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Cost of Automotive Polymer Composites: A Review and Assessment of DOE's Lightweight Materials Composites Research.

DE2001777656

Publication Date	2001
Personal Author	Das, S.
Page Count	49
Abstract	Polymer composite materials have been a part of the automotive industry for several decades but economic and technical barriers have constrained their use. To date, these materials have been used for applications with low production volumes because of their shortened lead times and lower investment costs relative to conventional steel fabrication. Although glass fiber-reinforced polymers dominate the composite materials used in automotive applications, other polymer composites, such as carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites, show great promise. These alternatives are attractive because they offer weight reduction potential twice that of the conventional glass fiber-reinforced thermoset polymers used today. The major thrust of this paper is an examination of the economic viability of polymer composites. The paper also examines how the R&D supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Advanced Automotive Technologies Lightweight Materials Program is responding to the needs of the industry, specifically from an economic viability perspective.
Keywords	Polymer composites Automotive industry Cost analysis Research and development US DOE Government policies Lightweight materials
Source Agency	Technical Information Center Oak Ridge Tennessee
Corporate Authors	Oak Ridge National Lab., TN. Energy Div.; Department of Energy, Washington, DC. Office of Transportation
Supplemental Notes	Color illustrations reproduced in black and white. Sponsored by Department of Energy, Washington, DC. Office of Transportation Technologies.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	200120
Contract Number	DE-AC05-00OR22725

Cost of Automotive Polymer Composites: A Review and Assessment of DOE's Lightweight Materials Composites Research.

Cost of Automotive Polymer Composites: A Review and Assessment of DOE's Lightweight Materials Composites Research.
DE2001777656

Publication Date	2001
Personal Author	Das, S.
Page Count	49
Abstract	Polymer composite materials have been a part of the automotive industry for several decades but economic and technical barriers have constrained their use. To date, these materials have been used for applications with low production volumes because of their shortened lead times and lower investment costs relative to conventional steel fabrication. Although glass fiber-reinforced polymers dominate the composite materials used in automotive applications, other polymer composites, such as carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites, show great promise. These alternatives are attractive because they offer weight reduction potential twice that of the conventional glass fiber-reinforced thermoset polymers used today. The major thrust of this paper is an examination of the economic viability of polymer composites. The paper also examines how the R&D supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Advanced Automotive Technologies Lightweight Materials Program is responding to the needs of the industry, specifically from an economic viability perspective.
Keywords	Polymer composites Automotive industry Cost analysis Research and development US DOE Government policies Lightweight materials
Source Agency	Technical Information Center Oak Ridge Tennessee
Corporate Authors	Oak Ridge National Lab., TN. Energy Div.; Department of Energy, Washington, DC. Office of Transportation
Supplemental Notes	Color illustrations reproduced in black and white. Sponsored by Department of Energy, Washington, DC. Office of Transportation Technologies.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	200120
Contract Number	DE-AC05-00OR22725