The role of lightweight materials in modern transport vehicles

Abstract

Polymeric materials and their composites in vehicles have experienced a real boom in the last 30 years, and their application is increasing with a tendency to further growth. The demands on the modern vehicle industry, whether they are trains, planes, or cars, are ever challenging – users want high-performance vehicles, but at the same time they are looking for improved reliability and safety, greater comfort, and low pricing. Changing the proportion of light-weight materials to steel in the construction of new vehicles helps make them lighter and more fuel or electrical energy efficient, resulting in lower greenhouse gas emissions. There is one family of materials that is responding to the challenge of these potentially conflicting demands: polymer materials. This includes relatively pure chemical materials as well as fibre-filled polymer composites.65 This article presents polymeric materials that are used for the production of vehicle parts today