One of the ways to reduce emission rate is to lighten weights of vehicles, so composite components are regarded to replace steel parts with light ones
The regulations about “manufacturing low emission vehicle” have put pressure on the automotive manufacturers. One of the most reliable ways to manufacture low emission vehicles is to reduce weight of the vehicles. As for this, it would ensure widespread use of composite materials. The automotive sector will replace steel parts with composite ones to reduce emission rates. Having used in lots of areas ranging from wind plants to aviation industry, the new generation composite materials are spreading in the automotive sector as well. Associate Prof. Dr. Nuri Ersoy said that the six difference projects – which they had developed at the Composite Laboratory of Bosporus University, primarily directed towards the automotive sector and then for others – have passed into application stage. The Composite Laboratory of Bosporus University has been maintaining its operations in the leadership of Associate Prof. Dr. Nuri Ersoy, the lecturer of Mechanical Engineering Faculty at the university, since 2004 onwards. The support of Istanbul Development Agency provided to invest significantly in the laboratory infrastructure as well as experiencing a crucial advancement as quantity and quality in 2013. Stating the CO2 emission would be reduced in notable rates in the upcoming years regarding pressures revealed through climate change, Dr. Ersoy said designing lighter vehicle was inevitable and the designed light vehicles by using composite parts would be an obligation in terms of the environmental effect.
He continued, “One of the most important features of the composite materials is being light. They possess a very high durability per unit weight. These materials were used only in the aviation sector in the 1980s and 1990s. However regarding environmental pressures and global warming let these materials’ importance increase not only in the aviation, but also in the automotive and road transport in recent years. In the upcoming years, very serious restrictions in the emission rates of vehicles will be imposed in the European Union and the USA.” Remarking composite parts would replace with steel ones, Ersoy said, “When carbon-fiber reinforced composite materials used in the rate of 40-60 percent, lightening will happen in the vehicles. Nowadays, steps have been taken in this direction. Bumpers and passive safety systems like crash-box are also made of composite materials. In Turkey, there are works in this side in the automotive sector. Researches are being managed. We are also managing researches in this topic as basic and practical at this laboratory. Energy absorption capacities of these materials are higher. They absorb crashenergy more in a possible colliding moment. This indicates a condition to change the perception of a vehicle which made of heavy and intensive steel is regarded as safer and more reliable. We see in our researches that the vehicles made of composite parts are stronger against shocks.”
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