Application of Glass Fiber Mat Reinforced Thermoplastic Composite (GMT) in Automobile

Application of Glass Fiber Mat Reinforced Thermoplastic Composite (GMT) in Automobile

  Glass Mat Reinforced Thermorplastic refers to a novel, energy-saving and lightweight composite material with thermoplastic resin as the matrix and fiber glass strand mat as the reinforced skeleton one.GMT can generally produce semi-finished sheet materials, which are then directly processed into products of the desired shape. Chopped strand mat offers complex design features, as well as excellent impact resistance, while being easy to assemble and rework, and has been praised for its strength and lightness, making it an ideal structural component to replace steel and reduce mass.

1. The advantages of GMT materials

  1.High specific strength: The strength of GMT is similar to that of hand lay-up polyester FRP products, and its density is 1.01-1.19g/cm, which is smaller than that of thermosetting FRP (1.8-2.0g/cm), so it has higher specific strength .

  2. Lightweight and energy-saving: The dead weight of the car door made of e-glass chopped strand mat can be reduced from 26Kg to 15Kg, and the thickness of the back can be reduced to increase the car space, and the energy consumption is only 60%-80% of steel products , 35%-50% of aluminum products.

  3. Compared with thermosetting sheet molding compound made of SMC fiberglass roving, GMT material has the advantages of short molding cycle, good impact performance, recyclability and long storage cycle.

  4.Impact performance: GMT's ability to absorb shock is 2.5-3 times higher than that of SMC. Under the action of impact force, dents or cracks appear in SMC, steel and aluminum, while GMT is safe and sound.

 5. High rigidity: GMT contains fiberglass fabric , which can keep its shape even if there is a 10mph impact collision.

2.The application of GMT materials in the automotive field

  GMT sheet has high specific strength and can be made into lightweight parts. At the same time, it has high design freedom, strong collision energy absorption and good processing performance. It has been widely used in the automobile industry abroad since the 1990s. With the increasing requirements for fuel economy, recyclability and ease of processing, the market for GMT materials used in the automotive industry will continue to grow steadily.

  At present, mat fiber is widely used in the automotive industry, mainly including seat frame, bumper, instrument panel, hood, battery bracket, footrest, front end, floor, guard plate, rear pull door, roof, luggage Brackets, sun visors, spare tire racks, etc.

  1. Seat Frame

  The second-row seatbacks on the Ford Motor Company 2015 Ford Mustang Roadster were compression molded designed by Tier 1 supplier/fabricator Continental Structural Plastics using Hanwha L&C's 45% unidirectional glass-reinforced Fiberglass Mat Thermoplastic Composites and Century Tool & Gage The mould, compression moulding, successfully met the very challenging European safety regulations ECE for holding luggage under load.

The part required more than 100 FEA iterations to complete, eliminating five parts from an earlier steel design and saving 3.1kg per vehicle in a thinner structure that is also easier to install.

  2. Rear anti-collision beam

  The anti-collision beam at the rear of the 2015 Hyundai new Tucson is the material used by GMT. Compared with steel products, it is lighter in weight and has better cushioning performance. It reduces vehicle weight and fuel consumption while ensuring safety performance.

  3. Front-end module

  Mercedes-Benz has selected Quadrant Plastic Composites GMTexTM Fiberglass fabric reinforcement thermoplastic composites as front-end modular elements in its S-Class luxury coupe.

  4. Body under guard

  Underbody hood protection manufactured by Quadrant Plastic Composites in high-performance GMTex TM is applied to the Mercedes off-road special edition.

  5. Tailgate skeleton

  In addition to the usual advantages of functional integration and weight reduction, the GMT tailgate structure enables the formability of the GMT to achieve product forms that are not possible with steel or aluminum, and are used in Nissan Murano, Infiniti FX45 and other models.

  6. Dashboard Framework

  GMT's new concept of making dashboard frames is already in use on several Ford Group models: the Volvo S40 and V50, the Mazda 3 and the Ford C-Max. These composite materials enable a wide range of functional integrations, especially by incorporating vehicle crossmembers in the form of thin steel tubes in moulded parts, and are significantly lighter in weight compared to traditional methods without adding cost.

#fiber glass strand mat#e-glass chopped strand mat#SMC fiberglass roving#mat fiber#Fiberglass fabric reinforcement