Present and Future Automotive Composite Materials Research Efforts at DOE
Automobiles of the future will be forced to travel fi.uther on a tank of fuel while discharging lower levels of pollutants. Currently, the United States uses in excess of 16.4 million barrels of petroleum per day. Sixty-six percent of that petroleum is used in the transportation of people and goods. Automobiles currently account for just under two-thirds of the nation's gasoline consumptio~ and about one-third of the total United States energy usage. [1] By improving transportation related fiel efficiency, the United States can lessen the impact that emissions have on our environment and provide a cleaner environment for fiture generations. In 1992, The Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Transportation Materials completed a comprehensive program plan entitled, The Lightweight MateriaIs (LWko Multi-Year Program Plan, for the development of technologies aimed at reducing vehicle mass [2]. This plan was followed in 1997 by the more comprehensive Office of Advanced Automotive Technologies research and development plan titled, Energy Eficient Vehicles for a Cleaner Environment [3] which outlines the department's plans for developing more efficient vehicles during the next ~een years. Both plans identi~ potential applications, technology needs, and R&D priorities. The goal of the Lightweight Materials Program is to develop materials and primary processing methods for the fabrication of lighter weight components which can be incorporated into automotive systems. These technologies are intended to reduce vehicle weight, increase fuel efficiency and decrease emissions. The Lightweight Materials program is jointly managed by the Department of Energy(DOE) and the United States Automotive Materials Partnership (USAMP). Composite materiak program work is coordinated by cooperative research efforts between the DOE and the Automotive Composites Consortium (ACC).
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Oak Ridge, TN
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Transportation Technologies (EE-30)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-96OR22464
- OSTI ID:
- 6553
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/CP-102635; EE 04 01 00 0; ON: DE00006553
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 12th International Conference on Composite Materials (ICCM-12), Paris, France, July 3-9, 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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