Towards Carbon-Neutral Composite Crashworthiness

The transport sector is facing increased market competition, stringent EU emission rules, increased vehicle occupant safety requirements, pollution, and safety scandals. Cheaper, safer, and more environmentally friendly composite materials-based solutions are needed. However, most carbon fibre composites are expensive and applicable only to the aerospace and motorsport industries. The cheaper and more environmentally friendly option of natural fibre composites (NFCs) have been typically associated with poorer mechanical performance. The EU-funded TEMPEST project will explore the possibility of using an innovative NFC material with improved mechanical performance in safety critical structural components. The project will advance on the current state-of-the-art in experimental and numerical crashworthiness while reducing the carbon footprint of such crash structures.

The transport sector is currently facing global economic uncertainty, tough market competition, stringent EU emission and efficiency targets, increased vehicle occupant safety requirements, and pollution and safety scandals which have damaged its reputation. These factors require engineers to increasingly adopt the use of composite materials, to come up with cheaper, safer, and more environmentally friendly solutions. However, even if these materials enable the production of light energy-efficient vehicles, most carbon fibre composites are expensive, and thus the majority of their current applications are limited to the aerospace and motorsport industries. Furthermore, conventional composites have a high manufacturing carbon footprint, and they are typically non-recyclable at the end of life of the components. Natural fibre composites (NFCs) are now being used in the automotive industry, as a cheaper and more environmentally friendly option to conventional carbon fibre composites, albeit limited to non-safety critical components, due to their poorer mechanical performance. The TEMPEST research programme aims to explore the possibility of using a novel NFC material offering improved mechanical performance (developed by partner organisation Bcomp) in safety-critical structural components. Furthermore, by collaborating with McLaren Racing, who have been developing composite crash structures for over two decades, the project aims to advance on the current state-of-the-art in the fields of experimental and numerical crashworthiness, all the while trying to reduce the carbon footprint of such structures. The project also aims to enhance the creative and innovative potential of the researcher, wishing to diversify his competences to include sustainable composite material development, while advancing his international and intersectoral mobility, through collaboration with four industrial partners from the transport and materials sectors.