Continuous And Discontinuous Fibre Engineered Composites (CADFEC)

开发更轻的车身将通过减少车辆质量来提高所有阿斯顿马丁车辆的效率和环保性能，并为增加电气化产品的范围和改进特性提供机会。减少质量是实现这些改进的车辆排放和效率的关键因素。用碳纤维复合材料代替结构部件提供了最大的减重潜力，目前在小批量豪华汽车市场上已经有很多例子。由于缺乏负担得起的材料和控制成本所需的大批量制造方法，阻碍了向大批量应用的迁移。陶氏新开发的材料VORAFUSE(tm) EMC （EMC）是首款将大批量材料生产和轻质碳纤维部件制造方法相结合的产品。在白车身（BIW）结构中使用碳纤维增强塑料（CFRP）可以比目前的铝制汽车结构减轻30%的重量，并直接改善车辆性能和减少二氧化碳排放。在Innovate UK资助的InterComp项目成功完成后，已经确定压缩成型仍然可以为CFRP的增加使用提供经济上有利的选择，但是仍然存在与寿命，粘性和预成型无法在成型之前保持形状有关的材料加工问题。CADFEC是一个为期18个月的项目，旨在解决两阶段工艺（预制件和模具）中预制件材料管理方面仍然存在的一些关键研发缺口，以及使用开放式双隔膜成形（DDF）工艺时实现更高体积分数所需的问题。陶氏EMC在解决这些问题方面提供了巨大的潜力，陶氏与这个拟议的联盟之间有强烈的共同利益，以更好地了解制造过程的限制及其对性能的影响（例如，由于纤维对齐，焊接/熔化线，结合EMC与选择性预浸料的使用）。目前大多数碳复合材料汽车结构依靠额外的金属增强或重芯部分来满足侧极冲击性能要求。该项目的目的是挑战这种策略，将成本和形式的EMC优势与连续（即编织或单向）纤维的强度和刚度相结合。因此，该项目将专注于混合纤维结构复合材料和相关过程的自动化，以确保该技术具有成本效益。将生产一个演示组件来展示材料和工艺的能力。

Development of ever lighter vehicle bodies will increase efficiency and environmental performance of all Aston Martin vehicles through reduced vehicle mass, and offers opportunity for increased range and improved attributes of electrified products. Mass reduction is a critical element to achieving these improved vehicle emissions and efficiency. Replacing structural components with carbon fibre composites offer the largest weight reduction potential, with many examples now implemented in the low volume luxury car market. Migration to higher volume applications was hindered by the absence of affordable materials and of high volume manufacturing methods needed to control costs. A newly developed material from Dow, VORAFUSE(tm) EMC (EMC), is the first product that combines high volume materials production and manufacturing methods for lightweight carbon fibre components.The use of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) in Body In White (BIW) structures could achieve a 30% weight saving over current aluminium vehicle structures and deliver direct improvements in vehicle performance and CO2 reductions. After the successful completion of the Innovate UK funded InterComp project, it has been identified that Compression Moulding could still offer a financially favourable option for an increased use of CFRP, but there remains material processing concerns relating to out-life, tack and the inability of pre-forms to hold their shape prior to moulding. CADFEC is a 18-month project aimed at tackling a number of critical R&D gaps that still exist in material management of preforms used in a 2-stage process (preform then mould), plus issues in achieving higher volume fractions required when using open-tooled Double Diaphragm Forming (DDF) process.Dow EMC offers great potential in resolving a number of these issues and there is a strongly shared interest to collaborate between Dow and this proposed consortium to better understand the constraints of manufacturing process and their effect on properties (e.g. due to fibre alignment, weld/meld lines, combined EMC with selective prepreg usage).Most current carbon composite automotive structures rely on additional metallic reinforcements or heavily cored sections to meet side pole impact performance requirements. The intention of this project is to challenge this strategy, combining the EMC benefits of cost and form with the strength and stiffness of continuous (i.e. woven or unidirectional) fibres. The project will therefore focus on mixed fibre architecture composites and the automation of the associated processes to ensure the technology is cost effective. A demonstrator component will be produced to showcase the capabilities of both material and process.