At present, the global automotive hood plastic market is at a stage of development. In 2009, the global output reached 590,000 tons, and the market scale reached 1.516 billion euros. It is estimated that by 2016, the average annual growth rate will reach 7.4%. At the same time, market competition will also More fierce, technological innovation will continue to accelerate. At the same time, the rapid development of new energy vehicles will bring new opportunities for the development of the plastic market within the hood. The reason is that green energy vehicles operate at a lower temperature than ordinary cars. Plastic heat resistance requirements will be lower than the fuel vehicle.
The plastic material in the engine cover is mainly made of polyamide material (PA6-30%, PA66-22%), polypropylene material (46%) and other materials (2%) (PPS, PEI, etc.). , Mainly include intake manifold (17%), engine cover (10%), radiator tank (8%), front end assembly (7%), automotive rocker arm cover (14%), fan/sheath (11% ) And other components inside the hood (33%).
Engine cover internal product material list
The amount of PA6 and PA66 in PA accounts for more than 90% of the total amount, and the proportion of applications in automobiles is also the same. Since PA11 and PA12 have good flexibility, oil resistance, corrosion resistance, weather resistance, low temperature toughness, water resistance, size The stability is widely used in automobile oil pipelines, brake pipes, brake pads, fuel tank housings, hydraulic pressure vessels, etc. Most of the PA materials used in automobiles need to be modified. Among them, the amount of PA modified is the largest. In addition, EPDM and POE toughening modified nylon materials also have more applications. The trend of improvement in recent years has been to increase the flowability, heat resistance, and halogen-free flame retardant properties of nylon materials.
A, high-flow nylon
High-flow nylon can not only improve production efficiency and reduce processing costs, but also improve the appearance quality of automotive parts. To improve performance, reduce costs is the direction of material improvement.
1. The well-known product in the automotive industry is the semi-crystalline PA TechnylStar launched by Rhoda of France. The product is a unique polymer and modification process. This product is a highly branched, non-linear structural material with excellent processing properties. The appearance of the product is good, and its glass fiber modified and filled modified grades have better flowability than PA6-based modified materials. When the product is molded, the injection pressure is 30% lower and the molding time is reduced by 10%. Molding temperature is also greatly reduced, injection molding machine clamping force can be reduced by half. Apply to the car engine hood, intake manifold, fuel barrel lining, distributors and decorative pieces.
2. The second generation of high liquidity reinforced A6L Akulon Ultraflow of Dutch DSM Company has higher toughness than the first generation product, 80% higher flowability than general reinforced PA6Akulon, short molding time, high product surface quality, 60% glass fiber content The product also has a good appearance, the thickness of the hood can be reduced from 3.2mm to 2.5mm, is suitable for do not see under the hood of the car, assembly, door handle, mirror guard.
Zytel ST801A from DuPont, Ultramid B3WGM24 from BASF, Germany, and CM1017XL3 and CM3006 LSP from Toray of Japan are the improved high-speed forming grades of the original brand.
Second, high heat resistant nylon
A new generation of resin applied under the hood of a car maintains high rigidity and high toughness while improving heat resistance and fluidity. Semi-aromatic nylon (PA9T, poly (paraphenylene terephthalate) 1,9-decanediamine) is representative Heat-resistant nylon, Zytel HTN and PPA are also semi-aromatic nylons.
Zytel HTN, a high-temperature nylon from DuPont, USA, is well-known to users. It has high heat resistance to replace PPS and thermosetting resins for steam brake systems, saving cost and lighter components. In recent years, the demand for high-temperature nylon has increased. Solvay also A series of PPA resin grades have been introduced. The product is capable of sustained temperature resistance of 200°C, and its dimensional stability is extremely high. Swiss company EMS Grivory also introduced Grivory HT high-temperature nylon resin series which is resistant to high temperatures. The translucent PA66 Zytel grade developed by DuPont can be used To make a 42V electronic system fuse box, the cost is 20% less than that of polysulfone and polyethersulfone. Two glass fiber reinforced PA66 Technyl grades developed by Rhodia for cooling water tanks and cooling, heating circuits can be used at 130°C for long periods of time. , The highest temperature 160 °C.
Third, halogen-free flame retardant nylon
BASF Halogen-free flame-retardant PA grade Ultramid KR425, KR4455, up to UL94 V-0. Dutch DSM Engineering Plastics Co., Ltd. introduced halogen-free, non-phosphorus-unenhanced PA6 grade Akulon K225-KS, with a small specific gravity, very fluidity OK, 0.75mm sample can achieve UL94 V-0, Akulon K224-HG56 is 30% glass fiber reinforced PA6 grade, lower density than standard glass fiber reinforced flame retardant grade, easy to process, not easy to bloom, 1.5mm sample up to UL94 V-0 level.
Fourth, PA nanocomposites
The PA nanocomposite was first jointly developed by Japan's Toyota Central Research Institute and PA Resins Factory UBE. The material was first applied to the production of automobile timer covers. The Italian Flat Auto Company decided to use PA nanocomposites as the fuel tube barrier material instead of the original. Some PVDF barrier materials, multi-layer fuel tube including PA12 outer layer, PA6/PA12 copolymer adhesive layer, PA6/PA66 copolymer barrier layer containing 2% clay, PA6 inner layer, This all-PA structure fuel pipe has Helps material recovery.