Title: Light Weight Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites with New Design for Recreational Vehicles

Authors: Liqing Wei, Ruomiao Wang, and Mark O. Mason

DOI: 10.33599/nasampe/c.19.0847

Abstract: Light-weight reinforced thermoplastic (LWRT) composites, comprised of a porous core with chopped glass fiber and thermoplastic resin and two surface layers, have been used in recreational vehicles (RVs) for exterior and interior sidewalls, ceilings, roofs, and floors. LWRT use in RVs provides a strong, durable and quiet environment, increases the useful life, and reduces post-sale maintenance. In this study, a process design was used to develop an LWRT composite containing multiple areal densities while maintaining the flatness profile across the entire width of the panel. For example, the cross-machine direction (CD) edges can be made lighter or heavier than the middle of the board, but the board still has a flat surface which can be uniformly covered with glue to ensure adequate adhesion between the LWRT board and other components of the whole RV wall construction. The glue, typically a hot melt polyurethane and/or liquid urethane, can be applied using a double- or single- roll coating or beard coating process. This paper reports the physical properties of the board, including basis weight (or areal density), glass content, density, and thickness. Mechanical properties, especially the strength through thickness direction, were measured by a flat wise tensile test according to ASTM C297, and are reported for the board as well as the total RV wall construction. By finely tuning the difference of basis weight across the CD, the resulting LWRT composite can be designed to satisfy various applications with different performance requirements with a single board which is significantly lighter weight than the wood-based RV panels they replace.

References: 1. Swift TK, Moore M, Sanchez E. Plastics and Polymer Composites in Light Vehicles. Economics and Statistics Department/American Chemistry Council Google Scholar. 2015. 2. Stewart R (2009). Lightweighting the automotive market. Reinforced plastics, 53(2), 14-21. 3. Wei L, McDonald A (2016). A review on grafting of biofibers for biocomposites. Materials, 9(4), 303; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9040303. 4. Yang Y, Messina A, Mason M (2015). Development of Lightweight Reinforced Thermoplastic with Improved Stone Impingement Resistance for Automotive Underbody Applications. SPE ACCE, September 9-11, Novi, MI. 5. Tseng Y, Wang R, Mason MO, Robertz TD, Vorenkamp EJ (2014). US20160168350 A1. 6. Wei L, Scott L (2018). Poly-coated paper laminated onto light weight reinforced thermoplastic composite panel via in-line lamination, CAMX, October 15-18, Dallas, TX. 7. Hanwha Azdel (https://www.azdelonboard.com/) 8. Hovorun TP, Berladir KV, Pererva VI, Rudenko SG, Martynov AI (2017). Modern materials for automotive industry. Journal of Engineer Sciences, 4(2), F8-F18. 9. Valley RV Supercenter (2013). Jayco Masters Training (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8bra8-GgyU). 10. The RV Factory (2016). Floor Vacuum Bond Lamination process (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5azv1nS2DSk). 11. Frost G, Kilmer S (2004). Composite exterior cladding panel. U.S. Patent Application 10/692,155. 12. Ladell S, Mullan T, and Bruijns P (2002). Fifth Wheel Vehicle Trailer. U.S. Patent 6,394,533. 13. Colby JM (2000). Convertible trailer. U.S. Patent 6,017,081, issued January 25, 2000. 14. Singh J, Kumar M, Kumar S, Mohapatra SK (2017). Properties of glass-fiber hybrid composites: A review. Polymer-Plastics Technology and Engineering, 56(5), 455-469. 15. Biblis EJ, Chiu YM (1970). Flexural strength and stiffness of southern pine plywood. Wood science and technology, 4(1), 70-77.

Conference: CAMX 2019

Publication Date: 2019/09/23

SKU: TP19-0847

Pages: 13

Price: $26.00