Japanese researchers from industry, academia, and government are developing stronger, lighter materials for automotive parts such as bodies, wheels, and windows. The core of research and development is to make full use of polymer materials, that is, plastics as the main components. The purpose of the material is to use this kind of material to halve the weight of the car and accelerate the popularity of electric vehicles.
Professor Kozo Ito of the University of Tokyo is leading the project with the support of the ImPACT project (launched in 2014) at the Cabinet Office. Its research team plans to launch a high-performance polymer that has never been seen in September. Car made of materials.
Both natural polymer materials and synthetic polymer materials are composed of tiny molecular chains, often found in everyday products, including resins made from plastics and films, rubber in tires, and seismic damping for buildings. Today's cars are made of heavy materials such as steel and glass. These parts are durable and enhance safety, but they limit fuel efficiency. Plastics are lighter, but more fragile. If you can design A material that has the same strength as steel, but is lighter in weight, can greatly increase the cruising range of the car.
One area where this material can be used is the window. Researchers at the Sumitomo Chemical Company team led by Tatsuya Kasahara are working on plastics to replace metal and glass used in windows to greatly reduce the weight of the car. The goal is to make a transparent plastic that is stronger than glass for the windshield.
Tire manufacturer Bridgestone is also producing more durable rubber, making tires lighter and making progress. At the same time, industrial textile manufacturer Toray Industries is also developing new Technology, mixing resin with polyrotaxane material, increasing plastic strength, increasing plastic tension by 8 times and bending strength by 50 times. If this technology is applied to glass fiber, it can be used not only to produce explosion-proof glass, but also with carbon fiber. In combination, it is made into a car body frame to reduce the weight of the car and improve its durability.
The prototype is expected to be launched in September. Due to the use of tough polymer materials, including carbon fiber reinforced plastics in body panels, the car is expected to be 38% lighter than the current model. The same model uses iron and glass. The weight is 1333 kg, and the production of new materials will be only 832 kg. The biggest obstacle to the application of new polymer materials in ordinary cars is high cost. The price of new polymer materials is several times that of traditional materials.
