Plastics automotive applications

Plasties, whieh feature lightweight eharacteristies, are ideal for heavy-duty automotive applications. The objeetive is to reduee fuel eonsumption and earbon dioxide emissions. A variety of plastics is necessary to aehieve optimum teehnieal and economic results. It has been found that meehanieal recycling is the best reeovery option for large PP automotive eomponents, while energy recovery is the solution for most small plastie parts. 

ADVANCES IN CHEMICAL RECYCLING OF PLASTICS IN AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS... 

Composites are being employed in a number of automotive applications. These include racing car bodies as well as regular automobiles. Most automobiles have the lower exterior panels composed of rubbery, plastic blends, and/or composite materials. Corvettes have composite bodies that allow a lightweight vehicle with decent fuel economy and they do not rust. Other parts such as drive shafts and leaf springs in private cars and heavy trucks, antennas, and bumpers are being made from composite materials. 

With the advent of the soluble stereoregulating catalysts, so-called older polymers have been synthesized with additional control over the structure giving products with enhanced strength and dimensional stability. Amorphous PS is relatively brittle, requiring a plasticizer to allow it to be flexible. The use of soluble stereoregulating catalysts allowed the synthesis of sPS with a I m of about 270°C and a Tg of about 100°C with good solvent and chemical resistance. DOW commercialized sPS under the trade name Questra in 1997. It is used in specialty electrical and under-the-hood automotive applications. 

Among the most frequently used nitrogen containing polymers in electrical, electronic, and automotive applications are PA and ABS. Pyrolysis proved to be a suitable method for recycling plastic waste. 

The use of calcium carbonate in thermosets continues to grow as these plastics replace alternative materials, especially in automotive applications. Increased loadings of calcium carbonate in thermosets reduce cost and provide better surface characteristics. 

Common uses for polyester resins are reinforced plastics automotive parts boat hulls foams encapsulation of electrical equipment protective coatings ducts flues and other structural applications low pressure laminates magnetic tapes piping bottles non-woven disposable filters and low-temperature mortars. 

Large parts can require considerable power requirements. Resistance welding has been applied to complex joints in automotive applications, including vehicle bumpers and panels, and joints in plastic pipe, and in medical devices. Resistance wire welding is not restricted to flat surfaces. If access to the heating element is possible, repair of badly bonded joints is possible, and joints can be disassembled in a reverse process to which they were made. 

The use of plastics in automotive applications has expanded considerably over the past 20 years. In 2001, approximately 2501b of plastics were used per automobile compared to less than 100 lb five years earlier. With the increased use of plastics, coating research has concentrated on the painting of these often difficult substrates. Among the numerous prerequisites for coatings on plastic are wetting of the substrate uniform film development a cure response below the heat distortion temperature of the plastic adhesion to the sub-... 

In an earlier investigation by the author [3] Step 2 analogues containing 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate were prepared and used as rubber components in engineered plastics for automotive applications. 

Bisphenol A. One mole of acetone condenses with two moles of phenol to form bisphenol A [80-05-07], which is used mainly in the production of polycarbonate and epoxy resins. Polycarbonates (qv) are high strength plastics used widely in automotive applications and appliances, multilayer containers, and housing applications. Epoxy resins (qv) are used in fiber-reinforced laminates, for encapsulating electronic components, and in advanced composites for aircraft—aerospace and automotive applications. Bisphenol A is also used for the production of corrosion- and chemical-resistant polyester resins, polysulfone resins, polyetherimide resins, and polyarylate resins. 

MAJOR PRODUCT APPLICATIONS coatings, inks, roofing, plastics, automotive, powder coatings, containers for sterilizing and storing medical instruments, molding tools, heat sinks for electronic devices, time-delay switch, egg poachers... 

Schuckert M (1995) Life cycle analysis of plastic parts in the automotive industrie - present and future. Presentation, Autoplas 95, World congress on plastics and rubber in automotive applications, Diisseldorf, Germany, 3 October 1995... 

The most stable polyacetal polymer is polyformaldehyde (or polyoxymeth-ylene, POM) this is the only polyacetal that has reached commercial production. This resin has unique properties (e.g., selflubrication) and is very widely used in automotive applications such as engineering plastics. Acetals are widely used engineering thermoplastics with high load-bearing characteristics and low coefficients of friction. Currently, over 200 million lb of acetals are molded and extruded in the United States. 

The first commercial blend of this type is Cylon . Here PVC is the matrix, and PA (that melts below 215°C ) the dispersed phase. The two resins were compatibilized using the well known PVC plasticizer — Elvaloy (a terpolymer of ethylene, carbon monoxide and acrylics). These soft to semi-rigid alloys were commercialized for wire coating, automotive applications and blow molding [Grande, 1997 Hofmann, 1998]. They are flame, abrasion and chemicals resistant, easy to process, and tough. 

There has been a trend in recent years to move towards the electrostatic deposition of paints for exterior automotive applications. Reasons for this include improved paint transfer efficiency. Normally, plastic parts need to be painted with a conductive primer prior to the electrostatic painting of base and clear coats. One of the most recent developments in the area of external automotive applications is that of intrinsically conductive resins for electrostatic painting. Currently there are commercial applications for body panels that utilize PPE/PA that contains carbon black as the conductive component. In the USA, a mirror shell application uses PPE/PA where the conductivity is achieved through the incorporation of graphite nano-tubes. 

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