Decorative PVD Coatings on Automotive Plastic

The use of plastics in the automotive industry is increasing due to their versatility, light weight and affordability. To improve their sustainability credentials, incorporation of recycled content is desired, driven by recent European Union mandates for 25% recycled content for automotive plastics. Current methods to quantify recycled content, however, are imprecise and could promote fraud. This paper extends a method to quantify recycled content in packaging plastics using a fluorescent brightener, 4,4′‐bis(2‐benzoxazolyl)stilbene (BBS), to automotive‐grade polymers. BBS aggregates above threshold concentrations to exhibit aggregation‐induced enhanced emission (AIEE). This study investigates whether fluorescence emission, lifetime and colour analyses can be used to quantify recycled content in four automotive plastics with different chemical structures, matrices or fillers. Quantification using BBS AIEE was most successful for semicrystalline polymers with minimal additives (polyamide‐6 and polyamide‐6,6), with high confidence correlations between fluorescence emission and lifetime measurements and recycled content. Detection was suppressed in amorphous polycarbonates and filled polypropylenes, suggesting this quantification technique may be application‐limited. These new insights into quantifying recycled content in automotive plastics point to both opportunities and limitations for fluorescence‐based techniques in assuring a more circular world. © 2026 The Author(s). Polymer International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">At present, biodiesel fuels using natural-origin materials are expanding in share, and there are many different kinds. Biodiesel fuel generates organic acid when it deteriorates, so care is needed when evaluating the influence of the fuel on automotive fuel-line materials. A model biodiesel fuel was designed taking into account deterioration of the fuel and mixing of impurities into it. Durability of automotive fuel-line rubber and plastic materials were evaluated by using the model fuel. From the evaluation results, it was found that fluoroelastomer (hereafter referred to as FKM) and polyacetal resin (hereafter referred to as POM) deteriorate depending on specific fuel properties and deterioration state. In this paper, we report evaluating results of biodiesel fuels on the automotive fuel-line rubber and plastic materials, and the importance of biodiesel fuel property management.</div></div>

Lexan polycarbonate for automotive forward lighting

Plastic materials have played a very important role in the development of our modern civilization. It can be said that plastic materials are a tribute to man’s creativity and inventiveness. Plastic materials are the key to the innovation of many products and technologies in various sectors such as electrical and electronic equipment, packaging, civil engineering, agriculture, power generation, medical and pharmaceutical industry, aerospace and not last automotive industry. An increasingly important aspect in the automotive industry, in terms of fuel consumption is the lower weight of the components, while maintaining a very high stiffness. The difficulties of the design process of thermoformed parts is mainly due to the lack of knowledge by designers about the constraints and forces that are required during the process of thermoforming.

Plastics, cars, and sustainability—how do those three concepts even go together? To explain, I will now present a short outline on the global development of both the plastics and automotive industries, each with a comprehensive analysis of the environmental challenges and sustainable chances of the automotive plastics production and recycling system. In this system especially, the notions and ideas depend heavily on the perspective, or in this case, rather the perspective of the companies. This creates numerous and often conflicting opinions and even facts that clash, generating controversy in particular when analysing plastics in terms of ecological sustainability. In this chapter, this controversy is brought forward in an objective, scientific manner, based on the theoretical ideas and notions from Chap. 2 to reflect on the reality in the industrial sector. Through the combination of these two chapters, we can break the surface and evaluate the current development of the automotive plastic production and recycling system.

Comparison of dry sliding friction and wear of Ti6Al4V alloy treated by plasma electrolytic oxidation and PVD coating

This study shows how the automotive industry was able to influence the final legislation of the Community Strategy to reduce{CO}_{2}emissions from passenger cars and light-commercial vehicles, even though the European Commission’s introductory comments were supported by a competing interest group coalition: environmentalist NGOs. To operationalize and analyze the influence of lobbying on the EU policy formulation process, I utilize an approach not yet widely used in interest group research: discourse network analysis and inferential network analysis with exponential random graph models. This methodological combination allows me to parse the political debate within different phases of the EU policy process to gain insights into how automotive lobbyists were able to shape the final legislation in accordance with their interests and which political decision-makers empowered them to do so. Surprisingly, the party affiliation of Members of the European Parliament played only a subordinate role, whereas the origin of the MEPs was a significant predictor of whether they supported the proposals of environmentalist NGOs or the automotive industry. The latter’s proposals were adopted in the European Commission’s proposal and subsequently in the final regulation. Since the method can be easily applied to case studies from different policy areas, it provides a promising framework for the analysis of EU lobbying in general. Moreover, the network approach is easily extendable, allowing future research to integrate different strands of EU lobbying research that go beyond influence analysis.

Miniaturization and increasing voltage for e-mobility solutions both are a big challenge for the design of robust electronic devices in the automotive industry considering the harsh environmental conditions that they work in. The operation of electronic control units (ECU) in humid environments can lead to electrochemical migration (ECM) that can cause unpredictable electrical failures in cases where unsuitable materials, processes, or housing concepts are used. Due to the variety of components, materials, and assembly steps, following the common no-clean approach in the automotive industry, a complex mixture of materials with a specific ionic load and hygroscopic behavior is combined on a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) in a way that the electrochemical reliability is not easily predictable. The simple measurement of ionic contaminants on PCBAs, as widely assumed, does not predict the reliability of the unit in the end-use-environment. Therefore, reliability testing by measurement of the surface insulation resistance (SIR) of the combination of materials that are used and processed on high volume electronic assembly lines is a fundamental task for the automotive industry. Robert Bosch GmbH has established the B52 test board (IPC-9202) and developed it further in a way that it can be used as a base for material and process release on an ECU-platform level. SIR-results from long-term testing (constant climate conditions) and from damp heat testing (environmental testing following IEC60068-3-4) with B52 test boards are presented. The results show that even under high humidity load reliable electronic devices can be achieved with the benefit of no-clean fluxes, if suitable materials and processes are chosen and controlled. The approach and results confirm that the B52 test board and content of the IPC-9202 can be successfully transferred and applied to the requirements of the automotive industry if improvements are considered. These should become part of further international standardization.

Due to their desired metallic effect, the so called “special effect” plastic materials are increasingly used in the automotive industry. Aluminum flakes fillers are commonly used in the automotive industry, especially for mid and large exterior trim plastic parts. However, an important drawback of these materials is the high risk of generating undesirable flow marks on the visible side of the part. In this context, this study focuses on developing a novel simulation methodology in order to predict the flow marks produced by the differential orientation of the Al flakes. In a first step, a physical reasoning that explains the link between the presence of technical features on the part skin (e.g. clips, ribs) and the flow perturbations at the source of Al flake orientations is proposed. This reveals the importance of the 3D fountain flow at the flow front for the transport of oriented particles at the part surface. In a second step, a new simulation methodology was developed and implemented in Moldflow injection molding software. The novelty of the simulation method consists in adapting the fiber orientation model to a simple midplane mesh approach, with the aim of predicting the flow mark zones. Even if the 3D fountain flow is not modeled for a midplane approach, one can still predict the flow mark generation zones by analyzing the flow perturbation generated at the core zone. This is one important feature of the present simulation methodology and is based on the physical reasoning proposed in the first step. Finally this new simulation methodology was applied to the injection of an exterior trim part developed by Renault and a correlation between the simulation results and the injection trails was undertaken. The risk zones revealed in the simulations correlates well with the flow mark zones obtained on physical parts, validating thus the present approach.

Microstructural features of wear-resistant titanium nitride coatings deposited by different methods

The main two directives of the European Commission (EC) has been regulating the automotive industry. The aforementioned directives and education of residents on environmental issues has created the need for new materials that have been produced from renewable resources and should be recycled at the end of product life cycle. The objective of this project is to develop a nonwoven materials (NWM) that would incorporate fibers of plants, which could be grown in Latvia because of suitable local climate conditions, for the use in automotive industry. Furthermore, inclusion of polymer fibers in the NWM will expand the areas of use of such material – the NWM can be transformed into a composite material by means of a thermal press. Manufacturing process of NWM consist of structure modelling and material samples manufacturing. NWM samples production process to be carried out by fibers preparation, fibers mixing, formation by airlaid method, preparation of fiber webs for fixation with a mechanical needle punching method, mechanical fixation of fiber webs, preparation of fixed fiber webs for NWM manufacturing and manufacturing of NWM by mechanical needle punching method. This article reflects the comparison of two compositions NMW (Polylactid (PLA) (60 wt%) and long flax fibres (40 wt%), and PLA (60 wt%) and technical hemp fibres (40 wt%)) with the same structure by visual appearance, geometrical parameters and tensile strength. The average surface density of hemp NWM varies in the range of 792.09 to 958,71 g•m−2 , thickness varies from 6.91 to 9.23 mm. Flax NWM average surface density is higher than hemp NWM and varies in range of 1,064 to 1,260 g•m−2, thickness of the material varies from 12.62 to 15.54 mm. For comparison, the surface density of NWM currently used in automotive industry, depending on the use of the material, varies from 100 to 1,400 g•m−2.

The automotive industry’s shift to a Circular Economy for global sustainability is vital, but it faces challenges when establishing efficient Reverse Supply Chains. Reverse Supply Chain implementation is dependent on multiple barriers and enablers, including eco-nomic, managerial, technological, regulatory, and social domains, thus making single-factor solutions ineffective. The purpose of this review is to conduct a systematic literature review to understand how these interconnected barriers and enablers can collectively shape Reverse Supply Chain implementation and performance, specifically within the automotive sector, which remains little known. The PRISMA framework was utilised, which resulted in 129 peer-reviewed articles being selected for review. Findings showed that the literature focuses primarily on Electric Vehicle batteries within developing economies, particularly China. Reverse Supply Chain implementation is governed not only by isolated barriers but by complex systemic interdependencies between enablers as well. This complex inter-relationship between barriers and enablers can be categorised into five key dimensions: economic and financial; managerial and organisational; technological and infrastructural; policy and regulatory; and market and social. The study reveals two systemic patterns driving the transition: technology–policy interdependence and the conflicting relationship between large-scale production and value extraction. Our findings also presented a research agenda focusing on strategic value creation through material streams of automotive electronics, plastic, and composites with high potential value, and further insights are needed in regions such as the Middle East, Oceania, and the Americas. Organisations should consider Reverse Supply Chain as a strategic approach for securing critical material supplies, while policymakers could leverage the use of digital tools as the foundational infrastructure for subsidies allocation and prevent fraud.

Cash-hungry managers versus real-world sustainability. Is this the case in the automotive plastics and recycling industry? To find out, a survey was conducted throughout Europe covering all the key players, ranging from virgin plastics producers, automotive industries including OEMs and suppliers, shredders, and recyclers as well as research institutions. In this chapter, the survey results are outlined and cross-checked with the results of the experts workshop. By doing so, quantitative data from the survey is merged with qualitative data from the workshops increasing the real-world representation. This approach enables the investigation of the reasons for the insufficient implementation of recycling in the car life-cycle as outlined in the previous chapters, and to ultimately provide solutions to advance the circular economy of automotive plastics.

Natural fibres offer an interesting alternative to petrochemical products. Reclaimed cotton is mainly used as a low cost fibre to “fill” composites used as interior parts in the automotive industry. Mechanical requirements of such composites are low and the potential of the cotton-fibre to reinforce plastics is not used adequately. This paper gives background information and discusses the use of the cotton fibres in composites compared to ramie fibres. In this study the fibre strength was tested with a Dia-Stron device, fineness was tested with Fibreshape. A roller card is well suited to process fibres to a multi layer web. Cotton and ramie fibres were embedded in epoxy resin and a bio-based resin PTP®. The composites were tested for impact and tensile properties. The results show that mechanical properties of the composites are strongly influenced by fibre properties. The data and results demonstrate the important role force-elongation characteristics of fibre play in optimising the properties of natural fibre composites. Cotton with its morphological and mechanical properties can play a more crucial role to optimise products with a view to improve the impact properties.

A European directive was recently adopted limiting the use of hazardous substances such as Pb, Hg, Cd, and Cr(VI) in vehicle manufacturing. From July 2003 a maximum of 2 g Cr(VI) will be authorised per vehicle in corrosion-preventing coatings of key components. As no standardised procedures are available to check if produced vehicles are in agreement with this directive, the objective of this work was to develop analytical procedures for total chromium and Cr(VI) determination in these materials. The first step of this study was to optimise digestion procedures for total chromium determination in plastic and metallic materials by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). High resolution (HR) ICP-MS was used to examine the influence of polyatomic interferences on the detection of the (52)Cr(+) and (53)Cr(+) isotopes. If there was strong interference with m/ z 52 for plastic materials, it was possible to use quadrupole ICP-MS for m/ z 53 if digestions were performed with HNO(3)+H(2)O(2). This mixture was also necessary for digestion of chromium from metallic materials. Extraction procedures in alkaline medium (NH(4)(+)/NH(3) buffer solution at pH 8.9) assisted by sonication were developed for determining Cr(VI) in four different corrosion-preventing coatings by HPLC-ICP-MS. After optimisation and validation with the only solid reference material certified for its Cr(VI) content (BCR 545; welding dusts), the efficiency of this extraction procedure for screw coatings was compared with that described in the EN ISO 3613 standard generally used in routine laboratories. For coatings comprising zinc and aluminium passivated in depth with chromium oxides the extraction procedure developed herein enabled determination of higher Cr(VI) concentrations. This was also observed for the screw covered with a chromium passivant layer on zinc-nickel. For coating comprising a chromium passivant layer on alkaline zinc the standardized extraction procedure was more efficient. In the case of painted metallic plate, because of a reactive matrix towards Cr(VI), its extraction without degradation was difficult to perform.