When it comes to the electric vehicle market, Fibertex expects to see growth due to the importance and increasing popularity of lightweight materials, and the company is currently researching this market. Hitchcock explained, “Due to the introduction of new frequency ranges for sound waves in the use of electric motors and other electronic components, we see opportunities in insulation and sound-absorbing materials.
Opportunities brought by electric vehicles
He said, “As an important part of daily life, we continue to see strong future development in the automotive market, and its potential growth will continue, which requires solid technological development. Therefore, automotive is one of Fibertex’s main areas. We see the application of non-woven fabrics expanding in this important market due to their customization, sustainability, and design capabilities that can achieve specific performance goals.
Kodebao High Performance Materials (FPM) provides a wide range of technology platforms for automotive applications, including products and technologies that meet customer requirements, such as high-performance lightweight solutions. Kodebao is one of the few companies that produces gas diffusion layers entirely within their own production facilities, including laboratories. In addition to the gas diffusion layer (GDL) used for fuel cells, the company also produces lightweight sound-absorbing pads, underbody covers, and canopy surfaces with differentiated printing. Their Lutradur technology-based spunbond nonwoven fabric can be used for car floor mats, carpet backing, interior and trunk lining, as well as Evolon microfilament textiles for various automotive applications.
Kodebao’s new solution includes a battery pack liquid absorption pad for temperature and moisture management of lithium-ion battery packs. The battery pack is the core element of both mobile and fixed lithium-ion energy storage systems, “explained Dr. Heislitz.” They are used in automotive and industrial applications. There may be multiple reasons for liquid leakage inside the battery pack. Air humidity is a major issue. After air enters the battery pack, moisture condenses inside the cooled battery pack. Another possibility is that coolant leaks from the cooling system. In both cases, the absorbent pad is a safety system that can reliably capture and store condensate and leaked coolant.
The battery pack liquid absorption pad developed by Kodebao can reliably absorb and store large amounts of liquid. Modular design enables it to adjust its absorption capacity based on available space. Due to its flexible material, it can even achieve customer specified geometric shapes.
Another innovation of the company is the high-performance friction pads used for bolted connections and press fit joints. With people’s pursuit of higher performance, bolted connections and press fit joints are subjected to greater torque and force. This is mainly highlighted in the application of engines and power transmission systems in electric vehicles. Kodebao’s high-performance friction pads are a solution specifically designed for more stringent requirements.
By using Kodebao high-performance friction plates between two connecting components, a static friction coefficient of up to μ=0.95 can be achieved. With a significant increase in the static friction coefficient, many benefits can be obtained, such as higher shear force and torque transmission due to optimized friction joints, reduced number and/or size of bolts used, and prevention of micro vibrations, thereby reducing noise. “Dr. Heislitz said,” This innovative and powerful technology also helps the automotive industry adopt the same component strategy. For example, power system components of low motor vehicles can be used in high-performance vehicles without redesign, thereby achieving higher torque.
Kodebao high-performance friction sheet technology uses special non-woven carrier materials, with hard particles coated on one side and placed at the friction connection during use. This can allow hard particles to penetrate into both surfaces of the connection and thus form micro interlocks. Unlike existing hard particle technology, this friction plate has a thinner material profile that does not affect part tolerances and can be easily retrofitted into existing connectors.
At the same time, non-woven fabric manufacturer Ahlstrom provides a wide range of non-woven fabrics for automotive end use, including automotive interior parts, filter media for all automotive and heavy-duty applications (oil, fuel, gearbox, cabin air, air intakes), as well as electric vehicles (cabin air, gearbox oil, battery cooling, and fuel cell air intakes) and battery separators.
In terms of filtering, Ahlstrom launched FiltEV in 2021, a platform entirely dedicated to electric vehicles. The FiltEV platform includes a new generation of cabin air filtration media that provides higher efficiency in filtering fine particulate air (HEPA), microorganisms, and harmful gases, making travel safer. In addition, the oil filter media series used for suction and pressure filtration in the gearbox provides better protection and longer service life for the power system. In addition, the complete combination of air and liquid filtration media used for thermal management provides reliability and scalability for cooling devices. Finally, the modular concept of fuel cell intake filter media can protect circuits and catalysts from fine particles and key molecules.
To supplement filtering products for electric vehicles, Ahlstrom has launched FortiCell, a product platform designed specifically for energy storage applications. Noora Blasi, Marketing Manager of Ahlstrom’s Filtration Department, stated that this product provides a complete fiber based material combination for the lead-acid battery industry, and has also developed new solutions for lithium-ion batteries. She said, “Our fiber materials have unique properties that bring greater benefits to the performance improvement of batteries.
Ahlstrom will continue to provide customers with better performance and more sustainable filtration media in the traditional transportation sector. For example, its recently launched ECO series products have been nominated for the Filtrex Innovation Award. Blasi said, “By adding a large amount of biobased lignin to the formulations of some engine air intakes and oil filtration media, we have been able to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the media and significantly reduce formaldehyde emissions during customer curing processes, while still maintaining the filtration performance and durability of the media.
According to Maxence D é camps, Sales and Product Manager of Ahlstrom Industrial Nonwovens, in addition to filtration, Ahlstrom also offers a range of independent and laminated nonwoven fabrics for automotive interior applications such as roofs, doors, instrument panels, etc. He said, “We constantly innovate, always one step ahead, and help customers cope with their demanding technical challenges.
A bright future
Looking ahead, Blasi pointed out that non-woven fabrics, especially composite materials, have a strong future in the automotive market. With the increasing demand in the filtration market, the required solutions have become more complex. The new multi-layer design introduces more features than single-layer solutions. The new raw materials will provide higher added value, such as in terms of carbon footprint, processability, and emissions reduction.
The automotive market is currently facing some challenges. The automotive industry has suffered a great blow in the past two years, but the difficult times are not over yet. Our clients have overcome many difficulties and there are still more challenges to face. However, we believe they will become stronger in the near future. Chaos will reshuffle the market, stimulate creativity, and make impossible projects come true. “D é camps added,” In this crisis, our role is to support clients on this deep transformation journey. In the medium term, clients will see the dawn at the end of the tunnel. We are proud to be their partners on this difficult journey.
The characteristic of the automotive market is fierce competition, but there are also challenges of innovation and further development. The multifunctionality of non-woven fabrics gives them a strong future in this market as they can adapt to new requirements and conditions. However, the current situation has indeed brought challenges to this industry, with shortages of raw materials, chips, and other components and transportation capacity, uncertainty surrounding energy supply, soaring raw material prices, rising transportation costs, and energy costs creating a dramatic situation for suppliers in the automotive industry.
Source | Nonwolves Industry
Dongguan Liansheng Non woven Technology Co., Ltd. was established in May 2020. It is a large-scale non-woven fabric production enterprise integrating research and development, production, and sales. It can produce various colors of PP spunbond non-woven fabrics with a width of less than 3.2 meters from 9 grams to 300 grams.
Post time: Sep-19-2024