Investigations of Composite Materials for Their Applications in Designs of Vehicles 2019-01-1120

At present, there is a tendency to replace metals with nonmetals, including composite materials. More and more works are devoted to the creation and investigation of the structure and properties of nonmetallic materials. Composites, being a heterogeneous anisotropic or quasi-isotropic system, combining the positive properties of components and possessing a complex of new properties not inherent in any of them, allow to substantially improve the basic characteristics of materials. The main requirement applied to parts of vehicles made of polymer composite materials is the ability to withstand a high operating temperature and pressure. Modern polymer composite materials consist of reinforcing fillers and a polymer matrix. Reinforcing fillers can be made of: fiberglass, organic fiber, carbon fiber and are able to withstand the required operating temperature and pressure with ease. Thus, the task of selecting polymer composite materials for units and details of vehicles is reduced to the selection of a polymer matrix connecting the reinforcing filler. This article analyzes the use of polymer composite materials in the details of vehicles, the most promising components of polymer composite materials for manufacturing the details have been selected. Samples were made and mechanical tests of polymer composite materials were carried out. Based on the results of the research, the choice of the most promising polymeric composite material was made. The experimental studies carried out on the two most promising materials showed the advantages of a material that has a significantly larger temperature and load range of operation and has a large margin for modification. It is shown that the materials with short-fiber filler can be a worthy replacement for metal alloys in the design of units and details of vehicles.