Team SAVE

The search for solutions for more ecological and sustainable transport is one of the great contemporary challenges. On the regional territory much has been focused on hybrid drive (Marelli), and there are valid experiences of electric mobility.

In this sense, the lightening of the vehicle represents a further advantage to ensure sustainability of vehicular transport and the carbon-fiber-reinforced composites (CFRP) seem to offer an excellent opportunity thanks to the superior mechanical properties of these materials. However, it is necessary to optimize the production of composites by introducing the use of new solutions for advanced materials and to address some critical aspects such as:

• poor toughness to delamination;
• brittle fracture;
• reduced intrinsic damping;
• joint difficulties and so on.

In this context, Team SAVE intends to integrate innovative materials in the automotive supply chain through the application of advanced industrial processes that aim to optimize the industrialization of significant components for electric mobility.

To achieve this, different aspects come into play contributing to the need to innovate materials and production methods. The desire to improve vehicle transport therefore requires increasingly lighter and more performing materials whose recovery and re-use possibilities will be demonstrated.

Moreover, faced with the growing market interest and the still limited diffusion of advanced composite technologies, Team SAVE aims to add new performances and functionalities (eg component health monitoring) and to solve some typical problems of composites, such as poor capacity damping, to encourage the commercial development of such solutions.

The achievement of these results will be allowed by the union of the research results and the commercial experiences of the different partners, able to promote the technological development of the composites and, in parallel, the advancement of the commercial chain.

Targets
Operating demonstration (TRL7) of:

• O1. technologies for the realization, through integrated additive-subtractive processes, of innovative and air-conditioned molds equipped with thermal cushions for the controlled heating of the laminates during their assembly phase;
• O2. production processes for the integration of polymeric nanofibers in CFRP components and in structural adhesives to obtain high mechanical performance and self-sensing functionality;
• O3. production processes of composite / metal hybrid structures through the use of nanostructured adhesives and / or coupling with suitable surfaces obtained via AM;
• O4. applicability of carbon fibers from pyrogasification of composite scraps, to demonstrate the potential compliance of CFRP components with EU directives in terms of vehicle disposal and recycling.
• O5. Production of 3 different prototypes (TRL7), motor wheels, suspension systems and seats, to be used on Emilia 4, UniBo solar electric vehicle winner of the American Solar Challenge 2018.

COORSA is co-funded by the European fund for regional development (POR FESR 2014 – 2020) and by the Fund for development and cohesion (FSC).