자동차 부품의 강성 보강을 위한 섬유강화 플라스틱 사출성형품의 섬유 배향 및 기계적 특성에 관한 연구

A study on the fiber orientation and mechanical characteristics of injection molded fiber-reinforced plastic for the rigidity improvement of automotive parts

Fiber-reinforced plastics(FRPs) have excellent specific stiffness and strength, so they are usually used as automotive parts that require high rigidity and lightweight instead of metal. However, it is difficult to predict the mechanical properties of injection molded parts due to the fiber orientation and breakage of FRPs. In this paper, the fiber orientation characteristics and mechanical properties of injection molded specimens were evaluated in order to fabricate automotive transmission side covers with FRPs and design a rib structure for improvement of their rigidity. The test molds were designed and manufactured to confirm the fiber orientation characteristics of each position of the injection molded standard plate-shaped specimens, and the tensile properties of the specimens were evaluated according to the injection molding conditions and directions of specimens. A gusset-rib structure was designed to improve the additional structural rigidity of the target products, and a proper rib structure was selected through the flexural tests of the rib-structured specimens. Based on the evaluation of fiber orientation and mechanical characteristics, the optimization analyses of gate location were performed to minimize the warpage of target products. Also, the deformation analyses against the internal pressure of target product were performed to confirm the rigidity improvement by gusset-rib structure. As a result, it could be confirmed that the deformation was reduced by 27~37% compared to the previous model, when the gusset-rib structure was applied to the joining part of the target products.

Fiber-reinforced plastics(FRPs) have excellent specific stiffness and strength, so they are usually used as automotive parts that require high rigidity and lightweight instead of metal. However, it is difficult to predict the mechanical properties of injection molded parts due to the fiber orientation and breakage of FRPs. In this paper, the fiber orientation characteristics and mechanical properties of injection molded specimens were evaluated in order to fabricate automotive transmission side covers with FRPs and design a rib structure for improvement of their rigidity. The test molds were designed and manufactured to confirm the fiber orientation characteristics of each position of the injection molded standard plate-shaped specimens, and the tensile properties of the specimens were evaluated according to the injection molding conditions and directions of specimens. A gusset-rib structure was designed to improve the additional structural rigidity of the target products, and a proper rib structure was selected through the flexural tests of the rib-structured specimens. Based on the evaluation of fiber orientation and mechanical characteristics, the optimization analyses of gate location were performed to minimize the warpage of target products. Also, the deformation analyses against the internal pressure of target product were performed to confirm the rigidity improvement by gusset-rib structure. As a result, it could be confirmed that the deformation was reduced by 27~37% compared to the previous model, when the gusset-rib structure was applied to the joining part of the target products.