44 Int. J. Automotive Composites, Vol. 3, No.

1, 2017

An evaluation of polymer composites for car bumper

beam

Olumide Osokoya
Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering,
Loughborough University,
Loughborough, UK
Email: [email protected]

Abstract: Plastics were included in the array of automotive components

materials in 1970s and today, they are the main materials for interior
components of cars. Before then, traditional materials such as steel and iron
were used for exteriors, interiors and structural parts. Modern technology
reveals that plastics can be reinforced with certain materials to form new/novel
materials called polymeric composites that can exhibit similar mechanical
properties required for car structural components, such as metals. This is a
major development and since legislations are getting stiffer concerning fuel
consumption, the utilisation of lightweight components for cars are one of few
logical measures of achieving standards. This article evaluates some polymer
composites which are useful in replacing conventional materials for a car
bumper beam, highlighting the fabrication methods of these composites and
their properties to discuss the benefits of using them over conventional
materials. The choice materials were compared using a material selection
software, and the results show that carbon-fibre-epoxy composite has specific
tensile strength which is about 360% greater than steel and 275% greater than
aluminium. Also, glass-fibre-reinforced polypropylene composite and
nylon-6-nanoclay nanocomposite, which have more competitive cost/kg of
material, have as much specific tensile strength as steel and aluminium.

Keywords: bumper beam; fabrication methods; lightweight; polymer

composites; reinforcement; specific properties.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Osokoya, O. (2017) ‘An

evaluation of polymer composites for car bumper beam’, Int. J. Automotive
Composites, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp.44–60.

Biographical note: Olumide Osokoya is a recent graduate of Loughborough

University having obtained a master’s degree in Automotive Systems
Engineering. His interest is in vehicle body engineering particularly in the
research for innovative body designs and material composition to meet
demands for efficient, safer and low-emission ground vehicles. He also has a
degree in Mechanical Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
and has published three more articles relating to energy efficiency in scientific
journals. This article is a product of a coursework exercise carried out during
his master’s program at Loughborough University.

Copyright © 2017 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

 Polymer composites for car bumper beam 45

1 Introduction

The choice of materials for vehicle components is one of the most important design
parameters in automotive manufacturing. The type of material used has significant effects
on the overall attractiveness of a vehicle which includes the aesthetics, cost, performance,
emission levels and fuel economy. For vehicle manufacturers, weight is a very important
factor in choosing materials for automotive components as it affects many other
attributes, so active measures are recurrently taken to utilise lightweight materials for car
components as much as possible (Heuss et al., 2012). Cost, however, is an important
factor which is also taken into consideration in material selection. Conversely, most
lightweight materials such as aluminium, magnesium, carbon fibres are more expensive
than the heavier materials such as steel and cast iron for reasons including abundance and
ease of fabrication (Szeteiová, 2010). In the decision-making process of the design;
therefore, compromise is often met to balance both cost and weight requirements.
According to the US Department of Energy (2010), the composition of steel in car
components was about 75% in 1977 which reduced to 65% in 2010 due to increase in
polymers and composite used mostly for interior components. To achieve the goal of
reducing fuel consumption of new vehicles by a factor of two by 2035 (Cheah et al.,
2008), the US Department of Energy believes that the use of more lightweight materials
such as aluminium, magnesium and polymer/composites will be required to push the
composition of steel further down to 20% by 2035 (US Department of Energy, 2010).
Although aluminium is considered as the most common car material for lightweight
purposes, plastics are much lighter but are rarely used for structural components because
of their lower mechanical properties compared to the metals (Szeteiová, 2010). However,
with adequate reinforcement, the polymeric composites formed can have similar
mechanical properties to steel and aluminium such as high strength and toughness while
maintaining their light weight. Composites are formed by specific arrangement or
overlaying of a stronger material, e.g. metal fibres or flakes with a weaker material to
form a new one. Most polymer composites are formed using fibrous reinforcement
arranged in a continuous or non-continuous manner within a polymer matrix (Gay, 2014).
Common examples used are fibres of glass, carbon and aramid, to provide strength and
stiffness for polymer matrices such as polyester, polyurethane, epoxy, polypropylene,
polyethylene, nylon, etc. (American Chemistry Council, 2014). Polymer composites can
also be formed by appropriately adding nanoparticles to a polymer matrix to form
nanocomposites which are higher performance composites with excellent mechanical and
electrical properties and lighter weight (Li et al., 2010).
Unlike ordinary plastics, polymer composites are useful for exterior and structural
parts of a vehicle because of their reinforcements. They, therefore, have a major role to
play in reducing vehicle weight and fuel consumption by replacing many steel
components. This article evaluates the use of some polymer composites as alternatives
for the regular materials used for car bumper beams. The property requirement for car
bumper beams are first enumerated and the conventional materials used are discussed
along with their manufacturing processes. Three polymer composites are chosen for
evaluation which includes a review on the formation processes of the composites and
discussions on the properties of the composites and how they match the requirement of
the bumper. The benefits and cost effectiveness of replacing traditional materials for
bumper beam with the selected polymer composites are also evaluated.
46 O. Osokoya

2 Description and properties of a car bumper

Bumpers are essential parts of the crash management of a car. They are passive safety
components that help to reduce aggressiveness of a crash. By placing them in the front
end, they help to reduce physical damage and absorb shock at low impacts. In the earlier
design of cars, bumpers were just rigid metal bars (Insurance Institue for Highway
Safety. Safety, 2015). Later, thermoplastic elastomers were added as bumper covers
(Drobny, 2014) and today, the typical design of a bumper structure shown in Figure 1
consists of a plastic cover over a reinforced bar of metal alloy especially steel and
aluminium alloy.

Figure 1 Basic parts of the car bumper

Source: (Jeyanthi, 2013)

Although the foam or honeycomb serves as the impact absorbing material and the plastic
cover is useful for its aesthetics and protection purposes (Belingardi et al., 2015), the
beam is the major structural part and thus the component of interest.
According to European Aluminium Association (2013), the car bumper has three
major expectations, namely:
• to absorb energy at the start of a crash
• to minimise the damage of the vehicle at low and medium speed crashes
• to guide the crash forces into the body structure at high speed crashes to reduce
passenger component intrusion.
As evident from the legislative expectation of a car bumper, the fundamental mechanical
properties of the car bumper beam are strength and toughness. The strength of a beam is
the magnitude of force it can withstand before deformation while toughness is its
resistance to break or fracture under stress (Srinivasan, 2014). Another important
property requirement is ductility, as the beam is expected withstand high level of
deformation before fracture. The fracture of the car bumper after a collision could create
a sharp end which itself constitutes a hazard.
Although not as important as basic requirements, it is also desired that bumpers are
built to last. To ensure this, the material selected must be able to withstand corrosion.
Also, as it pertains to other vehicle components, there should be possibility and ease of
large scale manufacturing for the materials used. For a component like the bumper beam
which can remain intact throughout the lifecycle of the car, the material recyclability is
also important if not necessary considering new and upcoming legislations, for instance
the Project ICARRE 95 in Europe that requires 95% by average weight of all end-of-life
vehicles to be reused or recovered (Miller et al., 2014). Still on the topic of legislation,
 Polymer composites for car bumper beam 47

another important property which is also the motive of this research is that the car
bumpers should also contribute to reduced weight and thus fuel efficiency of the vehicle.

3 Common materials for car bumper

3.1 Steel bumpers

Steel is the most common material used for automotive parts (Steel Market Development
Institute, 2013). Steel beams have strength, stiffness and high energy absorption capacity
making them very appropriate for car bumper. In addition to these key properties, they
offer excellent resistance to corrosion, good fatigue properties and can be easily mass
produced. These characteristics have made them well positioned in the bumper system
market having 83% market share in 2013 (Steel Market Development Institute, 2013).
An example of a steel bumper beam is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 Steel bumper beam

Source: (Steel Market Development Institute, 2013)

There are numerous steel grades available for manufacturers to choose from, ranging
from mild steel to high strength steel and then ultra-high strength steel (UHSS). UHSS
defined as steel with tensile strength above 700 MPa (Sutar et al., 2015) is most
commonly used for bumper beams (Steel Market Development Institute, 2013). Steel
reinforcing beams are usually roll formed or hot stamped. Rolling is a method used in
forming long cross-sections of steel from steel plates. The metal stock is passed through a
set of rolls to reduce the thickness and create a uniform cross-section. After forming,
these reinforcing beams are protected from corrosion by zinc coatings, aluminium
coatings or electro-coatings (Steel Market Development Institute, 2013). Hot-stamped
steels have higher tensile strengths. The process involves heating steel until it is red-hot
and then pressing it into a die cavity to take the desired shape while it cools (Steel Market
Development Institute, 2013). The pressing into the die is done by a sledge hammer while
the hot steel is water-cooled.

3.2 Aluminium bumpers

Aluminium is the second material of choice for vehicle parts and also common for
bumper beams. Many manufacturers find it useful as it offers weight savings of up to
50% when compared with steel while still maintaining safety and performance in a cost-
effective manner (Hirsch, 2011). In addition to the lower weight it offers, it meets the
requirement of energy absorption and can also be mass produced (Hirsch, 2014).
An example of aluminium bumper beam is shown in Figure 3.
48 O. Osokoya

Figure 3 Aluminium bumper beam (see online version for colours)

Source: (Constellium, 2015)

Aluminium bumpers are mainly produced by extrusions which is forcing the aluminium
through a die of the desired cross-sectional profile. Two known methods of forming
aluminium extrusions into bumper beams are hydroforming and stretch bending. Stretch-
bending is the most accurate and quickest way and therefore is more suitable for mass
production of bumper beams (Hirsch, 2011). It is a cold-forming process of bending
initially straight aluminium extrusions over a curved die by applying axial tensions
(European Aluminium Association, 2013). For hydroforming, the aluminium tube is
placed inside a mould of the beam. It involves placing the extruded aluminium tube
inside a mould of the beam and then at high pressure, hydraulic pumps are used to force
the metal part until it expands to take the shape of the mould (European Aluminium
Association, 2013).

3.3 Plastic bumpers

Plastic bumpers have been introduced in modern cars as they offer designers tremendous
amount of freedom for styling. Plastics were once only used for fascia but currently,
some vehicles use plastic reinforcing beams (American Chemistry Council, 2014). Some
plastics commonly used today are polycarbonate/polybutylene, polyethylene and
polypropylene GV et al., 2014. They have tensile strengths of up to 275 MPa and flexural
moduli up to 15,000 MPa (Steel Market Development Institute, 2013). An example of a
plastic bumper beam is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4 Plastic bumper beam (see online version for colours)

Source: (Constellium, 2015)

 Polymer composites for car bumper beam 49

The popular methods of fabricating plastic car bumper beams are injection moulding and
compression moulding. By injection moulding, the polymeric powder is fed into a heated
barrel and mixed, then forced into a mould cavity where it cools and hardens to the
configuration of the cavity (James and Poucke, 2006). For compression moulding, the
polymeric powder is preheated and then placed in an open, heated mould cavity.
The mould is then compressed at high pressure to force the material into contact with all
mould areas (James and Poucke, 2006).

4 Polymer composites for bumper beams

It is possible to use some polymer composites for bumper beams which are lighter than
aluminium and also have the strength and stiffness required for crashworthiness. Plastics
with about 30% reinforcement can yield composites with more than 100% increase in
tensile strength and still offer lower weight and aesthetics (American Chemistry Council,
2014). There are various polymeric composites that have been formed and used in the
material industry. Three of these composites are selected for evaluation of their
usefulness as materials for car bumper beams.

4.1 Carbon-fibre-epoxy composite

Epoxy resin is a thermosetting polymer with high adhesive strength and high mechanical
properties and therefore used for applications such as electronics, adhesives and structural
composites (Wan et al., 2014). When reinforced with carbon fibre, they form composites
which exhibit special advantages over monolithic materials, such as high strength, high
stiffness, long fatigue life, low density, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and
environmental stability (Tserpes and Labeas, 2009).
Carbon fibre with epoxy offers a good balance for processing, part performance, and
durability. Although there are many choices of materials for light weighting, carbon-
fibre-epoxy composites offer the greatest mass reduction for the equivalent stiffness or
strength (American Chemistry Council, 2014). Automotive industry is now heavily
focused on integrating carbon-fibre-epoxy composites into the vehicle structure. For
instance, carbon-fibre-epoxy have been successfully used for door and window frame
profile produced by Benteler-SGL for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup coupes cars shown in
Figure 5 (Hexion, 2014).

Figure 5 Carbon-fibre/epoxy door and window frame (see online version for colours)

Source: (Hexion, 2014)

50 O. Osokoya

4.1.1 Manufacturing routes for carbon-fibre-epoxy beam

4.1.1.1 Resin transfer moulding

Resin transfer moulding is a low-cost method capable of producing complex structures of
different shapes (Potter, 2012). It is therefore an appropriate manufacturing route for
producing a carbon fibre reinforced epoxy bumper beam. Resin transfer moulding works
on the principle that injecting resin under pressure into a tool filled with fibrous
reinforcement will cause a bulk flow of the resin to pass through the reinforcement and
also each individual fibre will be wetted by the resin (Potter, 2012). For the fabrication of
carbon-fibre-epoxy composite material, the epoxy is injected into a mould containing the
carbon fibre reinforcement. The process starts by inserting the preformed carbon fibre
into a two-part mould (male and female) and sealing it. The epoxy resin is mixed with a
catalyst and then pumped into the mould through injection ports. The resin is best if it has
a low viscosity as it can flow quickly through predesigned paths of the mould and
permeate evenly. Then, the mould containing the epoxy resin is heated until the strength
is attained, a process known as curing (Composite World, 2014). A diagrammatic
representation of this fabrication method is shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6 Resin transfer moulding method (see online version for colours)

Source: (Wacker, 2016)

4.1.1.2 Reaction injection moulding

Reaction injection moulding method differs slightly from resin transfer in that there is no
premixing of resin and catalyst but both are injected through separate streams (Composite
World, 2014). The epoxy resin is fed into the mould containing the carbon fibre through a
heated barrel for reduction in viscosity and then injected under pressure. The mould is
then heated to a temperature lower than the glass transition temperature of the resin
(Ishida and Zimmerman, 1994). The formed composite is then removed after curing.
A schematic diagram of the reaction injection moulding process is shown in Figure 7.
 Polymer composites for car bumper beam 51

Figure 7 Reaction injection moulding process (see online version for colours)

Source: (Granta Design Limited, 2015)

4.2 Glass-fibre-reinforced-polypropylene composite

Polypropylene is a commonly used plastic for automotive purposes but it has low impact
and stiffness properties when compared with metals. Whereas, when reinforced with
glass fibres, there are significant improvements in its strength and stiffness by a factor of
two or more depending on the percentage of the glass fibres added while still maintaining
its low weight (Granta Design Limited, 2015). Glass fibres is the commonly employed
reinforcement for polypropylene because of its high availability and low costs (Suresh
and Kumar, 2014). The glass fibres are the load-carrying members while the
polypropylene transfer stresses between the fibres (Etcheverry and Barbosa, 2012).

4.2.1 Manufacturing routes for glass-fibre-reinforced-polypropylene beam

4.2.1.1 Pultrusion
Pultrusion is a common way of producing glass fibre reinforced plastics. In this method,
the glass fibre is pulled from spools through a heated polymer bath and forced into shape
as it passes bushings or forming guides. The mix is then passed through a heated die
where it is shaped into the part to be formed and cured. Oftentimes, pultrusion produces
good finishes which may not require post processing of the formed part except cutting
into desired length (Composite World, 2014). A schematic of this is shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8 Pultrusion process of forming composites (see online version for colours)

Source: (Granta Design Limited, 2015)

52 O. Osokoya

4.2.1.2 Compression moulding

Compression moulding employs a set of forged steel dies which compresses a sheet
moulding compound. The sheet moulding compound is formed by sandwiching chopped
glass fibres between the polymer and then rolling it to saturate the glass and eliminating
trapped air. As shown in Figure 9, the sheet moulding compound is compressed by the
steel dies which gives the shape of the polymer (Composite World, 2014). Compression
moulding is a fast processing method for producing large number of parts so it is
appropriate for mass production of car bumpers.

Figure 9 Compression moulding of a sheet moulding compound (see online version for colours)

Source: (Molded Fibre Glass Companies, 2016)

4.3 Nylon-6-nanoclay nanocomposite

Polymer nanocomposites belong to a new class of composite materials formed by filling
nanosized materials such as nanofibers, nanoclays, nanotubes, etc. within polymer
matrices. The European Commission defines nanomaterial as a material containing
particles for which 50% or more of the particles in the number size distribution has one or
more external dimensions in the size range 1–100 nm (European Commission, 2011). The
molecular level interactions between the nanoparticles and polymer matrices along with
the presence of very high nanoparticle-polymer interfacial area play a major role in
influencing the physical and mechanical properties of nanocomposites (Rahmat and
Hubert, 2011). In addition to their exhibit excellent mechanical properties, they also
display optical, electrical, thermal, magnetic and physicochemical properties (Nanowerk,
2012).
Nylon 6 (or polyamide 6) is a polymer possessing good toughness, high tensile
strength, elasticity and lustre. It is used for a wide range of products requiring strength.
This strength can match with the requirements for car bumpers when reinforced with
nanoclay. Nanoclays are nanoparticles of layered mineral silicates. They are naturally
occurring inorganic minerals. The most commonly used nanoclay for material
reinforcement is montmorrillonite, a 2-to-1 layered smectite clay mineral with a platy
structure (Nanocor, 2008).
 Polymer composites for car bumper beam 53

4.3.1 Manufacturing routes for nylon-6-nanoclay nanocomposite beam

4.3.1.1 In situ polymerisation

The commercialisation of polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites was initially limited
by the lack of knowledge about their formation (Fornes and Paul, 2003). Since naturally
occurring montmorillonite is hydrophilic and polymers are generally organophilic
(tendency to form solvents with organic compounds), unmodified nanoclay disperses in
polymers with great difficulty. The commercial processing of nylon-6-nanoclay
nanocomposite was first developed by Toyota using an in situ polymerisation process
which effectively exfoliates the aluminosilicate layers by an easily understood chemical
mechanism. In the process, as illustrated in Figure 10, the sodium montmorillonite is
mixed with an aminolauric acid in aqueous hydrochloric acid to protonate the
aminolauric acid for an exchange with the sodium counter-ions. This is to ensure that the
alkyl units of the resulting organo-clay contain terminal carboxyl groups. Under
predetermined operating conditions, these carboxyl groups of the organo-clay will initiate
ring-opening polymerisation of caprolactam to form nylon-6 chains ionically bonded to
the aluminosilicate platelets. The free energy of polymerisation stimulates the growth of
these chains which continually pushes the platelets apart until exfoliation is completed
(Fornes and Paul, 2003). By creating a nanocomposite via in situ polymerisation,
improvement in desirable properties such as modulus, heat distortion under load, are
significantly improved (Nanocor, 2008).

Figure 10 In situ polymerisation of nylon 6-nanoclay nancomposite (The Toyota Process)

Source: (Fornes and Paul, 2003)

54 O. Osokoya

4.2.1.3 Melt processing

Nanocomposites can also be obtained by direct polymer melt intercalation where polymer
chains diffuse into the space between the clay layers or galleries (Cho and Paul, 2001).
This approach can be combined with the usual polymer processing techniques
(e.g. extrusion, injection moulding, etc.) to reduce the hybrid formation time. It is
proposed that nanocomposites might be more widely used if they could be formed from
existing polymers using conventional melt processing techniques as they are more
economical and probably simpler than in situ polymerisation (Fornes and Paul, 2003;
Cho and Paul, 2001). In the melt processing, the existing polymer is melted to form a
viscous liquid and a high shear force is applied to disperse the nanoclay fillers in the mix.
It is quite simple but the applied shear stress must be at optimum to achieve desired
dispersion without causing a decline in the property of the nanocomposite (Choudhary
and Gupta, 2011). Twin screw extrusion has proven to be most effective melt processing
method for the exfoliation and dispersion of silicate layers. The combination of shear and
good polymer-organoclay affinity makes it comparable to those produced by in situ
techniques (Fornes and Paul, 2003).

5 Benefits of using the polymer composites

Legislation for new vehicle designs are constantly getting stiffer in terms of
environmental friendliness, fuel efficiency, recyclability and safety of passengers and
pedestrians. Change is therefore imminent in all areas of vehicle design in which material
selection is core. Vehicle efficiency also increases through weight savings as about 40%
of fuel consumption is attributed to inertia due to vehicle mass (Jeyanthi, 2013).
The main benefits of polymer composites come from the result of combining the
properties of the base materials. Fibrous materials are known to be very strong and stiff
and polymers are generally lightweight and flexible materials. Thus, the composites
combine both advantages including better physical properties, recyclability and cheaper
cost in some cases. These benefits are further enumerated in the following sections.

5.1 Mechanical properties

Polymer matrix composites are produced such that mechanical loads are supported by
reinforcement while the polymer matrix bonds the fibres together to share the loads
between them. The mechanical properties of conventional materials for car bumpers and
that of the polymer composites are compared using data collected from an encyclopaedia
for engineering materials (CES EduPack 2015 software) shown in Table 1.
 Polymer composites for car bumper beam 55

Table 1 Mechanical properties of conventional and proposed materials for car bumper beam

Conventional materials Polymer composite alternatives

High High
strength strength Polypropylen Carbon Glass fibre- Nylon-6-
steel al-alloy e plastic fibre-epoxy polypropylene nanoclay
Density 7,800– 2,500–2,900 890–910 1,400–1,700 1,320–1,340 1,130
(kg/m³) 7,900
Young’s 200–221 68–80 0.896–1.55 69–150 10.4–11.7 5.00
modulus
(GPa)
Yield 330–460 95–610 20.7–37.2 221–276 110–122 83.4–84.1
strength
(MPa)
Tensile 580–670 180–620 27.6–41.4 350–500 115–127 75.2
strength
(MPa)
Elongation 19–22.8 1–20 100–600 0.5–2 1.53–1.85 15
(% strain)

Shear 77.5–83.5 25–28 0.316–0.548 27.8–60.5 4.05–4.15

modulus
(GPa)
Fracture 43.4–62.5 21–35 3–4.5 25.8–38.3 5.11–5.37 4.03–4.5
toughness
(MPa √m)

Table 1 is a good reference but not sufficient to compare these materials due to some
obvious disparities in material properties especially when considering Young’s Modulus
and Ultimate Tensile Strength. To cater for this, the graphs in Figures 11–13 compare the
key properties for the car bumper beam in relation to the density of the material
i.e. specific tensile strengths, specific yield strength and specific fracture toughness.

Figure 11 Comparison of specific tensile strength (see online version for colours)
56 O. Osokoya

Figure 12 Comparison of specific yield strength (see online version for colours)

Figure 13 Comparison of specific fracture toughness

These graphs (Figures 11–13) show how the polymer composites closely match the key
properties of the conventional materials necessary for car bumper beam. Carbon fibre
reinforced epoxy composite especially, has higher values than steel and would provide
about 70% weight reduction when it replaces a steel component. It is closely matched
with Aluminium which only has a higher specific yield strength. Nevertheless, in
comparison with aluminium, carbon fibre reinforced epoxy composite would still provide
40% more weight reduction.
Glass fibre reinforced propylene also has comparable specific strengths. Although
lower than Aluminium, it has higher specific strengths when compared with steel.
In addition, because of the very lightweight of polypropylene which is the base material,
more weight reductions can be achieved with it. Its fracture toughness value is not very
high because of its low ductility but to an extent, it will serve its purpose. Comparing it
with unreinforced polypropylene, up to 100% in both specific tensile strength and yield
strength is achievable.
The nylon-6-nanocomposite offers the best weight reduction of the three. It is seven
times lighter than high strength steel and about three times lighter than aluminium.
In addition to this, it has a higher specific yield strength than steel which makes it a
possible alternative to replace many other steel components.
 Polymer composites for car bumper beam 57

5.2 Physical properties

In addition to their low densities, polymer composites also have other excellent physical
properties. Polymer composites can be produced to have smooth surface finishes which is
an important factor for aerodynamic drag. The car bumper is an exterior component of
the vehicle and as such it has its own contribution to the total pressure drag the vehicle
must overcome. Therefore, car bumpers made with polymer composites are beneficial in
their contribution to weight reduction and drag reduction which cumulates to improved
fuel consumption of a vehicle. In addition, polymer composites offer excellent resistance
to corrosion and to chemical attack. This makes them suitable enough for parts that are
expected to be long lasting requiring no replacements in the lifetime of the vehicle.

5.3 Cost
Total cost of producing composites is a concern and one of the main reasons for their
non-utilisation. The numerous applications of metals and alloys led to more
infrastructures for their production which accounts for their competitive costs. Table 2
shows the estimated cost of the current and suggest alternative materials for car bumpers
as obtained from CES EduPack 2015 (Granta Design Limited, 2015).

Table 2 Cost comparison of alternative materials for car bumper

Material Cost (£/kg)

High strength steel 0.494–0.544
Al-Alloy 1.32–1.46
Unreinforced polypropylene 1.32–1.51
Carbon-fibre-epoxy 14.7–16.2
Glass-fibre-polypropylene 2.03–2.68
Nylon-6-nanoclay 4.12–5.49

The polymer composites are generally more expensive due to their uncommon
fabrication methods. Glass fibre is the nearest alternative when considering cost.
However, it is expected that as the materials become more commonly used, the prices
will reduce.

6 Conclusion

Polymers are versatile materials with unique properties like low weight and flexibility.
Their mechanical properties however are not adequate for many engineering applications.
By reinforcing with fibrous materials, they are found to have comparable properties to the
commonly used metals and alloys for automotive components and as such they hold great
potential to be used for these components. In addition to weight reduction, some polymer
composites offer other benefits such as drag reduction, good electrical and thermal
properties which are also desirable for automotive applications. The evaluation shows
that specific tensile strength and specific yield strength of the chosen composites are
much higher than that of steel; with carbon-fibre-epoxy boasting of about 360% higher
58 O. Osokoya

tensile strength and 300% higher yield strength. It therefore holds great promise of
replacing steel for bumper beams and many other structural components of a vehicle on
the road to achieving more reduction in fuel consumption by light-weighting. Carbon
fibre however is not as cheap as steel or aluminium which makes the glass-fibre polymer
composite the next logical alternative for beams. Although the specific fracture toughness
of the glass fibre polymer composite is not very competitive, its cost-competitiveness and
higher specific strengths than steel makes it a worthy alternative. While the carbon-fibre-
epoxy composite can be regarded as a material for the future because of its current cost
and there is still limited knowledge for mass producing the nylon-6-nanoclay
nanocomposite, the glass-fibre-reinforced-polypropylene bumper beams are currently
used in some sport cars.

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank the Loughborough University Department of Materials for the
resources made available for the preparation of this work. The author also extends his
appreciation to the coordinators of the master’s program and the entire staff of
Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering for their contribution. The data
presented, statements made, references provided and views expressed are solely the
responsibility of the author.

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