the ultimate performance of engineering plastics. The whole wheel, except for an insert connecting to the axle, is made of plastic composites, resulting in a weight reduction of three kilos per wheel. Considering the hundreds of kilos of heavy load and the continuous rotation in driving, it’s easy to imagine how great the challenges are.
“While the breakthrough of battery technologies for electric vehicles (EV) seems impossible in the near future, lightweighting becomes the obvious choice to promote the development of EV,” Sun noted. “The lightweight, plastic wheels mark an exciting milestone. It may take a few more steps for all-plastic wheels to becommercialized and our experts are striving to improve their impact and fatigue resistance.”
Compared to plastic vehicles, the all-plastic e-bicycle presented by BASF on K 2013 in October maybe closer to commercialization.
The “Concept 1865 – RethinkingMaterials” e-bike utilized 24 different BASF plastics, including polyurethane composite, thermoset epoxy resin and performance foam plastic to build wheels, body and wires. The BASF plastic body and chassis offered up to a 60% weight reduction potential compared to their steel counter parts. Thanks to lightweighting, the dream of a “portable” bicycle may come true in the near future.
In addition to transportation, lightweighting also has an important role to play in the clean energy sector. BASF, for instance, has successfully applied lightweight solutions in the manufacturing of rotor blades. Lighter blades help capture more wind resources. However, they must withstand extreme conditions, including strong wind load, air scouring, sand impact and UV exposure. In the photovoltaic (PV) sector, the BASF PV module installation frame was not only much lighter than its metal counterpart but also withstood a wind pressure of 2,400 Pa, extending the life serviceto over 20 years.
To be continued....
What about lightweighting on Chinaplas 2014?
Join us on April 23~26 :
- Booth B41, Hall N1
- Shanghai New International Expo Center, 2345 Longyang Road
- 9:30 - 17:30, April 23-26, 2014
We create chemistry for a sustainable future!