Automotive Uses

The number of light vehicle registrations dramatically increases the environmental impacts of automobiles worldwide (23). The automotive industry must implement fundamental issues, such as fuel economy and reduced emissions. Many design parameters, such as rolling resistance, aerodynamics, drive train design, friction, and vehicle weight can influence the environmental properties of the vehicles. 

The method of fabrication includes melt-blending a mixture of a compostable pol5nner and a water impermeable polymer. The compostable pol5nner, PLA is insoluble with the water impermeable polymer. The water impermeable pol5mier is admixed in amoimts of 0.1-5%. 

The method also includes foimtain-flowing the mixture into a closed mold. The layer is substantially impenetrable to water and is a biaxially-oriented thermoplastic pol5mier, such as a polyolefin. 

In addition, a peraieation resistance improving additive can be introduced which is a polymer-clay nanocomposite. 

The interior panel is formed by solidifying the mixture, and has a core and an encapsulating layer. The interior panel includes the core comprising the compostable polymer. The layer encapsulating the core comprises the water impermeable polymer. The interior panel is then removed from the mold. 

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In addition to their automotive use, PAO oils also find appfication in industrial and aircraft hydraufic fluids, gear oils, compressors, and environmentally sensitive appfications. They are also used in multipurpose greases for army, navy, nuclear, and industrial appfications. Expanding use has led to a growth rate of PAO production from 1985 to 1990 of 19% per year (28). 

Although synthetic lubrication oil production amounts to only about 2% of the total market, volume has been increasing rapidly (67). Growth rates of the order of 20% per year for poly( a-olefin)s, 10% for polybutenes, and 8% for esters (28) reflect increasing automotive use and these increases would accelerate if synthetics were adopted for factory fill of engines by automotive manufacturers. The estimated production of poly( a-olefin)s for lubricants appears to be approximately 100,000 m /yr, esters 75,000, poly(alkylene glycol)s 42,000, polybutenes 38,000, phosphates 20,000, and dialkyl benzene 18,000 (28,67). The higher costs reflected in Table 18 (18,28) have restricted the volume of siUcones, chlorotrifluoroethylene, perfluoroalkylpolyethers, and polyphenyl ethers. 

Aluminum babbitt has been a U.S. alternative (6,20). On cooling this molten material, 8% lead separates from the aluminum as globules at the surface for improved antiscoring properties. More recendy, a sintered lead—alurninum containing 8.5% lead, 4% siUcon, 1.5% tin, and 0.5% copper has been developed for automotive use. 

Temperature limits of flight engine alloys have been steadily inereasing about 20 °F (11 °C) per year sinee 1945. Transpiration and internally eooled metal blades have resulted in higher temperatures and more effieient operation. But the direet eorrelation between effieieney and fabrieation eost has resulted in a situation of diminishing returns for the superalloys. As more and more eooling air is needed for the superalloy eomponents, the effieieney of the engine drops to a point where turbine inlet temperatures around 2300 °F (1260 °C) are the optimum and, at that point, they are uneeonomie for automotive use. 

The kinetics of a mixed platinum and base metal oxide catalyst should have complementary features, and would avoid some of the reactor instability problems here. The only stirred tank reactor for a solid-gas reaction is the whirling basket reactor of Carberry, and is not adaptable for automotive use (84) A very shallow pellet bed and a recycle reactor may approach the stirred tank reactor sufficiently to offer some interest. 

At present, the automotive sector is the largest end-user. The next largest end-user is the beverage can stock. Automotive use of aluminum is expected to sky-rocket as the sector increases its use of aluminum to increase fuel efficiency. 

All acidic proton conductors discussed so far in this review have relied on the presence of large amounts of water (A = 10—30) as a mobile phase for the conduction of protons. Current targets for automotive use of hydrogen/air fuel cells are 120 °C and 50% or lower relative humidity. Under these conditions, the conductivity of the membrane decreases due to low water uptake at 50% relative humidity and thus creates large resistive losses in the cell. To meet the needs of advanced fuel cell systems, membranes will have to function without large amounts of absorbed water. Organic—inorganic composites are one preferred approach. ... 

Polyarylsulfones offer materials with good thermal-oxidative stability, solvent resistance, creep resistance, and good hydrolytic stability. Their low flammability and smoke evolution encourage their use in aircraft and transportation applications. They hold up to repeated steam sterilization cycles and are used in a wide variety of medical applications such as life support parts, autoclavable tray systems, and surgical and laboratory equipment. Blow-molded products include suction bottles, surgical hollow shapes, and tissue culture bottles. PPS has a number of automotive uses including as an injection-molded fuel line coimector and as part of the fuel filter system. 

GE introduced, in 2000, a new polyester carbonate based on resorcinol arylates called W-4. It is now marketed as Sollx. Sollx does not need to be painted, it offers good weather, chip, scratch, and chemical resistance and is being used as the fenders for the new Segway Human Transporter. It is also aimed at automotive uses including body panels. Sollx is coextruded into two layers clear and colored, to simulate automotive paint. It is then thermoformed and molded into the finished product. 

Along with the more classical polymers some new ones have been developed for automotive use. Thus, GE developed Noryl GTX resins that are being used on the fenders of some cars including the Volkswagen New Beetle and Hummer H3. The Noryl GTX resins are alloys of PPO and nylon-6,6. 

Accept PEM stack fuelled by ammonia (via a reformer) for automotive use. 

While several types of oxygen sensors have been investigated for automotive use, the most common type in commercial use consists of a galvanic cell with a fully or partially stabilized zirconium oxide electrolyte. 

Rcasbeck, P. and J.G. Smith Batteries for Automotive Use, John Wiley Si Sons, Inc, New York, NY. 1997... 

Glass-reinforced SMA polymers are used as electrical connectors, consoles, top pads, and as supports for urethane-padded instrument panels. There are seveial additional automotive uses. SMA aie also found in coffee makers, steam curlers, power tools, audio cassette components, business machines, vacuum cleaners, solar heat collectors, electrical housing, and fan blades, among others. 

Gas sensors for automotive use, such as the X sensor, lean-burn sensor and sensors for car-room air-conditioning will be utilized more extensively. 

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