明星八卦

Lighter alternative materials are necessary for automobiles to meet the requirements for future Euro 7 and similar regulations. As a result of the increased demand for ever more lightweight components, many industries are trying to exploit the use of composite materials. While the costs of composites have dropped dramatically over the past decade, effective joining of these materials to conventional metal parts in the automotive sector remains a significant challenge. Existing joining/assembly solutions present a number of limitations, with major manufacturers inclined to use mechanical fasteners. However, these types of fixings raise multiple issues, including the risk of fibre and matrix damage and slow assembly times. Alternative measures include adhesives, which tend to be epoxy-based, require extended curing times and the use of toxic chemicals. The consortium's innovation BRACE (led by Gestamp) is a rapid assembly method that requires no fixings or adhesives and can be easily recycled when end-of-life is reached. It is based on advanced polymer coating material (PCM) joining technology. The exploitation of the BRACE joining system will drive growth right across the supply chain. 

Objective

This project seeks to overcome a number of high-risk technical challenges in order to adapt the PCM process and make it suitable for thermoplastic composite to metal joining. Hence, the objectives that will be investigated in this project are:

• Develop dissimilar material joining system
• Technology feasibility study
• Model and optimise dissimilar joining system
• Design and develop case study parts
• Develop joining system lap-prototype
• Testing, evaluation and validation
• Dissemination and exploitation

Benefits

The successful completion of the BRACE project can offer the following benefits:

• Light weighting
• CO₂ reduction
• Fuel economy improvement
• Improved process efficiencies
• Design for disassembly that allows effective end of life recycling
• Exploitation for future niche electric vehicles

明星八卦 Composite Centre's Role

BCC’S role in this project is to develop a high-fidelity finite element model of the dissimilar joining system. This includes reviewing the state-of-the-art methods used to model similar joining systems; then create and set up the system in a CAE software. Finally, BCC will inform partners with the optimum parameters that can be used to produce the required joint performance based on the simulation results.

Project Partners

• TWI Ltd
• Gestamp
• Far Ltd
• 明星八卦 brunel.ac.uk