Automotive intake manifold

Historically, strontium metal was produced only in very small quantities. Rapid growth of metal production occurred during the late 1980s, however, owing to use as a eutectic modifier in aluminum—silicon casting alloys. The addition of strontium changes the microstmcture of the alloy so that the siUcon is present as a fibrous stmcture, rather than as hard acicular particles. This results in improved ductility and strength in cast aluminum automotive parts such as wheels, intake manifolds, and cylinder heads. 

Eyerer P, Dekorsy Th, Schuckert M, Pfleiderer I Developing a comprehensive balance of an automotive air intake manifold. German Plastics 83 (1993) 3, S16-19 Wolf MA, Eyerer P (2004) The life cycle accident assessment (LCAA) - emissions and casualties from non-normal operation and use. Presentation at sixth international conference on ecobalance, Tsukuba, Japan, October 25-27 2004... 

Engineering polymers for high-temperature and -pressure applications are in use extensively in original equipment manufacturers around the world. The high-strength properties of these materials are necessary to obtain the desired mass reductions, efficiency, cost, and performance required in today s market. In current automotive applications, several polymers predominate for thermoplastic seals, thrust washers, intake manifolds, and other components. 

A full-scale model of the air intake manifold, where the complete sensor (with signal processing ICs, housing, cable fittings, etc.) can be tested under real-life conditions, was available. However, failure rates of components in automotive applications under normal conditions are on the order of a few ppm, which corre-... 

DuPont, Toyota, DuPont Engineering Polymers Show Value of Composite Recycle Technology in Automotive Air Intake Manifolds, news release, March 8, 2004. 

Nylon 6,6. Nylon 6,6 appears in automotive applications mostly in impact-modified, blended, and filled (mostly glass reinforced, with or with out impact modifiers) form. Impact modification of nylon 6,6 is of significant commercial importance, especially for automotive uses. Typical applications include fasteners for interior and exterior components, a host of connectors, holding fixtures, and radiator end caps, and a fairly common application is for air intake manifolds (Fig. 9.4). These applications rely on the ductility and toughness of impact-modified nylon 6,6 as a mechanism to connect assemblies or join components. 

Vibration welding is nsed extensively by the automotive industry in the manufacture of components snch as car bumpers, air intake manifolds, fuel pumps, instrument panels, parcel shelves, inner door panels and for the hermetic sealing of air ducting to the internal surface of the dashboard. Other applications include spectacle frames, typewriter covers, filter housings, motor saw housings and heating valves. 

The European Commission has proposed a technical directive forcing manufacturers to record the polymers used in the construction of vehicles, so as to facilitate recycling. DuPont Engineering Polymers says that its polyamide 6 derived from old automotive parts can be recovered and reused, still being within specification for use in automotive air intake manifolds. Toyota has verified that DuPont s process justifies the claims made. 

Leone and Oliver [42] have discussed the applications of fluoroelastomers, nitrile rubber (NBR) and hydrogenated NBR in seals for automotive air-intake manifolds. They review the properties required for such seals including mechanical and low temperature properties, heat and fuel resistance, and design requirements for the seals used in conjunction with the engineering plastics components in this application. 

LCA for the end-of-Ufe was used for seven plastic components that are commonly used in automotive applications. The parts included the bumper cover made from polypropylene (PP), windshield washer fluid container made from polyethylene (PE), air-intake manifold made from 30% glass-filled nylon, air duct made from 20% talk-filled PP, seat cushion made from polyurethane foam, head lamp lenses made from polycarbonate, and mirror housing made from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (Jenseit et al. 2003). 

As with thermoset injection molding, heavily fiber-reinforced parts are also molded from thermoplastics. Such parts still may exhibit creep during prolonged mechanical stress, but they are nevertheless considerably stronger and tougher than the nonreinforced products. Glass-reinforced nylon, for example, is used with the lost-core process for a complex air-intake manifold on a current automotive engine. 

SPS/nylon blends are specifically required in the claims of patents for an intake manifold [50], an oil pan [51], a water conductor assembly [52], a car body trimming part [53], a substrate for an adhesive [54,55], a reflector plate [56], an automotive body panel [57], and an assay device [58]. Table 16.8 lists the patents for which SPS/nylon blends are described as a candidate material in the claims for the application being patented. 

Liquid silicone rubber can also be combined with some thermoplastics and is an area of much commercial interest, one current application is in the automotive industry. General Motors produce a thermoplastic/LSR multi-shot air intake manifold on the Northstar model [3]. Other potential applications include shower heads and water resistant mobile phones. 

In recent years, demands have increased in using polyamide (PA) and polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) products to replace certain metal structures in the automotive vehicle air induction and power train systems, lawn/garden and power tools [1-2]. An average car uses 18 kg of PA and 3 kg of PET. With the annual vehicle production at nearly 12 million, the needed amount of PA is more than 200 million kg and more than 45 million kg for under-the-hood applications alone [5]. The design of these components, especially those critically stressed parts such as vibration welded air intake manifolds [5-4], door and instrument panels, requires advanced analyses of structure [5-5], NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness), welded joints [5], and service life [7],... 

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