Affordable Lightweighting Through Pre-form Automation (ALPA)
Lead Participant:
MCLAREN AUTOMOTIVE LIMITED
Abstract
With the ever more stringent requirements on improved fuel efficiency and CO2 emission reduction for road vehicles, a key enabling technology is the use of advanced composite materials to significantly reduce the mass of vehicles on the road. Life cycle analysis has shown that approximately 15% of total CO2 emissions results from material and parts production, assembly and disposal. The remaining 85% of the CO2 is emitted during operation and driving. The lighter the vehicle is, the less fuel is burnt and the lower are the CO2 emissions. A 10% reduction in vehicle mass improves fuel consumption by 7%, and every litre of fuel saved reduces CO2 emissions by 2.6kg. Advanced carbon fibre composite materials have higher strength to weight ratios, better chemical and heat resistance and greater design flexibility when compared to conventional automotive construction materials. A consortium, led by an automotive OEM, with partners including a material supplier, high value manufacturing catapult centres and an academic institution, aim to develop technologies that will significantly reduce the cost of utilising these advanced materials in vehicle structures, a traditional barrier to date. Through a combination of reduced material wastage and automated pre-form manufacture, these technologies will have a significant impact on the cost of resin transfer moulded composite components. Not only will they be of benefit to the automotive industry, but also to other industrial sectors such as wind energy, sporting goods and aerospace.
Lead Participant | Project Cost | Grant Offer |
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MCLAREN AUTOMOTIVE LIMITED | £1,309,530 | £ 654,766 |
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Participant |
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HEXCEL REINFORCEMENTS UK LIMITED | £1,252,776 | £ 751,666 |
MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY CENTRE | £502,134 | £ 502,134 |
UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM | ||
UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM | £241,459 | £ 241,459 |
MCLAREN APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED | ||
UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD | £277,261 | £ 277,261 |
INNOVATE UK |
People |
ORCID iD |
Justyna Gajda (Project Manager) |