Abstract

The growing demand for environmentally responsible manufacturing has led to a shift towards sustainable plastics, especially in the automotive industry. This presentation examines the use of a sustainable Post Consumer Recycling (PCR) Polycarbonate-Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (PC-ABS) grade for an automotive instrument panel bezel with ECE-R21 head impact load case. The aim is to match the performance and safety standards of virgin materials while reducing environmental impact.

Ensuring material quality throughout production and simulation is crucial for reliable performance. This involves extensive testing at various stages, including PCR source quality control, process monitoring, and quality assurance for both material and product. Key mechanical properties such as tensile strength and modulus of elasticity are tested.

Material validation for head impact protection is critical in automotive safety. The validation process focuses on the material's ability to absorb and dissipate energy during collisions. Strain-rate dependent material cards are created and validated through uniaxial tensile tests. At the component level, the head impact load case for the instrument panel bezel is modeled, and the impact resistance, energy absorption, and failure behavior of both materials are analyzed. Comparisons with hardware head impact tests show good correlation and similar behavior for both materials.

This study demonstrates that simulation tools can predict the performance of safety-critical automotive components made from sustainable materials, allowing manufacturers to optimize designs for both safety and environmental impact. It concludes that PCR PC-ABS is a viable, eco-friendly alternative to virgin PC-ABS for safety-critical automotive components, provided strict quality control measures ensure material consistency.

Slide deck

Presenter Bio

Frank Schüssler began his academic journey in mechanical engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Rhein Main, where he studied from 2002 to 2006. He furthered his education by obtaining a Master of Applied Computational Mechanics from the European School of Computer Aided Engineering Technologies in Ingolstadt and Landshut between 2009 and 2012.

Professionally, he started as a CAE-Engineer at EDAG, the position he held from 2006 to 2013. He then transitioned to Humanetics, where he worked as a Project Manager from 2013 to 2019. Following this, he served as a Senior Engineer in Structure & Durability at Magna from 2019 to 2021. Currently, he is employed as a CAE Engineer at LG Chem, a role he has held since 2021.

In his current position, his responsibilities include creating and validating material cards, ensuring the reliability and accuracy of materials used in various engineering applications.