Title: Advanced composite materials

Authors: E.M. Rowbotham

Addresses: Manager, Material Planning and Development, Ford of Europe

Abstract: The use of lightweight composite materials to help improve vehicle fuel economy will need to be accomplished at minimal additional manufacturing cost. The versatility of composite materials lends itself to meeting the demands of this |material efficiency|. The engineering design implications of the use of composites in vehicle components are reviewed, and the problems of manufacturing and processing of new materials are discussed. The failure and safety criteria of composites are considered, together with the prospects for future applications.

Keywords: vehicle design; component design; fuel economy; lightweight composite materials; vehicle safety; automotive manufacturing; advanced composites.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.1982.061278

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 1982 Vol.3 No.2, pp.153 - 159

Published online: 25 May 2014 *

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