materials feature | Additives for polyolefins
audi is using LyondellBasell’s Softell tKg 300n pp Compound for the rear side panel inside its a1 model
Automotive advances pp continues to make inroads in new automotive applica- tions. dr michael pohl of Basell Deutschland, a Lyondell- Basell company, said that according to his company’s analysis, polymers now account for around 19% of the materials used in cars. This amounts to around 170 kg per vehicle on average, and 60% of this is pp. pohl focused on automotive interior applications,
explaining that cost dictates the types of materials used in different vehicles. For example, premium models tend to feature foam-backed skin foils or sprayed skins, while mid-class vehicles typically use a plastic surface coated with soft-touch paints, and city and small cars use unpainted thermoplastics. Basell deutschland has developed its new soft-touch
Softell pp compounds to deliver high levels of surface quality without the need for painting. The resin is
produced using lyondellBasell’s catalloy process to have a very fine and homogenous dispersion of elastomer particles. it has been developed to have very low gloss compared to traditional pp compounds. in addition, the material has high Shore d hardness properties and improved scratch and mar resistance, whilst maintaining processability in injection moulding. According to pohl, Softell TKg 300n matches the
scratch resistance, matt surface, soft touch and haptics of soft-touch-painted ABS. while the pp compound has slightly lower stiffness than the ABS-based option, it offers significantly better noise dampening, process simplicity and performance/cost (see Figure 1). The material is already being used for the instrument panel and other interior components in the opel Astra and in the rear side panel of the Audi A1 and the door pockets of the Audi A7. Wacker Silicones has also been focusing on pp
compounds for automotive interiors and in particular how their scratch performance can be improved by using genioplast additives. These are the company’s pelletized formulations of uHmw silicone and high- surface-area silica. dr michael geck explained that in addition to increasing scratch and abrasion resistance, they reduce the coefficient of friction and improve surface lubricity and slip. The additives also give better mechanical properties and create a surface that feels soft and dry. The surface enhancement is permanent because of an anchoring mechanism created by physical interactions between the silicone and silica. Tests were carried out on talc-filled pp formulations
Figure 1: Comparing the propertieS oF LYonDeLLBaSeLL’S SoFteLL tKg 300n SoFt-touCh pp CompounD With taLC-FiLLeD pp anD SoFt- touCh painteD aBS
16 compounding world | January 2012
containing carbon black masterbatch and different loadings of scratch resistance additives. Scratch visibility was evaluated using an Erichsen tester which is the industry standard at many oEms. genioplast pellet S reduced scratch visibility both before and after thermal exposure. it also produced low fogging and improved the compound’s elongation and impact strength. BYK Chemie has also been looking at automotive
www.compoundingworld.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
