Sustainable innovation for the automotive industry
Düsseldorf, Germany, Oct. 27, 2010 — Innovative materials and expert application development, aimed at enhancing the performance of vehicle systems, improving their sustainability and reducing their total cost, form the forefront of DuPont Performance Polymers in the automotive sector. At K 2010, DuPont is focusing on new developments in several of these areas, as it supports the global automotive industry in its drive to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and CO2 emissions. These include new, longer-life, high temperature and chemically resistant materials to help downsize engines whilst maintaining, or increasing, their performance; lightweighting materials and innovative metal replacement ideas to help reduce vehicle weight for better fuel economy; alternative fuel-resistant materials to embrace new, more bio-based fuels; the use of renewably-sourced materials with high performance characteristics; and the development of low-emission materials that maintain their mechanical performance.
“We are experiencing dynamic times within the automotive industry, as OEMs and suppliers start to rethink almost every aspect of the vehicle in their pursuit of more sustainable, cost-effective and desirable solutions,” says Klaus Bender, Automotive Marketing Manager — Europe. “We firmly believe that the drive to reduce cost and weight will introduce plastics in applications never before considered, and that DuPont can actively support this trend by inventing new materials and innovative solutions that can help meet these goals quickly, drawing from our rich history of invention and global team of technical and development experts.”
Longer-life. Lightweight materials.
| The downsizing of engines to meet fuel economy and CO2 reduction while still delivering engine performance is leading to hotter temperatures, harsher chemicals and tighter underhood packaging constraints. Moreover, metals do not represent the long-term, sustainable answer. In response to the automotive industry’s innovative needs, DuPont Performance Polymers has introduced new, long-term aging resistant plastics, such as DuPont™ Zytel® PLUS nylon, inviting new ways to replace metal, especially under the hood, in transmissions and exhaust systems. Zytel® PLUS nylon delivers excellent performance levels and importantly maintains those excellent performance levels much longer than traditional nylons. |
Whether exposed to calcium chloride or to 3,000 or more hours of hot air, hot oil, water, long-life coolant, members of the Zytel® PLUS nylon family outperform traditional nylon products on the market today according to recent tests. For the automotive industry, this can mean the opportunity to more than double the lifetime of certain components in the engine compartment compared to those made of standard, heat-stabilized nylon.
DuPont is also using K2010 to demonstrate how the development of some of the latest high performance elastomers can help the automotive industry meet many of its current challenges. Key among these are high temperature DuPont™ Vamac® Ultra HT, specified for molded turbo air ducts, air intake gaskets, turbo charger hoses, intercooler seals and connectors, where it offers significant performance and cost advantages over ACM and HNBR. Alternatively, DuPont™ Viton® is the most specified fluoroelastomer for tough automotive sealing applications, retaining sealing force at temperatures between -40°C to +203°C.
Alternative-fuel resistant materials
The use of new biofuels places demands greater resistance from the materials used in fuel system and engine hoses, gaskets and o-rings. DuPont research, and independent testing by several leading fuels system OEMs, has demonstrated that fluoroelastomers offer the best permeation performance of traditional elastomeric sealing materials used for such components. Moreover, Viton® has been shown to be 1,000 times better than silicon (VMQ) and 100 times better than HNBR in permeation resistance. It also has better heat aging and compression set resistance performance than either VMQ or HNBR. In addition, recent testing of Zytel® and Delrin® engineering polymers and Vamac® Ultra ethylene acrylic elastomers (AEM) in aggressive AdBlue®1 aqueous urea solution has demonstrated the effectiveness of these products for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems used to reduce NOx emissions from diesel engines.
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Chart above: Aging of Vamac® G, GLS, Vamac® Ultra IP and VMX-3038 in AdBlue* for 168 hrs at 120°C indicates that the two new Ultra grades maintained most of their elastomeric properties, and can be considered for flexible sealing components in contact with AdBlue*. In addition, change in mechanical properties of Delrin® 560HD OR729, Zytel® HTN 51G35NOX BK420, Zytel® 70G35NOX BK309 and Zytel® LC6200 NC010 after aging 28 days in water versus AdBlue (67.5% water and 32.5% urea) at 80°C demonstrated that all these resins performed well within the specification of Daimler DBL 5419, and can be recommended for service in AdBlue containing SCR systems (not shown in this graph). |
Renewably-sourced materials
DuPont Performance Polymers has introduced a number of renewably sourced products that are made, in whole or in part, from renewable agricultural feedstocks (such as corn, castor beans and non-food biomass) rather than petroleum to help the automotive industry reduce its dependence on depleteable petroleum-based products. Among the 20 high-performance product families are: DuPont™ Sorona® polymer, DuPont™ Sorona® EP thermoplastic polymer, DuPont™ Hytrel® RS thermoplastic elastomer and DuPont™ Zytel® RS long chain polyamides. These products create a much smaller environmental footprint than the entirely petrochemically-based materials they replace with no compromise in performance.
| In the automotive industry, joint development work between Takata Petri and DuPont has resulted in the launch of a new grade of DuPont™ Hytrel® RS, the industry’s first renewably-sourced thermoplastic elastomer, for use in airbag systems. “With the automotive industry seeking a greater number of sustainable products to help reduce its impact on the environment, so-called green products are high on the manufacturers’ agenda,” confirms Takata Petri CEO, Dr. Heinrich Binder. |
Low-emission materials
| At the end of 2009, DuPont introduced three new enhanced low-emission PE grades of DuPont™ Delrin®, which provide extremely low volatile release without a reduction in mechanical performance versus the standard high performance grades, including excellent creep and fatigue resistance. All three PE grades have been specially formulated with a so-called formaldehyde catcher — without compromising the mechanical properties — to substantially reduce their release of formaldehyde during processing and use to levels which meet the stringent emission requirements demanded by some of today’s leading automotive OEMs. Their availability is in addition to the low-emission Delrin® P grades which meet the standard low emission targets of other manufacturers. The introduction of Delrin® PE will open up new opportunities for the cost-effective replacement of existing materials in many automotive interior applications. These include, for example, components for safety systems, door panels and seats, where the unique combination of properties of Delrin® can be of great benefit. |
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| DuPont Automotive offers more than 100 materials and products to the global automotive industry and through its global application development network is committed to delivering cost-effective solutions to help reduce vehicle weight for better fuel economy and CO2 emission reductions, to integrate part functionality to simplify assembly and eliminate cost; and help bring invention to market fast, better and more cost-effectively. For more information, visit automotive.dupont.com. |
AdBlue®1 is a registered trademark of the VDA (Verband der Automobilindustrie) and is licensed especially to car manufacturers, suppliers, and companies of the chemical and mineral oil industry. The trademark AdBlue® is applicable to vehicles, car-parts, in car-manuals, and for urea AUS 32.
The DuPont Performance Polymers business manufactures and sells Crastin® PBT and Rynite® PET thermoplastic polyester resins, Delrin® acetal resins, Hytrel® thermoplastic polyester elastomers, DuPont™ ETPV engineering thermoplastic vulcanizates, Minlon® mineral reinforced nylon resins, Neoprene polychloroprene, Tynex® filaments, Vespel® parts and shapes, Sorona® EP, Kalrez® perfluoroelastomer parts, Vamac® ethylene acrylic elastomers (AEM), Viton® fluoroelastomers, Viton® FreeFlow™ processing aids, Zytel® nylon resins, Zytel® PLUS nylon resins and Zytel® HTN high-performance polyamides. These products serve global markets in the aerospace, appliance, automotive, consumer, electrical, electronic, healthcare, industrial, sporting goods and many other diversified industries.
DuPont (www.dupont.com) is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 90 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.
Editorial Contact:
Rémi Daneyrole
Tel.: +41 (0)22 717 54 19
Fax: +41 (0)22 580 22 45
Remi.Daneyrole@dupont.com
Click here for high resolution image of the DuPont™ Zytel® engine.
Click here for high resolution image of the DuPont™ Delrin® chart.
Click here for high resolution image of the DuPont™ Viton® fuel system.