HIVOCOMP · Advanced materials enabling HIgh-VOlume road transport applications of lightweight structural COMPosite parts

The rapidly growing use of high-performance composites in high-end sectors such as aerospace, show that these materials are already commercially viable as long as production volumes are limited and applications not primarily cost-driven. In order to achieve a step-change in the application of high-performance composites in larger-volume applications, HIVOCOMP focuses on achieving radical advances in two materials systems that show unique promise for cost effective, higher-volume production of high performance carbon fibre reinforced parts. These are: 1) advanced polyurethane (PU) thermoset matrix materials offering increased mechanical performance and reduced cycle times compared to epoxy, and 2) thermoplastic PP- and PA6-based self-reinforced polymer composites incorporating continuous carbon fibre reinforcements with lower process times and far higher toughness than current thermoplastic and thermoset solutions. The project will analyse and develop these matrix materials, their combination with advanced textile preforms, and optimise material properties for advanced processing technologies, joining technologies (adhesives / welding) and the incorporation and self-diagnosis (sensing) materials. The focus on breakthrough material innovations are complemented by enabling work covering material testing, chemical and micro-mechanical modelling and simulation tool development, as well as LCA, cost and recycling analysis, and prototyping of typical applications, assuring that the proposed material innovations can be successfully translated into high-impact industrial applications. The project drives the material innovations with the road vehicle sector in mind, but has clearly identified spin-off applications in other sectors. The project foresees a step-wise implementation in future products introduced into larger-volume transport applications starting with validated demonstration parts in 2013, and so ensuring a large-scale societal impact of the innovations achieved.