Affordable Lightweight Body Structures (ALBOS)

Completed

Energy Efficiency(Transport)
Not Energy Related

Basic and strategic applied research

PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Metallurgy and Materials)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Technology acceptance)
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Environmental dimensions)

Project Contact
University of Nottingham

Standard

DfT

17 September 2002

09 August 2006

47 months

£250,000

Transport; Manufacturing

East Midlands

DfT Transport Technology and Standards

Project Contact, University of Nottingham

The specific measurable project objectives are: * development of the structural, safety and durability performance of low cost carbon and possibly glass/carbon hybrid composites to achieve a 40% reduction in vehicle mass; * development of manufacturing technologies for affordable composite body structures for up to 20,000 units annually; and * development of relevant inspection and repair proce dures and to ensure that any adverse environmental impact is minimised.

This project aims to develop highly optimised carbon and possibly glass/carbon hybrid materials in varying widths, thicknesses and shapes with minimal waste. It is intended to produce advanced structural moulding compounds having properties specifically tailored for automotive applications that should impact significantly on vehicle mass, which in turn results in reduced fuel consumption and CO2emissions. This could provide a key development route for low fuel consumption vehicles beyond thecurrent EU targets for 2008. The project will also assess the crashworthiness of these new structures/compounds in order to inform future policy decisions on new and safer vehicle designs. This project also aims to overcome the traditional cost disadvantages of composite materials, compared to steeland aluminium, by addressing the intermediate processing costs such as textile conversion and pre-impregnation, which account for around 50% of materials costs. These costs are a significant barrier to the adoption of lighter composite materials in volume manufacturing.

06/02/08