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ESI Group working with Nissan to use CFRP in cars

09 Dec '20

3 min read

Pic: ESI Group

ESI Group, global player in Virtual Prototyping software and services for industry, is working with Nissan Motor Co to speed up the use of carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) to make car parts. Light yet extremely strong, CFRP can make cars safer and more fuel-efficient. Commonly used in sectors such as aerospace, CFRP’s use in cars has been difficult.

CFRP have been too time-consuming and too expensive to industrialise for the automotive sector.

“We have always considered CFRP as a material for future generations of cars. But when it comes to reality, CFRP can be used only for limited models and appears to be more challenging for mass market production. Indeed, costs are high, and complex designs are required to shape CFRP. The challenge was to industrialise its production process in order to reduce costs and development time,” Hideyuki Sakamoto, EVP of Nissan Motor Co, said.

ESI Group has been supporting Nissan’s CFRP challenge since 2015 in the evolution of its industrial product design and manufacturing methodologies for various vehicle models. The partnership was strengthened in 2018 with the CFRP mass production project.

To overcome the difficulty in shaping CFRP parts, Nissan’s engineers, helped by ESI’s solution, found a new approach in the process of Compression Resin Transfer Molding (C-RTM). The existing method involves forming carbon fibre into the right shape and setting it in a die with a slight gap between the upper die and the carbon fibres. Resin is then injected into the fibre and left to harden. Nissan’s engineers developed techniques to accurately simulate the permeability of resin in carbon fibre, while visualising resin flow behaviour in a die using an in-die temperature sensor and a transparent die.

The result of the successful simulation was a high-quality component with shorter development time. Using virtual prototype of the product, Nissan succeeded. The result was a high-quality component with a development time reduced by 50 per cent.

“We are proud of the support we have brought Nissan over the years and throughout this project. We have helped them succeed in the full development process, from the design to the manufacturing of mass-produced CFRP parts, thus enabling their breakthrough for lighter and safer vehicles. Nissan’s success embodies our mission to enable industrial players to commit to outcomes. With our Smart Manufacturing solution and our historical expertise in materials, we helped them reach their ambitions,” Cristel de Rouvray, CEO of ESI Group, said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SV)