Sustainable Lightweight Intelligent Composites (SLIC) for Next-Generation Vehicles

Lightweight high-strength carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites have emerged as a promising solution for achieving zero carbon emission goals in the automotive industry. However, their widespread adoption is hindered by high costs of carbon fibers and damage inspection. CFRP composites are vulnerable to impact damage, which can result in sudden loss of structural integrity. Detecting such damage often requires expensive non-destructive testing equipment as it may not be visible to the naked eye. The Sustainable Lightweight Intelligent Composite (SLIC) technology, proposed in this SBIR project, aims to overcome these challenges and accelerate the adoption of lightweight fiber polymer composites in the automotive industry. SLIC integrates low-cost self-sensing and other desired functionalities into hybridized composite materials. Phase I and Phase II of the project have successfully developed key SLIC technologies, including integrated spatially-distributed sensor systems and streamlined circuits for reliable and low-cost structural damage detection, as well as hybridization of bio-degradable natural fibers with carbon fibers for enhanced crashworthiness and cost saving. The proposed Phase IIB will focus on validating SLIC in a critical application for electric vehicle (EV) battery enclosures, addressing the urgent need for improved structural safety in EVs, as highlighted by recent failures resulting in battery explosions and fires due to crashes. Teijin Automotive Technologies, a leading tier-one supplier to the automotive industry, has joined Phase IIB as a key partner and will contribute substantial cost sharing and resources as well as their top industry expertise. The major tasks of Phase IIB include designing, manufacturing, and crash testing of realistic EV battery enclosure structures, as well as developing a low-cost manufacturing process and novel sensor fusion algorithms for damage detection, location identification, and early warning. The SLIC innovations will be showcased to automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), who have expressed strong interest in self-sensing composite materials. If successful, SLIC has the potential to revolutionize the use of lightweight composites in the automotive industry, making next-generation vehicles lighter, smarter, safer, and more affordable and sustainable, thereby contributing to the goal of zero carbon emissions.