Fine coating powders for application in automobile industry

拟议研究项目的主要目标是创造有关汽车行业，特别是加拿大通用汽车(GM)在涉及粉末状底漆的涂料应用中遇到的技术挑战的新的基础工程知识。将调查几种创新的方法，以从技术上解决和确定转基因加拿大公司遇到的问题，并为消除这些问题开发粉末表征质量控制方法。使用这些表征方法，将评估各种精细粉末涂料产品的工业应用，以证明使用精细粉末涂料的可行性。研究结果将旨在提供必要的行业指南，以扩大精细粉末涂料的使用范围，从汽车引擎盖部件到汽车外表面的底漆和透明涂层。由于粉末涂料在环保和材料再利用方面远远优于液体涂料，这将为汽车行业以及其他需要表面涂层的行业带来显著的好处。这个密切合作的项目以及与一家领先汽车制造商的合作伙伴关系将为加拿大大学发起的“超细粉末涂料”技术在加拿大一个重要行业的实施奠定坚实的基础并加快实施，为社会创造经济和环境回报。这项工作还将为整个涂料行业带来新的突破，因为高质量和薄膜涂饰的应用将产生超出汽车行业的影响。

The main objective of the proposed research project is to create new fundamental engineering knowledge regarding the technical challenges encountered by the automotive industry, specifically General Motors of Canada (GM), in paint applications involving powder-form prime coatings. Several innovative approaches will be investigated to technically address and define the issues encountered by GM Canada, and to develop powder characterization methods for quality control for the elimination of these issues. Using those characterization methods, the industrial applications of the various fine powder coating products will be evaluated to demonstrate the viability of using fine powder coating.  The research results will aim to provide the necessary industry guidelines required to widen the use of fine powder coating from underhood parts to primers and clear coats of the automobile exterior surfaces. As powder coating is much superior to liquid coating, in term of environmental protection and material reuse, this will lead to significant benefits to the auto industry, as well as other industries where surface coating is required. This close collaborative project and the partnership with a leading automotive manufacturer will lay a solid foundation for and accelerate the implementation of the Canadian university originated "Ultrafine Powder Coating" technology into a vital Canadian industry, creating both economic and environmental rewards for society. This work will also lead to new breakthroughs for the whole coating industry, since the application of high-quality and thin film finishing will have impacts beyond the automotive industry.