In the era of car lightweighting, material design has become an important research topic in the automotive industry. In addition to the widespread use of plastics such as PP, PVC, PU, and PA, reinforced materials such as carbon fiber and fiberglass have also become hot research topics in the lightweighting of automobiles. With the development of thermoplastic elastomer product technology, their applications in the automotive field have become increasingly widespread. Currently, commonly used thermoplastic elastomers in cars include polyolefin (TPO), dynamically vulcanized (TPV), polyester (TPEE), polyurethane (TPU), polystyrene (TPS), and polyamide (TPA) among others.
TPU has excellent wear resistance, resistance to bending fatigue, and high elasticity. It can be used in various car parts such as various joints of the variable speed lever handle, shaft sleeves and gaskets, connectors and screws of various wire harnesses. It can also be used in conjunction with other plastics or composite rubber to produce parts such as car bumpers, airbags, and dust covers.
This material has the advantages of light weight, high cost-effectiveness, and recyclability. It is expected to be widely used in car interior and exterior parts, such as bumpers and their brackets, various brackets, and car structure frames.
The blending of TPU and PC can improve the toughness, stress cracking, fracture sensitivity, solvent resistance, and chemical resistance of PC, reduce the molding temperature of PC, and expand its application in the automotive industry.
TPU/PVC alloy can significantly improve the elongation at break of PVC, greatly improving its environmental friendliness. It can also reduce the harm of plasticizers in PVC to the human body and expand the application of PVC.
The blending of TPU and PA6 not only maintains the high elasticity, high strength, and wear resistance of TPU, but also improves its heat resistance. It has excellent overall properties and is a new type of high-performance composite material with extensive application value in the automotive industry.
Long fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite material (LFT) has excellent properties such as high strength, high stiffness, dimensional stability, low warpage, long service life, and resistance to creep, and has been widely used in the automotive industry. Among them, TPU (alloy)/LFT composite materials can be widely used in instrument panels, bumpers, floors, front and side door components, and bottom protection parts of vehicles.
In summary, TPU materials have multiple application forms in the automotive field, and its outstanding performance advantages have become an important way to achieve lightweighting of cars. Currently, the development of TPU industry in China is rapid, new products are constantly being introduced, and high-end applications are gradually expanding. Its application in the automotive field will be greatly improved.
