Modelling a Rear Bumper of Goods Transport Vehicle Made of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer 2017-36-0413

Due to the mass production process of the automobile industry, develop a product by reducing its cost has become an important aspect in its elaboration. This goal is to replace the higher cost material for an alternative that offers the same performance at a lower cost. The use of composite materials in the automotive industry has gradually evolved over the years. However, the use of composite materials in the structure of the automobile depends on a number of factors, such as large production scale, fast manufacturing process and economy, suiting the high demand of the automobile industry. Fiberglass composites are widely used in the market because of their good mechanical and physical properties combined with the comparatively low cost of production. Therefore, the objective of the work is to analyze the feasibility of other inputs as alternatives to the manufacture of rear bumper of transporting goods vehicle, using composite materials with satisfactory performances in this replacement. The work performs a static analysis to evaluate the behavior of equivalent stresses and deflection in glass fiber reinforced polymers (GFRP) after applying static force to the rear bumper of the truck. Rear bumper of metallic material made a comparative analysis with the GFRP and results for composite presented lower equivalent stresses than the AISI 1020 carbon steel material, showing good future prospects for a metallic material replacement.