Development of a Thick-walled Carbon Fiber Reinforced Brake Caliper for High Performance Automotive Applications - CARBOBRAKE

Project summary

Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer CFRP materials have the potential to meet high structure-mechanical and complex functional requirements, improving efficiency of lightweight structures. However: -Thick-walled composite components are required but exhibit manufacturing defects; -Complex components limit the possibilities for a cost-efficient manufacturing; -Recycled high performance CFRP is a need for environment and society; -Loading conditions (thermomechanics, acoustics) are complex. This project develops an integrated computational approach to optimise the process and design of thick-walled composite components, by -Combining high pressure SMC process and autoclave curing for cost efficiency; -Developing a process simulation tool dedicated to thick-walled components; -Developing data-driven stochastic multi-scale simulation tools for complex components; -Implementing a comprehensive life cycle analysis to drive the selections; -Considering a composite brake calliper as demonstrator