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Flexible polyurethane (PU) foam has been widely used for seat cushions in automotive passenger vehicles due to the excellent cushioning performance and the ability to shape mold. Originally introduced in the late 1950's, it has been used for more than 50 years. However, there is a limitation using polyurethane foam with efforts to reduce the weight and address ever increasing risks to environment. This paper provides information about a new automotive seat concept which does not use polyurethane foam at all. Expanded polyolefin foam is used for this application to replace polyurethane foam and achieve comparable cushioning performance. Other features of the material include 100% recyclability, and no VOC's. By replacing polyurethane foam with expanded thermoplastic foam, hazardous outgassing is eliminated during the seat cushion production, thus improving workplace environmental health and safety.

This paper presents a new concept for a 100% plastic prototype automotive door panel. This concept has the potential of providing a weight reduction of up to 40% compared to conventional steel door panels, but with equivalent performance (static strength). This innovative technology can be used for a variety of exterior automotive parts. The concept includes a composite sandwich panel combination of GFRP (glass-fiber-reinforced polymer), and LACTIF®, which is expanded beads foam made from PLA (polylactic acid) and developed by JSP Corporation. This GFRP+LACTIF® composite design offers the following characteristics: - Excellent environmental resistance, - Strong adhesion, - Equivalent static strength (versus conventional door panels), and - Design flexibility. This concept also offers an alternative to conventional steel door panel systems by using unsaturated polyester material of plant origin as part of the GFRP composite.

The use of Expanded Polyolefin foams including Expanded Polypropylene (EPP) material for interior applications has grown over the years to include applications throughout the vehicle. The demand for weight and cost reduction has forced designers to seek out the most versatile material available to satisfy the need for performance, durability, as well as design flexibility. The role of light-weight materials such as EPP has expanded. As such, the design challenges have also enabled the use of EPP in applications requiring energy management, as well as structural, acoustic, and storage/stowage functions. This paper will review the design guidelines that enable EPP to be used in numerous automotive interior applications. As EPP foam becomes more widely specified, and as the applications become more multifunctional, it is important to understand the potential solutions available to satisfy all aspects of design, performance, quality, and safety.

The industry demand for improved material properties and performance, as well as the ever increasing demand for weight and cost reduction has presented challenges for the automotive industry as a whole. From the plastic materials side, the challenge has been incorporating new fastening and assembling technology into existing applications, all while reducing cost and improving performance. This paper will explore new approaches for assembly and attachment methods for Shape Molded Expanded Polypropylene (EPP) Foam products used in automotive interiors. As EPP foam becomes more widely used throughout the automotive interior, it has become necessary to provide innovative ways of attachment and joining. Recent innovations have allowed for the insert molding of EPP using wireframes, plastic inserts, metal brackets, and bars.

The demand for improved material properties and performance, as well as the demand for weight and cost reduction has presented challenges for the automotive industry as a whole. From the plastic and polymer materials side, the challenge has been incorporating newer polyolefin material technology into existing applications, all while reducing cost and improving performance. This paper will explore novel approaches to meeting the industry need of both cost and weight reduction for plastic interior components, all while meeting the stringent performance and environmental needs of each OEM. Recent advancements in the field of polyolefin resins have enabled new classes of thermoplastic bead foam products to be created which provide enhanced physical properties. These new materials are capable of improved performance due to the advancements that have been made to their base polymers.

Advancements in the field of polyolefin resins have enabled new classes of thermoplastic bead foam products to be created which provide enhanced physical properties. These new products are capable of improved performance due to the advancements that have been made in the area of polyolefin resin catalyst systems, specifically those employing the new Metallocene catalyst method for production. With this new technology, Expanded Polyolefin bead foams such as Expanded Polypropylene (EPP) are making their way into new automotive applications, that just a few years ago were not possible. These advances have made it possible to comply with the stringent design, testing, and qualification requirements that headliner systems must meet.

Recent advancements in the field of polyolefin resins in the area of PP+PE copolymers, impact co-polymers, and homo-polymers have allowed for the creation of a new class of thermoplastic foam products. These new products are capable of improved performance due to the advancements that have been made in the area of polyolefin resin catalyst systems. These new Metallocene catalysts are being employed to create resins with improved mechanical properties that otherwise were not available using the traditional Ziegler-Natta (Z-N) catalyst systems currently being used to produce a majority of the thermoplastic materials available today. This paper will describe these recent advancements and how they allow for improved properties to be realized in the area of expanded bead foams used in the construction of molded automotive interior components used in the occupant safety system designs.

Advancements in soft polyolefin bead foams for automotive interior trim components permit a more targeted response to automotive industry requirements, including: cushioning, energy management efficiency, parts consolidation, elimination of restricted materials and substances, recycleability, and lower prices. This paper will describe these recent advancements in the properties of and processing techniques for soft polyolefin foams. Soft polyolefin foam properties allow interior components to meet increasingly stringent environmental substance regulations. They also allow interior components to meet a broad range of application requirements from the requirements for soft feel at low strain rates to the requirements for energy absorption at higher strain rates. The unique properties of these soft polyolefin foams address interior application requirements, including weight reduction, energy absorption performance (per recent FMVSS changes), and styling.

Advancements in Expanded Polypropylene (EPP) foam processing techniques permit a more targeted response to automotive industry requirements including increased energy management efficiency, parts consolidation, reduced offset tolerances, and lower prices. This paper will describe these advanced processing techniques and the advantages they provide for energy management applications such as FMVSS 201, FMVSS 581, pedestrian impact safety, and IIHS 8 kph bumper impact testing requirements. Some quasi-static and dynamic stress-strain information, as well as some cellular (bead foam) modeling information is included. The energy management capability of a molded EPP part is a direct function of its molded density. Multiple densities can be strategically located within a given molded part in a one-step or multi-step process in order to meet specific customer requirements.