| Résumé | The CAFE regulations will require average fuel consumption of cars and light duty trucks to be reduced from 27 mpg to 54.5 mpg by 2025. In order to reach this requirement, automakers have to improve both the vehicle powertrain efficiency and the vehicle weight. Polymer composite materials are a preferred alternative to achieve the needed weight reduction by combining a higher strength to weight ratio than steel and aluminum, superior fatigue and corrosion resistance than metal and very good crashworthiness characteristics. However, high throughput and cost effective composite manufacturing processes are essential for high performance fibre reinforced polymer composites to penetrate the automotive market to their full potential. High Pressure Resin Transfer Moulding (HP-RTM) process is a new process based on the Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM) technology that enables the processing of very reactive resins in very short cycle times (< 5-10 min i.e. >25,000 parts per year) with various types of reinforcement (glass, carbon, natural fibre). With HP-RTM’s unique self-cleaning impingement mixhead, resins that react in less than 1 minute (fast-curing epoxy or polyurethane systems) can still be processed. This process, combining the high mechanical performance of RTM parts with short cure cycle, thus presents a great interest for automotive applications. In this study, the effect of the process parameters, such as the injection flow rate, the vacuum assistance sequence and mould gap control, on the mechanical performance and quality of HP-RTM composite plates was determined and HP-RTM process mapping was established from the obtained mechanical results. |
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