materials | Automotive Right: The AIM/CAC for


the Alfa Romeo Giulia uses BASF heat resistant


polyamide blends


lowering the stress on sensitive electronic parts during the moulding process.


Handling high heat Back in the realm of the internal combustion engine, high-heat compounds are growing as a result of cars getting smaller and engine compartments getting smaller. More utilization of turbochargers is creating a market for more heat resistant products for under the hood as well. BASF recently announced that two grades of its


heat-resistant Ultramid Endure polyamide blend are being used in two new powertrain applications on the 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia: the air intake manifold (AIM) with integrated charge air cooler (CAC) and the (blow moulded) hot-side turbo duct. “As heat under the hood increases, Ultramid Endure with its high heat-aging resistance up to 220°C enables automakers to achieve engine downsizing and turbocharging without sacrific- ing performance,” the company says. BASF worked with Magneti Marelli, part of Fiat


Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), to develop the AIM/CAC. BASF says the need for a material to withstand a 200°C continuous use temperature made the part a prime candidate for Ultramid Endure D3G7, a 35% glass fibre reinforced grade. The air intake manifold also required very high burst pressure resistance, so Magneti Marelli needed a material that offered reliable weld strength at elevated temperatures. Ultramid Endure D3G7 is particularly impressive in this department, losing only around half of its weld line strength after aging at 220° C for 1,000 hours.


Strength down under Underneath the engine meanwhile, passenger vehicles are increasingly equipped with thermoplastic oil pans. By nature of their function, they are located close to the road. Lanxess developed Durethan BKV 235 H2.0 XCP specifi- cally for oil pans that have to offer high resistance to


Below: Properties of Durethan BKV 235 H2.0 XCP compared with Durethan BKV 35 H2.0


stone impact and the underbody hitting the ground, and that are not otherwise protected by sheet metal or other cover materials. This grade is rubber-modified and reinforced with 35% special short glass fibres. The abbreviation XCP stands for Extreme Crash Performance, due to the material’s high toughness. “Our material is character- ised by outstanding Charpy notch impact resistance at low temperatures. Although it contains a rubber-based toughness modifier, its stiffness and strength remain on a high level,” says Detlev Joachimi, head of Durethan product development at Lanxess. The new material fulfils the specifications of various


car makers for the low-temperature impact resistance of plastics in exposed engine oil pans. At -30° C, the Charpy notch impact resistance is 18 kJ/m2


. By


comparison, Durethan BKV 35 H2.0, a standard polyamide 6 reinforced with 35% glass fibre, achieves 10 kJ/m2


at the same temperature. Compared to the


standard polyamide 6, the E-modulus and tensile stress at break of the new material are only slightly lower, at 9,500 MPa and 164 MPa respectively (dry as moulded). “As a result, we can design oil pans that meet strict demands in terms of stiffness and strength, but also display very high impact resistance,” says Joachimi. Durethan BKV 35 H2.0 also has good flow properties and high heat resistance. The heat distortion tempera- ture (HDT A, 1.8 MPa) of 203° C is nearly as high as that of Durethan BKV 35 H2.0. Polyamides reinforced with a high glass fibre content can also replace metals in commercial vehicles, as demonstrated by two air filter


carriers now being installed in the Mercedes- Benz Actros truck. These structural parts are made of Durethan AKV 50 H2.0 from Lanxess, a PA66 with 50% glass fibre reinforcement. They are the first plastic carriers to be used as load-bearing structural elements


24 INJECTION WORLD | May/June 2017 www.injectionworld.com


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