Research into the Development of Automotive Plastics in China

The development of automotive plastics in China can be divided into three stages, the first stage from the 60s to the end of the 70s. This stage mainly uses thermosetting resins to make parts such as electrical insulating parts and steering wheels. The purpose is to meet the production needs of medium-tonnage trucks. The second stage began in the late 1970s. The feature of this stage was that the automobile interior parts began to be made of plastic, and the PUR soft foam and PVC leather were used for car seats, dashboards, and ceilings. The third stage has been since the early 1990s. At this stage, with the continuous advancement of the localization of automotive materials, the research of automotive plastics has begun to integrate into the development trend of the world.

According to the statistics of related materials, the types of plastics used in automobiles in China are ranked according to the amount, which are PP, PVC, PU, ​​unsaturated polyester, ABS, PF, PE, PA and composite materials. It can be seen that the amount of five kinds of general-purpose engineering plastics is very small. It can be seen that the use of engineering plastics and high-performance engineering plastics still has a lot of room for development and use in domestic automobiles. In recent years, relevant research institutions have been working on the research of modified high-performance engineering plastics and materials processing technology, and have made some progress.

The China Railway No. 2 Institute of Earth Exploration and Geotechnical Corporation added a synergist to the flame-retardant polyphosphoric acid amine/nylon 6 to improve its flame retardant effect on ABS. The flame retardant level can reach UL94V?0, significantly improving ABS. /APP/PA6 system flame retardant properties. The addition of additives also improves the high temperature residual char rate and thermal stability of the flame retardant system.

Tianjin Institute of Urban Construction developed PS composites with different GB contents. After the surface treatment of GB and PS, the compatibility of the two is significantly improved. After research, it was found that when the mass fraction of GB is 5%, the bending strength, tensile strength and impact strength of this composite material reach the maximum. The Beijing Chemical Research Institute of the Ministry of Chemical Industry of China has established an MPPO production line with an annual output of 4kt/a, and has developed two alloy materials: PPS/PA66 and PPS/PPO.

In China, automotive plastic parts have also been applied. For example, Jinan Steyr heavy-duty trucks share 47.5kg of plastic on each vehicle, of which PVC is the major, followed by PU. The dashboard of the car is made of metal material, filled with PU semi-rigid foam, and heat-formed skin of PVC/ABS sheet. Fenders are PU microcellular elastomer materials that are manufactured using the RIM process. The molding process for the application of the interior trim panel of the driver's cab is the HIPS vacuum suction method. The front wall panel, the side panel, the floor mat, and the hood cover layer are respectively produced.

Due to the late start of automotive engineering plastics in China, the number of special resin brands for automobiles is low, and the production process is backward. It also mainly depends on imports. At the same time, the lack of large-scale automotive plastic parts companies, there is no unified automotive plastic parts specifications and standards; corporate production, testing and testing equipment is not perfect, can not guarantee the quality of products; lack of awareness of corporate environmental protection, the lack of materials recycling, recycling research . Automotive plastic parts have the advantages of corrosion resistance, high strength, low density, easy molding, energy saving and emission reduction, environmental protection and safety, etc., making "plastic steel substitute" become the development trend of auto parts. Based on the above characteristics, China still has a long way to go in terms of engineering material improvement and processing technology.