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A new, low cost, structural reaction injection molding resin has been developed for automotive applications requiring high mechanical strength and impact resistance. Primarily targeted at bumper beam applications, this new resin also displays very good thermal properties which make it a unique candidate for use in assembly sequences requiring high temperature exposures. Thermal and mechanical properties are presented as a function of glass level and glass configuration. At levels of over 50% by weight reinforcement, flexural modulus values of more than 14 GFa (ca. over 2 million psi) and coefficients of linear expansion comparable to steel are achievable. The resin has a unique “snap cure” reactivity profile that permits long shot times while maintaining demold and cycle times to the levels required for low cost targets in automotive components.

Fiberglass reinforced composites have been utilized by automotive designers and engineers for over forty years. Structural RIM, or SRIM, is one of the most innovative approaches developed in recent years for volume production of these composites. Material developments at ICI have resulted in SRIM systems with outstanding processing characteristics and property performance relative to earlier materials in the field. This new generation of SRIM materials posseses excellent thermal stability, mechanical properties, and retention of properties after exposure to harsh environments typically encountered in certain applications such as under the hood components. This paper reviews a variety of thermal and mechanical properties for different glass loadings. Thermal characteristics of the neat resin are studied by dynamic mechanical analysis and thermogravimetric analysis.

The advantages of reaction injection molded (RIM) polyureas in automotive exterior parts are well known. In addition to their excellent mechanical performance, the outstanding thermal properties of polyureas makes them top candidates for integrated processes to produce automotive exterior parts. Any serious candidate for that application must have excellent surface quality and has to be produced in a reliable manufacturing process with minimum scrap rates and short cycle times to be cost effective. Polyurea systems available at the present time are a compromise between property performance and processability. ICI, through novel proprietary technologies has developed a new family of polyurea systems for fascia and body panel applications having excellent processability and thermal/mechanical properties that are equal to or better than those of other polyureas currently available.