Composites: The current highest performance material to use in car bodies.

Author: Caio Nepomuceno Santos

Student Number: 201429947

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

1st December 2014

Easily found on environment and commonly used in ancient civilizations,
composites are surprisingly the proposal of automotive industries to the
development of cars. The simple combination at a macroscopic level of two or
more constituents produce a material with characteristics drastically different then
the components. One constituent is named matrix and embedded on this we find
the reinforcement phase. Blended, this new material can overcome the limitations
of monolithic metals and their alloys, in coefficient of thermal expansion for
example. Furthermore, composites provide several other advantages in corrosion
resistance, improved strength, impact resistance, etc. These characteristics
make top line cars make constant use
of this technology in brake systems,
drive shaft and other parts but
principally on vehicle body. Even
though, the high cost of composites
represent one of the limitations of the
use of this material on high-volume
production cars.
Figure 1: Carbon fibre sheet.

Historical examples mention the use of composites since 1400 BC with Egyptians
[1] but its first application on automotive vehicles bodies was in 1945. This year
Owens Corning and William
Stout developed the Stout 46 ,
the first fiberglass composite
body car [2]. With only nine
copies produced, this new
automobile was inspired in
airplanes and used some same
material on its monocoque [3]. In

Figure 2: Stout 46 1953, Chevrolet Corvette was

launched. This was the first time
that an important company used fiberglass body [2]. In the next years, many
advances processes to fabricate fiberglass had been created. However in 1981,
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other material was delivered, the carbon fibre. More one time, technology from
the aeronautic industry was used and as result, the first carbon fibre body F1 was
conceived. It revolutionised the structure of racing cars, not only because of light
characteristics but also because of its strength. The other cars in the competition
had the same shape, but because of the weak area in the cockpit, the aluminium
chassis used to twist. When they changed the material, the new F1, MP4/1,
achieved a 100% stiff chassis and was much lighter. Consequently, its
performance was greatly improved and it had an immediate effect with the first
victory on 1981 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Moreover, in Monza Grand Prix
at the same year, a dramatic high-speed crash happened with McLaren’s car and
the pilot left the cockpit and walk away safely. It proved that the new car had also
an effective safety cell because of the carbon fibre [4]. In the present scenario,
those race cars provide the background of technology to sports cars and
subsequently to common cars.

This application can be

seen in all latest McLaren
cars. All its vehicles have
carbon fibre composing the
main body, descendants of
MP4/1. The model P1 is the
top line of this brand. This
car has a MonoCage
structure, which is used to
passenger compartment, Figure 3: On the left, Mclaren`s monocoque of sports cars. On
the right, first F1 carbon monocoque.
safety cell and chassis. This
whole structure weighs only 90 kilograms including the roof, engine air-intake
snorkel and integrated battery compartment. The lightweight structure of
McLaren P1 is one of reasons to this car needs only 2.8 and 16.8 seconds to
reach a hundred and three hundred kilometre per hour respectively. It is also very
strength and stiff, characteristics that improve its performance on curves and the
safety of the passengers [5]. Ron Dennis, chairman of the company, said:
“McLaren introduced the carbon fibre chassis to the world of Formula 1 in 1981

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with the MP4/1, and we had the first carbon road car. We have always been at
the cutting edge of vehicle aerodynamics, and all of this experience has gone into
the McLaren P1™. Twenty years ago, with the McLaren F1, we raised the
supercar performance bar. With the McLaren P1™, we have redefined it once
more.” [6], so, it is remarkable the importance of development of materials to the
progression of automotive industry.

Other applications can be seen in Lamborghini, Ferrari and Porsche. Those big
fabricants of supercars use carbon fibre monocoque like McLaren on their top
cars. Lamborghini Aventador is a result of three decades of research on
composites. The first prototype was created on 1983 and already had a driver
cell made completely with carbon fibre reinforced plastic. The car was extensive
tested and presented problems on crash test [7]. Even though, series production
of this vehicle was not feasible. Now, the company has a fabric just to produce
the monocoque and other parts made with composites. With this expansion,
Lamborghini now produces five Aventadors per day, what is a significant number
considering the difficulties of carbon fibre fabrication [8]. Ferrari LaFerrari present
the same body structure with some
different details [9]. They use
Kevlar underbody of the
monocoque. It is a composite
made of para-aramid which has
high impact and penetration
resistance [10]. With these
Figure 4: LaFerrari Monocoque
characteristics of the body, the new
Ferrari presents 20% lower weight, 27% torsional rigidity and 22% beam stiffness
in comparison with the old top line car which was Enzo [9]. Porsche 918 Spyder
is the newest super sport car of the brand. The car has a monocoque like the
others and even the outer skin is almost completely made of carbon fibre [11].
These composites productions are very difficult and this is why it is found only in
top line cars.

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There are five main processes of the structure manufacture. Each one depends
on the material, performance
requirements, production
volume and other factors that
the fabricant will choose [12].

Figure 5: Vaccum infusion process. One of them is the compression

moulding process. It consists in
compress vertically materials based in a warmed metal with temperature-
activated catalyst [12]. Other is the injection process. The material now is insert
in a heated compartment of metal and pressurized. This method is more used for
low size parts in comparison with the other process. However, these parts will
need only a little deflashing [12]. Other process is the vacuum infusion. It consists
in a model of vacuum bag, specifically to decrease the pressure inside the bag
that will have the material and the surface of the mould. This process is entirely
handmade and it is efficient to low volume moulding even if the object will be large
like a bottom of a boat [12]. The fourth process is the Resin Transfer Moulding. It
is necessary two moulds, one male and one female, to produce the object. The
reinforcement is set between the moulds and the resin is introduced into the
cavity with a low pressure to penetrate all reinforcement [12]. The last process is
the hand layup. This is the simplest process to manufacture a composite
structure. It is cheap, basically, just a mould is required and it is possible to
fabricate big objects with this technique [12].

As we noticed, the processes of composites fabrication are not simple. There are
some drawbacks and limitation, which are important to be analysed and
overcame. Starting with the expensive cost of production, which is a critical issue.
The graphite/epoxy composite can cost ten to fifteen times the common material
price. Even with some improvements in manufacturing techniques it still
expensive [1]. Other problem is that the mechanical characterization of a
composite is much more complicate than metal structures. Composite materials
do not have same properties in all orientations. It means that in the project phase
needs to consider all aspects and consequently it will be more complex [1]. Repair
of composites is other issue. It is not a simple process. Many times the part will

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need to be substituted and sometimes critical imperfections and fractures may go
unseen [1]. Furthermore, composites is not always the best option. It does not
have an excellent medley of strength and fracture toughness. Metals present
better combinations in these cases [1].

It is unquestionable the advantage of composites over other materials on the

structure of the car when we compare performance. Lighter, more strength, stiffer
and safer for the passengers, materials like carbon fibre shows the future of
vehicles. However, the high cost of fabrication and the time-consuming to build
the structure of a vehicle make it unfeasible for volume production cars now.
Lamborghini, for example, created a new space, a new factory, just to produce
the carbon fibre structures for the cars. Unfortunately, the production is consider
much lower than popular cars production. Even thought, new manufacture
techniques decreased the cost of fabrication processes and this is what need to
happen. New technologies to make more feasible the use of composites.

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References:

1. Kaw A. Mechanics of composite materials. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 1997.

2. Autocomposites.org. ACMA: Automotive Composites Alliance - Auto

Composites 101: History of Automotive Composites [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2014
Nov 26];Available from:
http://www.autocomposites.org/composites101/history.cfm

3. Dieselpunks.org. Lord K's Garage #131: 1936 Stout Scarab [Internet]. 2014
[cited 2014 Nov 27];Available from:
http://www.dieselpunks.org/profiles/blogs/lord-k-s-garage-131-1936-stout-
scarab

4. Mclaren.com. Case study: Carbon Fibre [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2014 Nov
28];Available from: http://www.mclaren.com/group/case-studies/case-study-
carbon-fibre/

5. Cars.mclaren.com. McLaren Automotive - McLaren P1™ - Design and

Innovation [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2014 Nov 28];Available from:
http://cars.mclaren.com/home/models_link/McLAREN%20P1/design-and-
innovation.html

6. Cars.mclaren.com. McLaren Automotive - McLaren P1™ - Inspiration

[Internet]. 2014 [cited 2014 Dec 28];Available from:
http://cars.mclaren.com/home/models_link/McLAREN%20P1/inspiration.html

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7. Elsevier Ltd U. Lamborghini: 30 years of carbon fibre - Reinforced Plastics
[Internet]. Reinforcedplastics.com. 2013 [cited 2014 Nov 28];Available from:
http://www.reinforcedplastics.com/view/33587/lamborghini-30-years-of-carbon-
fibre/

8. CAFE SpA. Lamborghini Aventador Number 2,000 Produced | CAFE SpA

(cafespa.com) [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2014 Nov 28];Available from:
http://cafespa.com/index.php?news=000143&title=Lamborghini-Aventador-
Number-2,000-Produced

9. Ferrari GT - en-EN. LaFerrari: the most extreme performance ever achieved

by a Ferrari. [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2014 Nov 29];Available from:
http://auto.ferrari.com/en_EN/sports-cars-models/car-
range/laferrari/#innovations-chassis-2

10. Composite.about.com. A Brief History of Kevlar [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2014

Nov 29];Available from:
http://composite.about.com/od/aboutcompositesplastics/l/aa050597.htm

11. Pure. Energy. The 918 Spyder. Pure. Energy. The 918 Spyder. [Internet].
2014 [cited 2014 Dec 1];Available from:
http://917.porsche.com/microsite/918/international.aspx?ws=1#chapter-
construction

12. Autocomposites.org. ACMA: Automotive Composites Alliance - Auto

Composites 101: Manufacturing Processes [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2014 Dec
1];Available from:
http://www.autocomposites.org/composites101/manufacturing.cfm#rtm

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List of figures:

Figure 1. [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2014 Dec 1]. Available from:

http://www.easycomposites.co.uk/products/carbon-fibre-cloth-fabric/22-twill-
199gsm-3k-1m.aspx

Figure 2. [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2014 Dec 1]. Available from:

http://www.dieselpunks.org/profiles/blogs/lord-k-s-garage-131-1936-stout-
scarab

Figure 3. [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2014 Dec 1]. Available from:

http://www.eurocarnews.com/187/0/0/5164/mclaren-mp41-carbon-monocoque-
mp4-12c-monocell/gallery-detail.html

Figure 4. [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2014 Dec 1]. Available from:

http://www.caranddriver.com/photo-gallery/ferrari-debuts-carbon-fiber-tub-for-
enzo-replacement-we-go-in-depth-2012-paris-auto-show

Figure 5. [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2014 Dec 1]. Available from:

http://www.easycomposites.co.uk/Category/Vacuum-Equipment-and-
Supplies.aspx

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