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Sustainability in Automotive Industry

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Plastics Application
Technology for Safe and
Lightweight Automobiles
Sudhakar R. Marur
This book focuses on using plastics in
automobiles for traditional applications such
as interiors and body panels, and for more
advanced applications such as glazing and
under-the-hood components. It provides
application technology development for
various aspects of automotive design—
concept design, CAD modeling, predictive
engineering methods through CAE,
manufacturing method simulation, and
prototype and tool making. It is based
on a decade of research and real-world
application of the authors.
Described are design and manufacturing
aspects of energy absorbers, fenders,
front-end modules, instrument panels,
steering wheels, headlamp assemblies,
throttle bodies, glazing, and tailgates, as
well as exterior components such as roof
racks, wipers, door handles, and rearview
mirror assemblies. Using engineering
thermoplastics for such applications will
improve safety and reduce the weight of
next-generation automobiles.
for Safe and Lightweight Automobiles
Plastics Application Technology
AUTOMOTIVE
Plastics Application
Readers will gain an understanding of design
and manufacturing methodologies of plastics
and the means to apply them to a particular
Technology for Safe
and Lightweight
vehicle platform. The intent is to help further
engineering expertise about using plastics in
automobiles so that they can be safer, lighter,
Automobiles
and more energy efficient.
About the Editor Sudhakar
R. Marur led the plastics
application technology
laboratory, as its technical
director, for SABIC
Innovative Plastics in
Bangalore, India. Under
his leadership, the team
developed plastics application solutions
for automotive companies worldwide. He
has more than 23 years of experience in
industrial R&D. He earned his PhD from
the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT),
Bombay, specializing in computational
nonlinear structural dynamics, and did
his postdoctoral research on nonlinear Marur
vibrations and elementology at National
Aerospace Laboratories.
R-415
Sudhakar R. Marur
 

Table of Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
Chapter 1 Introduction to Plastics
Application Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Application Development Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.1 Voice of the Customer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.2 Benchmarking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.3 Material Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.4 Styling and Industrial Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.5 Computer-Aided Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.6 Computer-Aided Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.7 Process Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.8 Tooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.9 Prototyping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.10 Secondary Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.11 Part Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Material Selection Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3.1 Screening of Material Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3.2 Conversion Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3.3 Structural Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3.4 Environmental Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3.5 Assembly and Secondary Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3.6 Cost Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3.7 Regulations and Standards Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 Advantages of Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4.1 Styling Freedom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4.2 Material Property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4.3 Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4.4 Part Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.4.5 Weight Reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.4.6 System-Level Cost Reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.5 Key Automotive Plastics Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.5.1 Safety and Energy Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.5.2 Interiors and Occupant Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.5.3 Glazing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

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1.5.4 Plastic-Metal Hybrid Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

1.5.5 Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.5.6 Body Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.5.7 Under-the-Hood Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1.7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Chapter 2 Crash and Energy Management Systems . . . . . 23

2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.2 Safety as an Emerging Global Concern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.3 Regulatory and New Car Assessment Program Crash
Test Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.3.1 Pedestrian Impact Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.3.2 Low-Speed Vehicle Damageability or Bumper
Structural Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.3.3 High-Speed Crashes for Occupant Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.4 Impact and Energy-Absorption Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.5 Design of Energy-Absorbing Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.6 Pedestrian Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.6.1 Vehicle Bumper Stiffness Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.6.2 Design of Pedestrian-Safe Bumper Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2.6.3 Pedestrian Energy Absorbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.6.3.1 Pedestrian Energy Absorbers—Middle
Load Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.6.3.2 SUV Energy Absorbers—Upper Load Path . . . . . . . 47
2.6.3.3 Undertray—Lower Load Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
2.7 Countermeasures for Low-Speed Vehicle
Damageability Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
2.7.1 Bumper Design Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
2.7.2 Thermoplastic Solitary Beam Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
2.7.3 Hybrid Plastic-Metal Bumper Beam Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
2.8 Low-Speed Damageability and Lower-Leg Impact-Compliant
Bumper System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
2.8.1 Conflicting Energy-Absorbing Requirements
for Bumpers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
2.8.2 Dual-Stage Energy-Absorber Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
2.8.3 Performance Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
2.9 Vehicle Structural Integrity for High-Speed Crashes . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
2.9.1 Hybrid Rail Extensions for Frontal Crashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

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2.9.2 Plastic Reinforced Body-in-White Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

2.9.3 A Case Study on Roof Crush Countermeasures . . . . . . . . . . . 74
2.10 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
2.11 Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
2.12 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Chapter 3 Interiors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
3.2 Instrument Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
3.2.1 Key Drivers in Instrument Panel Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
3.2.2 Automotive Instrument Panel Carriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
3.2.2.1  Occupant Safety: Head and Knee Impact . . . . . . . . 89
3.2.2.2 Processing Challenges of Instrument
Panel Carriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
3.2.2.3 Mold-Filling Simulations of Instrument
Panel Carriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
3.2.3 Seamless Airbag Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
3.2.3.1 Tear Seam Plaque Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
3.2.4 Knee Bolster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
3.2.5 Center Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
3.3 Steering Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
3.3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
3.3.2 Metal versus Plastic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
3.3.3 Design Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
3.3.4 Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
3.3.5 Performance Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
3.3.5.1 Role of Predictive Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
3.3.6 Prototyping and Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
3.4 Interior Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
3.4.1 Roof Energy Absorber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
3.4.2 Door Handle and Door Pull Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
3.4.3 Speaker Grille Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
3.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
3.6 Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
3.7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Chapter 4 Glazing Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

4.1 Automotive Glazing Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
4.2 Automotive Glazing and Global Regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

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4.3 Automotive Glazing—Role of Polycarbonate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

4.3.1 Weight Reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
4.3.2 Styling and Design Freedom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
4.4 Characteristics of a Glazing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
4.5 Structural Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
4.5.1 Design for Structural Stiffness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
4.5.2 Role of Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
4.5.3 Role of Curvature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
4.5.4 Role of Thickness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
4.5.5 Importance of Adhesive and Its Characterization . . . . . . . . 126
4.5.6 Adhesive Testing—Uniaxial Tension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
4.5.7 Dimensional Stability—Effect of the Coefficient of
Thermal Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
4.5.8 Simulations and Experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
4.5.9 Design of Experiments Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
4.6 Acoustic Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
4.6.1 Transmission Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
4.6.2 Transmission Loss Spectrum: Glass
versus Polycarbonate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
4.6.3 Sound Transmission Loss Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
4.7 Thermal Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
4.7.1 Thermal Modeling of Semitransparent Materials:
Spectral Transmission and Absorption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
4.7.2 HVAC Load—Advantages of Polycarbonate . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
4.7.3 Improved Performance of Electric Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
4.7.4 Soak Performance of Polycarbonate Glazing . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
4.8 Conversion Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
4.8.1 Two-Shot Injection Compression Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
4.8.2 First-Shot Injection Compression Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
4.8.3 Sequential Injection Compression Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
4.8.4 Simultaneous Injection Compression Molding . . . . . . . . . . 157
4.8.5 Breathing Injection Compression Molding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
4.8.6 Second-Shot Injection Overmolding Process . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
4.8.7 Prediction Methodology of Two-Shot Injection
Compression Molding Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
4.8.8 Part and Tool Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
4.8.9 Filling Correlation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
4.8.10 Warpage Methodology Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

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4.8.11 Measurement Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

4.8.12 Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
4.9 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
4.10 Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
4.11 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Chapter 5 Plastic-Metal Hybrid (PMH) Structures . . . . . . . 171

5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
5.2 Why Hybrid Designs? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
5.3 Types of Hybrids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
5.3.1 Overmolding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
5.3.2 Adhesive Bonding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
5.3.3 Collar Joining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
5.3.4 Polymer Injection Forming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
5.3.5 Direct Metal Deposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
5.3.6 Mechanical Fasteners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
5.3.7 Heat Staking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
5.4 Reinforcing Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
5.4.1 Closed-Channel Hybrid Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
5.4.2 Open-Channel Hybrid Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
5.5 Processing of Hybrids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
5.5.1 Processing of Closed-Channel Hybrid Structures . . . . . . . . 182
5.5.2 Processing of Open-Channel Hybrid Structures . . . . . . . . . 184
5.5.3 Mold Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
5.6 Performance of Hybrid Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
5.7 Application of Plastic-Metal Hybrids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
5.7.1 Front-End Module Application Development . . . . . . . . . . . 189
5.7.2 Design Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
5.7.3 Performance Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
5.8 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
5.9 Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
5.10 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Chapter 6 Headlamp Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

6.1 Automotive Lighting Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
6.2 Automotive Lighting Global Regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
6.3 Automotive Lighting—Role of Thermoplastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
6.4 Headlamp Reflectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
6.4.1 Material Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

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6.4.2 Thermal Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

6.4.3 Structural Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
6.4.4 Beam Pattern and Optical Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
6.4.5 Stress-Free Reflector through Reflector Bracket . . . . . . . . . . 226
6.4.6 Tooling and Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
6.4.7 Gate Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
6.4.8 Venting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
6.4.9 Tool Thermal Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
6.4.10 Tool Surface Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
6.4.11 Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
6.5 Headlamp Bezels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
6.6 Headlamp Lenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
6.7 Headlamp Assembly—Pedestrian Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
6.8 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
6.9 Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
6.10 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Chapter 7 Body Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

7.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
7.2 Functional Requirements for Body Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
7.2.1 Material Selection in Engineering Thermoplastics
Body Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
7.3 Fenders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
7.3.1 Manufacturing Considerations in Fender Design . . . . . . . . 254
7.3.2 Design for Paintability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
7.3.3 Material Characterization and Material Model for
Fender Predictive Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
7.3.4 Case Study of Finite Element Analysis to Optimize
Support Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
7.3.5 Fender Impact Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
7.4 Design and Development of the Thermoplastic Tailgates . . . . . . . 268
7.4.1 Functional Requirements of Thermoplastic Tailgates . . . . . 269
7.4.2 Tailgate Impact Resistance and Structural Rigidity . . . . . . . 271
7.5 Tank Flap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
7.6 Spoiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
7.7 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
7.8 Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
7.9 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

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Chapter 8 Under-the-Hood Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

8.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
8.2 Material Requirements for Under-the-Hood Applications . . . . . . 278
8.2.1 Heat Aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
8.2.2 Chemical Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
8.2.3 Types of Engineering Plastics in Under-the-
Hood Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
8.3 Under-the-Hood Application Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
8.3.1 Oil Pans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
8.3.2 Wire Coating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
8.3.3 Engine Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
8.3.4 Fuel Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
8.4 Designing of Under-the-Hood Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
8.4.1 Turbo Air Duct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
8.4.1.1 Design Validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
8.4.2 Throttle Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
8.4.2.1 Types of Throttle Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
8.4.2.2 Materials for the Throttle Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
8.4.2.3 Predictive Tools to Drive Thermoplastics Usage
in Electronic Throttle Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
8.4.2.4 Processing of Throttle Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
8.4.2.5 Current Status of Thermoplastics in Electronic
Throttle Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
8.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
8.6 Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
8.6.1 Material Advancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
8.6.2 Processing Advancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
8.6.3 Secondary Process Advancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
8.6.4 Design Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
8.6.5 Green Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
8.7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

Chapter 9 Sustainability in the

Automotive Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
9.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
9.1.1 Sustainability Trends in the Automotive Industry . . . . . . . 308
9.2 Lightweighting and Fuel Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
9.2.1 Materials for Lightweighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

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9.2.2 Quantifying Environmental Benefits of Lightweighting

through Life Cycle Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
9.2.3 Life Cycle Assessment Case Studies for
Lightweight Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
9.2.4 The Future of Lightweighting with Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
9.2.5 Design for Sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
9.3 Renewable-Sourced or Bio-Based Materials
for the Automotive Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
9.3.1 Why Renewable Resources? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
9.3.2 Carbon Footprint of Bio-Based Raw Materials . . . . . . . . . . . 316
9.3.3 Bio-Based Materials for Plastics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
9.3.3.1 Cellulosic Plant Fibers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
9.3.3.2 Bio-Based Polymers Made from Monomers or
Intermediates from Renewable Resources . . . . . . . 319
9.3.3.3 Highly Biodegradable Polymers from
Renewable Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
9.3.4 Limitations of Sourcing Raw Materials from Renewable
Resources to Make Polymers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
9.3.5 Emerging Bio-Based Raw Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
9.3.6 Bio-Based Plastics for the Future Automotive Industry . . . 323
9.4 End-of-Life Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
9.4.1 Recycling in the Automotive Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
9.4.2 End-of-Life Options for Selected Polymer Families . . . . . . 326
9.4.3 Challenges and Limitations to Plastics Recycling . . . . . . . . 326
9.4.4 Effect of Recycling on Carbon Footprint Reduction . . . . . . 330
9.4.5 Reuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
9.4.6 End-of-Life Scenario for the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
9.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
9.6 Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
9.7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345

About the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353

Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353

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Plastics Application
Technology for Safe and
Lightweight Automobiles
Sudhakar R. Marur
This book focuses on using plastics in
automobiles for traditional applications such
as interiors and body panels, and for more
advanced applications such as glazing and
under-the-hood components. It provides
application technology development for
various aspects of automotive design—
concept design, CAD modeling, predictive
engineering methods through CAE,
manufacturing method simulation, and
prototype and tool making. It is based
on a decade of research and real-world
application of the authors.
Described are design and manufacturing
aspects of energy absorbers, fenders,
front-end modules, instrument panels,
steering wheels, headlamp assemblies,
throttle bodies, glazing, and tailgates, as
well as exterior components such as roof
racks, wipers, door handles, and rearview
mirror assemblies. Using engineering
thermoplastics for such applications will
improve safety and reduce the weight of
next-generation automobiles.
for Safe and Lightweight Automobiles
Plastics Application Technology
AUTOMOTIVE
Plastics Application
Readers will gain an understanding of design
and manufacturing methodologies of plastics
and the means to apply them to a particular
Technology for Safe
and Lightweight
vehicle platform. The intent is to help further
engineering expertise about using plastics in
automobiles so that they can be safer, lighter,
Automobiles
and more energy efficient.
About the Editor Sudhakar
R. Marur led the plastics
application technology
laboratory, as its technical
director, for SABIC
Innovative Plastics in
Bangalore, India. Under
his leadership, the team
developed plastics application solutions
for automotive companies worldwide. He
has more than 23 years of experience in
industrial R&D. He earned his PhD from
the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT),
Bombay, specializing in computational
nonlinear structural dynamics, and did
his postdoctoral research on nonlinear Marur
vibrations and elementology at National
Aerospace Laboratories.
R-415
Sudhakar R. Marur
 About the Editor
Dr. Sudhakar R. Marur has more than 23 years of
technical and leadership experience in industrial R&D.
His areas of expertise include computational mechanics,
mechanical design, and CAE for engineering ther-
moplastics and thermoset composite materials. He
received a PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology
(IIT), Bombay, in computational nonlinear structural
dynamics, and he later continued his postdoctoral work
on nonlinear vibrations and elementology at National Aerospace Labs.
A certified six-sigma Black Belt, he has several scientific journal publica-
tions, patents, and corporate awards to his credit. Under his leadership, the
plastics application technology team has successfully developed several
applications for various OEMs across the globe.

Contributors
Anju Baroth: Anju obtained her PhD from Rajasthan University for her
research work on environmental toxicology. She has over seven years of
experience in industry in areas such as environment management, toxicity
assessment, life cycle assessment (LCA) and sustainability. She has been
contributing to the LCA studies of materials and various plastic applica-
tions for the automotive sector.

P. Arunachala: Arunachala holds a master’s degree in tool engineering

from NTTF, Bangalore. He has over six years of industrial experience in
automotive plastics part design, sheet metal, and tool design. Many of his
CAD designs have been successfully implemented in India and abroad.

Dhanendra K. Nagwanshi: Dhanendra is an alumnus of the Indian

Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, majoring in mechanical design. He has
over eight years of industrial experience, primarily in design and develop-
ment of energy management solutions using plastics and hybrids. His areas
of interests include design for crashworthiness, concurrent mechanical
engineering design, and dynamic design. He has several successful energy
absorber translations, papers, patents, and awards to his credit.

Dinesh Mana: Dinesh received his MS in mechanical design from

the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. He has over five years
of industrial experience in CAE and plastics design. He specializes
in automotive crashworthiness, topology optimization, compliant

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 About the Editor

mechanisms, and MEMS. His energy-absorber designs are part of many

automobile models on the road.

N. Krishnamoorthy: Krish is an alumnus of the Central Institute of

Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET), Chennai, through a master’s
degree program in plastics engineering. He has over 13 years of industrial
experience and specializes in plastics product design, material selection,
processing, CAE, and application development. He has successfully
developed many applications for various automotive companies around
the globe.

S.M. Kumar: Kumar holds a master’s degree in tool engineering from

NTTF, Bangalore. He has over 17 years of experience in plastics industry.
He specializes in plastics product design, injection molding solutions, tool
design, and CAE and has developed many successful automotive applica-
tions for the global market.

Narendra A. Hardikar: Naren graduated from the Indian Institute of

Technology (IIT), Bombay, with a master’s degree in aerospace engineering
and has more than 13 years of industrial experience. His specialization
includes mechanical design for plastics, CAE, material modeling, and
multiphysics problems. He has developed many plastic part designs, which
have been adopted by automotive companies.

Neena Chandramathy: Neena graduated from Kerala University with a

master’s degree in environmental engineering and has been working in
the industry for over nine years in the area of environmental engineering
and management. Her current areas of focus include sustainability and
LCA.

T.K. Poovanna: Poovanna received his master’s degree in tool engineering

from NTTF, Bangalore. He has worked in plastics R&D for more than
a decade. His areas of expertise include plastics product design, plastic
processing design, sheet metal formability, and tool design. As a tech-
nologist, he has developed many successful applications, and as a prolific
inventor, he has several patents and awards to his credit.

K.R.K. Ravikanth: Ravikanth completed his master’s in plastics engi-

neering from the University Institute of Chemical Technology (UICT),
Mumbai. He has over 15 years of experience in the plastics industry and
specializes in injection-molding solutions for automotive applications with
various materials, CAE, and tool design. His plastic designs and applica-
tions have been part of many automotive models across the globe.

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 About the Editor

Sandeep C. Kulkarni: Sandeep obtained his PhD from Indian Institute of

Technology (IIT), Bombay, in structural engineering. He has over six years
of experience in plastic application development. His areas of interests
include crash and safety analysis, computational mechanics, anisotropic
material, and failure modeling. He has many successful application trans-
lations to his credit.

Somasekhar Bobba: Soma is an alumnus of Indian Institute of

Technology (IIT), Chennai, through its doctoral program in machine
design. He has over five years of industrial experience in mechanical
design and CAE for automotive safety and crash energy management. He
has contributed to many successful energy-absorber designs for various
automotive companies.

Srinivasan Krishnaswami: Srini holds a PhD in organic chemistry from

Vanderbilt University, Tennessee. He did his postdoctoral research in
physical organic chemistry from the University of Houston. He has over
26 years of industrial experience in rubber chemicals, surfactants, surface
coatings and engineering thermoplastics. Currently, he is specializing in
intellectual property work products, technology, and market intelligence,
particularly with reference to sustainability platforms.

Triloka Tankala: Triloka got his M.Tech. degree in thermal and fluids
engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay. He
has a decade of experience in the area of computational fluid dynamics
and heat transfer applications with plastics such as headlamp assembly,
electronic throttle body, LED, steering wheel, and hard disk drive (HDD).
He has many papers and patents in this area and awards for successful
translations.

N. Venkatesha: Venkatesha graduated from NTTF, Bangalore, with

specialization in tool engineering. During his 11-plus years of experience
in the industry, he has specialized in plastics application development,
processing technologies, metal-to-plastic replacement applications, product
design, CAD, and CAE. He has several presentations and patents based on
his successful plastic automotive applications.

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