Definition of Composites:

A composite material is a homogenous mixture created by the synthetic assembly

of two materials of which one is a reinforcing material called fiber and the other is
the binding material called matrix.
In the modern world composites are used in all the fields like Automotive,
Aerospace, Construction industry, Entertainment industry etc.
Characteristics of Composites:

They are rigid, with high strength to weight ratio.

Good Electrical resistance.
Resistance to chemicals and weather is high.
They have good stiffness (related to automobile skin to limit buckling).
Good corrosion resistance.

Why Composites:

To
To
To
To

improve fuel efficiency by reducing mass of the vehicle.

Improve safety and crashworthiness
enhance styling and part consolidation.
provide aerodynamic design.

Now we will consider the advantage of composites with regard to the above 4
points:

Effect of reduction in weight by using composites on the cost of

manufacturing and fuel efficiency of the vehicle:
The reduction in weight of the vehicle by 1Kg on the cost of manufacturing in
various industries like Automobile, aeronautical and Space are as follows:
Automobile 5-7 $ /KG
Aeronautical 500- 700 $ / KG
Space5000-7000$/KG.
A typical example of BMW Company that used CFC (1.8mm gage) roof design
instead of Aluminium (1.2mm gage)
This resulted in a weight saving of 1.1 kg per roof valuing 5.5 7.0 USD per roof.
This finally amounted to a saving of 21,000 USD / year (3000 cars/year platform.)

a vehicle structure and closures made of normal materials like steel or Aluminum
would way 500 KG and will consume 10ltr of fuel per 100 km of distance travelled.

If the same structure is made using a HSS (High strength steel) it will weigh 350 KG
(30% weight reduction) in this case the vehicle will consume 9.58 ltr per 100 km
distance which means 4.2% increase in fuel efficiency.
In the third case a Carbon fiber composite is used to build the structure, which
weighs 270KG (42% weight reduction) and the vehicle will consume 9.31 ltr per 100
km of distance driven. This means 7% of increase in fuel efficiency.
It should be noted that if the same carbon fiber composite structure is used on a car
powered by the Diesel engine the fuel efficiency can be increased by a whopping
30% and its 35% with a Full hybrid petrol engine and 45 % in case of a Hybrid Diesel
engine.
2. Composites to improve safety and crash worthiness:
The crashworthiness design fundamentals include the below points:

Maintain occupant survivable volume or occupant space.

Restrain occupants (within that space)
Limit occupants deceleration within tolerable levels
Retain safety- cage integrity
Minimize post-crash hazards

Specific energy of Absorption

material is said to have good crashworthiness or safe if it has high absorption of
energy resulting out of crash. The graph below shows Ideal crush load v/s Crush
length of a structure subjected to crash test.
Effects of using composites

Reduces damage and injury to the passenger from accidents.

Composite C fiber composites are preferable over steel/ magnesium or
aluminium as they exhibit higher energy absorption values.
These structure members are in the form of tubular beams and can be made
from glass fiber and carbon fiber for more critical components.

3. Styling and part consolidation:

The use of composites (PMCs) in the styling of the interiors of a vehicle has resulted
in enhancing the aesthetic look and also in consolidating the parts to fit into small
available space inside the vehicle. Some of the examples are shown below:

Classification of composites
Composites are classified based on the matrix used and reinforcing material used in
the formation of the composite material.
Based on Matrix used:
Based on the Reinforcing material used

The use of Composites in the Automobile industry is not a new invention, they are
used In the automobiles as early as 1930s.
History of Composites in the Automobile industry
In 1930- Henry Ford attempted to use Soya oil to produce a Phenolic resin and
thence to produce a Wood filled composite material for car bodies
1940 - flax - a flax reinforced Spitfire fuselage was made at Duxford,
Cambridgeshire.
In the 1950s when glass fiber reinforcement material and cold setting polyester
resins became commercially available, this put the manufacture of compound
curved streamlined automotive bodies into the reach of low volume, low capital

companies. The first use of composites by a high volume manufacturer was

probably the 1954
1954 Singer Hunter - GRP bonnet and side valences (Source: The North American
Singer Owners Club)

By the beginning of the 1960s the low volume car producers were producing
structural monologues in hand laid GRP examples are the Lotus Elite, and these
craft level wet hand layup methods were the mainstay of composite production
throughout the nineteen sixties, limiting their application to low volume high value
specialist sports car manufacture - example the Reliant Scimitar.
The Reliant Scimitar (GTE SE6a shown here) had a hand laid body supported by a
steel chassis (Source: Nick Tucker)
In the late 1980s the Pontiac Fiero (Figure 5) laid a good claim as the first mass
production Composite intensive car body. The Fiero had a space frame chassis and a
body using a number of different types of Composites. The high performance (and
cost) image of composites has lead to amusing spin offs such as the manufacture of
polypropylene moldings for the juvenile market that look just like carbon fiber.
These articles are of course limited to non-structural applications such as air ducts
and trim pieces.
The Pontiac Fiero mass production composite intensive body (Source:
www.pontiacfiero.com)

In the late 1990s, Rover Group (moving later into the BMW Group phase) was
working very closely with researchers at the Warwick Manufacturing Group at the
University of Warwick. The collaboration (first known as EPIC Engineering Polymers
Integrated Capability), and then SALVO Structurally Advanced Lightweight Vehicle
Objective) had the aim of providing information on new materials, manufacturing
technologies, and facilitating the integration of such materials and technologies into
volume automotive manufacturing in the new millennium.
Why Composites?

 To improve fuel efficiency by reducing mass of the vehicle.

To Improve safety and crashworthiness
To enhance styling and part consolidation.
To provide aerodynamic design.
Now we will consider the advantage of composites with regard to the above 4
points:
1) Effect of reduction in weight (by using composites) on the cost of
manufacturing and Fuel Efficiency of the vehicle.
The reduction in weight of the vehicle by 1Kg on the cost of manufacturing in
various industries like Automobile, aeronautical and Space are as follows:
Automobile 5-7 $ /KG
Aeronautical 500- 700 $ / KG
Space 5000 to 7000$ /KG.
A typical example of BMW Company that used CFC (1.8mm gage) roof design
instead of Aluminium (1.2mm gage)
This resulted in a weight saving of 1.1 kg per roof valuing 5.5 7.0 USD per roof.
This finally amounted to a saving of 21,000 USD / year (3000 cars/year platform.)

The table below shows the values of fuel consumption and fuel efficiency for
different design types and vehicle weights.
As per this study, a vehicle structure and closures made of normal materials like
steel or Aluminum would way 500 KG and will consume 10ltr of fuel per 100 km of
distance travelled.
If the same structure is made using a HSS (High strength steel) it will weigh 350 KG
(30% weight reduction) in this case the vehicle will consume 9.58 ltr per 100 km
distance which means 4.2% increase in fuel efficiency.
In the third case a Carbon fiber composite is used to build the structure, which
weighs 270KG (42% weight reduction) and the vehicle will consume 9.31 ltr per 100
km of distance driven. This means 7% of increase in fuel efficiency.

It should be noted that if the same carbon fiber composite structure is used on a car
powered by the Diesel engine the fuel efficiency can be increased by a whopping
30% and its 35% with a Full hybrid petrol engine and 45 % in case of a Hybrid Diesel
engine.

2) Composites to improve Safety and Crashworthiness.

The crashworthiness design fundamentals include the below points:
Maintain occupant survivable volume or occupant space.
Restrain occupants (within that space)
Limit occupants deceleration within tolerable levels
Retain safety- cage integrity
Minimize post crash hazards
Specific energy of Absorption -- material is said to have good crashworthiness or
safe if it has high absorption of energy resulting out of crash. The graph below
shows Ideal crush load v/s Crush length of a structure subjected to crash test.

The specific energy of absorption is given by

S.E.A = W / V
Where W --- Total Energy absorption = Area under curve
V --- Volume of crushed material
--- Density of the material
The energy is absorbed by the structure by plastic buckling as shown below. As a
result the impact of the crash will be reduced at the other end of the structure.
The below graph compares the SEA for metals and composites.

The SEA value for Aluminum is around 25KJ/kg and for steel its around 35Kj/Kg. And
SEA values for the Glass /Epoxy is in the 75 KJ/kg and for Carbon / PEEK its as high
as 200KJ/kg.This proves that a structure built with a composite is 6 to 8 times safer
than a structure built with metals.

The effect of using Composites on safety is listed as follows:

Reduces damage and injury to the passenger from accidents.
Composite C fiber composites are preferable over steel/ magnesium or
aluminium as they exhibit higher energy absorption values.
These structure members are in the form of tubular beams and can be made
from glass fiber and carbon fiber for more critical components.
3) Styling and Part consolidation
The use of composites (PMCs) in the styling of the interiors of a vehicle has resulted
in enhancing the aesthetic look and also in consolidating the parts to fit into small
available space inside the vehicle. Some of the examples are shown below:
CFRP Inner deck lid for FORD GT
Here the consolidation of 4 parts into one is possible due to ability to create
complex curvatures.
The use of LGF PP has resulted in Weight saving, parts consolidation, and reduced
packaging space and more design freedom
The use of SMCs in GM / FORD pickup trucks has resulted in multiple parts
consolidation, light weight construction and corrosion resistance.

Scope of composites in the modern automotive industry:

The automotive companies in the todays modern world are forced to look for new
ways and innovations in manufacturing a car/truck due to fierce competition. The
cars today should have all the comforts needed by the customer at low cost. This

has led to the use of composite materials in the construction of the body, interiors,
chassis, hoods, electrical components etc. The composite materials have the
desired properties to suit the requirements. Hence there is more scope for the
composites today and also will be in future in the Automobile industry.
The below Pie chart shows the amount of composite material used by the
Automobile companies during the year 2007. The major players in the automotive
world like General Motors (33%) Ford (25%) and Daimler Chrysler (21%) are using
the composite materials extensively.
Examples of composites in the automotive industry:
There are already a number of composites used in the automotive industry. A few
examples
Of which follow. These are mainly from a European standpoint although examples of
the
US industries where some composites are widely used are also included.
Composite Modular Front Ends The first composite front end was introduced in
1987 on a Peugeot 405, manufactured
From sheet moulding compound (SMC). Others, e.g., Peugeot 605 and Citroen XM

The future of composites:

In most cases polymer matrix composites (PMC) are in competition against existing
metal components. In the case of automotive applications this means steel and
aluminium. The advantages of steel are cost, strength, and a route for recycling that
is an integral part of the manufacturing process, 50% of manufactured steel finds its
way back to the steel works as scrap [1]. The disadvantages are the very high cost
of plant and tooling and the limits of ductility. The case for aluminium is also
constrained by the relatively high material cost. However, this is usually off-set by
an additional weight saving potential.
The ductility implication of metals means that complex
shapes must be made as Fabrications. Making a similar component from PMC is
characterized by cheap plant, but expensive materials, which allow complex shapes
to be made as single articles. Whilst PMC are usually accepted for low volume
applications, they can only overcome their perceived disadvantages for large scale
manufacture by being used to make a more sophisticated product.
Composite use on our current vehicles looks set to increase substantially (market
trends Suggest up to 10% growth per year in automotive markets) and the use of
such components will give the OEM a customer benefit that will be hard to ignore.
The successful exploitation of composite materials
may well give motor manufacturers the edge they require to stay ahead of the
marketplace and it is up to each OEM to ensure they remain at the forefront of this
technology.
Summary:
Composite materials are already being used in various forms throughout the
automotive Industry, from sheet moulding compound (SMC) fenders to
thermoplastic composite tail doors. The use of composites has been driven by the
requirement to save weight and also By the reduction in investment costs
associated with composites. Future economic and Environmental pressures will tend
to increase the use of low-density materials and Composites in particular.