Reduction of CO2 Emissions Through Lightweight Body Panels (Project Final Report)
- Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Herndon, VA (United Staes)
- Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
- Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)
- Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Lightweight construction is an integral part of Volkswagen’s overall strategy of reducing CO2 emissions. Due to its low cost, steel is the most commonly used material for automotive exterior body panels today. Unfortunately, steel has a high density, resulting in a relatively low specific strength. Glass fiber based sheet molding compounds (SMC) provide high properties in combination with lower density. The high specific strength of SMC offers an enormous lightweight potential. To unlock the full potential of SMC materials in combination with cutting edge manufacturing processes, Volkswagen Group of America worked together with IACMI (Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation) and the academic partners: University of Tennessee Knoxville, Purdue University and Michigan State University; as well as the industry partners: Ashland, IDI, Owens Corning and Continental Structural Plastics. Leveraging the expertise of all project partners, reaching over the entire supply chain the project demonstrated the potential of these materials. This report will highlight the major steps in the development process on the way to technology readiness for SMC using the example of the Volkswagen Atlas Liftgate. Over the 36-month period of the project, the work focused on three R&D areas: material development, design and simulation, and development of the manufacturing process. Material selection included alternative fibers and resin systems, and accounted for material availability, properties, and cost-efficiency. The work undertaken in the field of design and simulation has pushed the envelope of short fiber reinforced thermoset molding compound process simulation. Design iterations were virtually tested, while the final design was used to validate the simulation software against physical parts. Manufacturing development used cutting-edge technology, while experts along the supply chain were working together to ensure the best possible results. In the final stage of the project, liftgates were molded, trimmed, bonded, painted and assembled before exhaustive testing. The result is an e-coat (electrophoretic dip coating) capable Class-A SMC liftgate, which is ready for high-volume production, and can be used as a technology demonstrator. The prototypes manufactured in the scope of this work have exhibited a mass reduction for the Volkswagen Atlas liftgate of up to 35% compared to the series production steel version, without a degradation of the functionalities.
- Research Organization:
- Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, Knoxville, TN (United States); Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Herndon, VA (United Staes); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Advanced Manufacturing Office
- DOE Contract Number:
- EE0006926
- OSTI ID:
- 1769017
- Report Number(s):
- IACMI/R004-2020/3.7; IACMI/R004-2020/3.7
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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