Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Light Vehicles Sales Jan-Sep 2024

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

This is the full ranking for the global sales of light vehicles (passenger cars, pickup trucks, and light commercial vehicles) between January and September 2024.

Main facts:

- Top leadership unchanged with Toyota always ahead despite posting a 4% decrease. The company is being challenged in China, where its volume fell by 10%, but keeps a solid position in both USA and Europe. Toyota is the top seller in the majority of the emerging and poor economies.

- Volkswagen Group lost 2.8% vs Jan-Sep 2023, mainly because of China (-10%) where it’s no longer the leader. As its electric vehicles struggle outside Europe, it is looking desperately to join forces with local Chinese makers and reduce costs in Europe.

- Hyundai-Kia was down by 1.6% driven by China’s drop of 37% in contrast to stable sales in USA. Its electric vehicles are also suffering in the West.

- Stellantis is the most worrying case. It is not exposed to the Chinese market but still recorded a sales drop of 15% or 700,000 units less than Jan-Sep/23. The group lost 17% in sales in USA, and 15% in Europe. Seven of its 13 brands are in dire need of new products.

- General Motors improved its EV sales but was negatively affected by its Chinese operations (-44%). China is the group’s second largest market.

- Ford total sales increased by 21,000 units thanks to the 3% growth in USA, which was offset by the 16% drop in China and 7% drop in Europe.

- Honda was down by 3.7% also affected by its Chinese operations, down by 26%. Sales increased by 30% in Europe, but the total is not relevant compared to volumes in Japan, USA, and Asian nations.

- BYD is the star of the year thanks to the outstanding results at home in China. Total sales increased by 32% boosted by more demand in China, where it sold 89% of its global volumes. Meanwhile it is climbing rankings in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Europe. BYD is expected to hit the world’s top 5 by the end of next year.

Other facts:

- Geely Group, up by 22%, thanks to Volvo, ZEEKR and Galaxy products in China.

- Xiaomi is heading to 100,000 units mark sales by the end of the year.

source:Felipe Munoz

#carindustryanalysis #automotive

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Differential Shrinkage Driven Warpage Problem

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

How to experimentally spot a differential shrinkage driven warpage problem ?

If you are molding a relatively uniform thickness part and suffer from warpage, there is a nice trick to experimentally separate the contribution of differential shrinkage from other sources of problems (differential cooling, anisotropy).

Just make parts that are roughly full (say, 99% full), with zero packing (no pressure, no time). By not packing, you avoid packing one area better than another (for instance overpacking the gate area vs. distant areas). As a result you have a lighter part, with sink marks all over and voids, but with essentially NO DIFFERENTIAL SHRINKAGE. If this "short shot" is flatter than your packed part, you have experimentally demonstrated a strong contribution from "uneven packing", i.e. differential shrinkage.
Learn about all this in detail in my online course on the packing phase.

source:Vito leo

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share :High speed Carbon fiber ship

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

China's largest carbon fiber high-speed passenger ship with a capacity of 500 passengers was launched in Nansha New District of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, the Science and Technology Daily reported.

The ship, Xin Ming Zhu III, which was undertaken by China State Shipbuilding Corporation Guangzhou Shipbuilding Co Ltd and built by Guangdong Zhongwei Composite Material Co Ltd, will be used to transport passengers within the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region waters.

The ship measures 44.75 meters long, 11 meters wide and 3.65 meters deep, with a draft of 1.4 meters and a design speed of 26 knots. Its maximum cruising speed can reach up to 33 knots when fully loaded. With enhanced navigability and operability, the ship can withstand sails when experiencing winds of up to 8 on the Beaufort scale.

Equipped with lithium battery packs and solar energy storage batteries, the ship is also environmentally-friendly.

Entirely constructed using advanced carbon fiber high-tech materials, the ship also features technical advantages such as lightweight construction, corrosion resistance and low noise levels. Compared to traditional ships, it can further save fuel and reduce maintenance costs.

source: China Daily/Composights

#composites #carbonfiber

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Researchers Develop New Way to Create Stronger Adhesives with Salt

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

FAMU-FSU researchers pioneer new adhesive polymer technology using a secret ingredient found on your kitchen table.

Adhesives are everywhere, from the tape used in households to the bonding materials in vehicles and electronics. The search for stronger, more adaptable adhesives is ongoing and may come down to adding a dash of salt to two special polymer ingredients known as polyzwitterions, or PZIs.

New research from a FAMU-FSU College of Engineering team led by Hoyong Chung, an associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, shows a new way to create adhesives by using the natural attraction between positively and negatively charged materials. The work was recently published in Journal of the American Chemical Society.

“We want to create stronger and more versatile adhesives using a strategy involving electrostatic interactions,” Chung said. “Our research centers around two special polymers, known as PZIs, with the goal of getting them to bond more effectively.”

The research team was interested in how the shape of the polymer affects its stickiness, comparing bottlebrush polymers (which have branches coming off the main chain) to straight-chain (linear) polymers. These two differently shaped polymers can be engineered to improve their adherence properties.

One of the study’s key findings is that by simply adding sodium chloride — table salt — the strong but brittle polymers are transformed to be strong and flexible. Most adhesives are either strong or can stretch a lot, but it’s difficult to find adhesives that do both. The amount of salt is key to making the adhesive strong but stretchy.

“The initial key to our discovery lies in the sophisticated and precise design and synthesis of multifunctional polymers,” Chung said. “This new polymer could have wide-reaching impacts across several industries, offering a way to tailor the toughness and flexibility of adhesives with precision. The finding challenges previously held beliefs about adhesion and salt.”

Chung and his team’s discovery lays the groundwork for creating better industrial adhesives and highlights the importance of electrostatic interactions in developing new materials. The findings provide a promising step in their goal of crafting ideal adhesives for a myriad of uses. The study will continue, focusing on developing biomedical tissue adhesives with drug delivery, imaging and disease diagnosis functions.

Chung collaborated on this study with Biswajit Saha, a postdoctoral researcher at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and Jacob Boykin, a graduate student. Saha is the first author on the publication.

“Our discovery shows that adding salt could be a key to making an adhesive that is both strong and flexible,” Saha said. “We believe that the study provides a steppingstone toward the long-term goal of developing ideal adhesives.”

The research was funded through Florida A&M University by a $763,457 four-year grant from the National Science Foundation.

source: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, 

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Ethylene Production Based On Steam Cracking:

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Knowledge of Petrochemical units:

Ethylene Production Based On Steam Cracking:

Ethylene production is primarily achieved through steam cracking, where hydrocarbons like ethane, propane, or naphtha are heated to high temperatures (around 800-900°C) in the presence of steam. This process breaks down large hydrocarbon molecules into smaller ones, with ethylene being a major product. The cracked gases are then rapidly cooled to stop the reactions, and the mixture is sent through a series of separation and purification steps to isolate ethylene. Ethylene is a key building block in the petrochemical industry, used to produce various plastics, chemicals, and synthetic materials.

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Process Flow Diagram Overview:

Using the basic flow sheet in the appendix:

Feed Furnace: The hydrocarbon feedstock (e.g., ethane or naphtha) is preheated in the feed furnace to around 400°C.

Cracking Furnace: The preheated feed is further heated to about 800°C in the cracking furnace, where thermal cracking occurs. This high temperature breaks down the hydrocarbons into smaller molecules like ethylene, propylene, and other by-products.

Quenching: The cracked gas is rapidly cooled in a quenching system to stop further reactions. This is typically done using water or oil quenching.

Caustic Wash: The cooled gas undergoes a caustic wash to remove acidic impurities like hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide.

Drier: The gas is then dried to remove any remaining moisture.

Cold Box: The dried gas is cooled further in a cold box to condense and separate the lighter hydrocarbons.

Demethaniser: The gas enters the demethaniser, where methane is separated from the mixture.

De-ethaniser: The remaining gas is sent to the de-ethaniser, where ethylene and ethane are separated from heavier hydrocarbons.

Ethane Product Compressor: Ethane is compressed and recycled back to the cracking furnace.

Secondary Demethaniser: Further separation of methane from the gas mixture.

Ethane Depropaniser: Separation of propane from the ethane-ethylene mixture.

C2 to C4 Splitter: Separation of ethylene (C2) from other hydrocarbons like butanes (C4).

MAPD Converter: Conversion of methyl acetylene and propadiene (MAPD) impurities to ethylene and propylene.

Final Purification: The purified ethylene is then compressed and stored or sent for further processing.

source:Saeed rooeentan

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : Evonik unveils flame retardant PA12 and carbon black embedded 3D-printable powders

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Evonik is unveiling its latest innovations in PA12 polymer applications for 3D printing at Formnext 2024, the highlight exposition and convention for the world’s additive manufacturing community.

Most notably on display will be the company’s PA12 based INFINAM® 6013 P and INFINAM® 6014 P 3D-printable powders, which through a feat of engineering, possess a relatively substantial amount of carbon black in the core of each particle.

Produced through the precipitation process, these carbon black powders are specially designed for powder bed fusion techniques like SLS (Selective Laser Sintering), and offer high flowability and homogenous sintering. Additionally, the high core-shell carbon black content allows for true pigmentation uniformity, minimizes visibility of surface abrasion and wear, as well as provides elevated resistance to ultraviolet rays and greater isotropic performance.

“These properties make our carbon black powder an ideal material for producing 3D-printed items destined for use outdoors – especially in applications that need to withstand an elevated exposure to heat and light, such as those found in the aerospace and automotive industry,” says Arnim Kraatz, director of Powder Bed Fusion at Evonik.

To better serve the needs of this specialized customer base, the carbon black embedded INFINAM® 6013 P and INFINAM® 6014 P powders will be available for direct purchase from Evonik.

Also featured at Formnext will be the product launch of HP 3D HR PA12 FR, a robust, PA12-based 3D-printable polymer. Developed jointly by Evonik and well-known additive manufacturing technology powerhouse, HP Inc., the innovative powder is halogen-free, flame retardant, and remarkably features 50% reusability.

“We are very excited to be introducing the new HP 3D PA12 FR, a halogen-free flame-retardant polymer enabled by Evonik. Our long-term partnership is key to developing innovative solutions to continue growing the industry. This innovative material, which is 50% reusable, enables cost-effective production of high-quality parts and is poised to be a breakthrough in 3D printing, paving the way for scalable applications in consumer electronics,” says François Minec, VP and Global Head of 3D Polymers at HP Inc.

“We are proud of the fruits of this successful partnership with HP Inc., as it is the latest application of an encapsulation technique enabled by Evonik’s specially pioneered precipitation method,” says Dominic Stoerkle, head of Evonik’s High Performance Polymers’ Long Chain Polyamides product line. “Partnerships like these help Evonik continue to develop innovative technology that put customers at the center of our business.”

source:Evonik

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : BIOBASED LEATHER ALTERNATIVE, SHORAI

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

BIXBY INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS WITH RHEOM MATERIALS TO SCALE PRODUCTION OF BIOBASED LEATHER ALTERNATIVE, SHORAI

Rheom Materials, a next-gen materials startup, is proud to announce a strategic partnership with Bixby International, an established thermoplastic extrusion and lamination company. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in Rheom Material’s journey towards commercial-scale production of its novel biobased material, Shorai™.

Shorai, Rheom Materials’ flagship product, is a biobased leather alternative designed to meet the growing demand for sustainable materials. Shorai combines the performance of traditional leather with sustainability, offering scalable production at a competitive price point, all while reducing carbon footprint. Extruded as a continuous sheet and having more than 92% biobased content, Shorai achieves an 80% reduction in carbon footprint compared to synthetic leather. The partnership with Bixby International will enable Rheom Materials to meet customer demand more effectively, providing innovative, eco-friendly materials to a broader market.

Bixby International is globally renowned for delivering innovative and precise thermoplastic extrusion product development in spec and on time. With 150 years of experience and an ISO 9001:2015 Certified Quality Management System, their state-of-the-art equipment makes Bixby the ideal partner for Rheom Materials. As part of the agreement, Bixby International is taking a minority ownership stake in Rheom Materials, reinforcing both parties’ long-term commitment to sustainability and innovation.

“Solving for both lower CO2 emissions as well as end-of-life issues in the world of plastics has long been something that we at Bixby believe needs to be addressed by our industry.”, said Dennis Lauzon, Chief Revenue Officer at Bixby International. “We are very eager to participate alongside Rheom with the introduction of these novel biobased compounds.”

“Partnering with Bixby International enables us to harness their extensive expertise in the extrusion industry and its entire supply chain, facilitating the successful scale-up of Shorai production”, said Carolina Amin Ferril, Chief Technology Officer at Rheom Materials. “Their highly competitive and adaptable capabilities will allow us to offer more solutions and exceed our customers’ expectations.”

This new partnership offers Rheom Materials an expansive toolkit. This month, they began their first pilot-scale trial at the Bixby International facilities, with plans to produce Shorai for prototype samples. Rheom Materials is working towards achieving a production scale continuous roll of biobased Shorai in the near future. Along with larger sheet production, Bixby enables various texture applications that enhance the haptics of Shorai. Lastly, the Bixby production lines will allow for laminated multilayer sheets, offering further customization for a variety of applications.

source:Rheom Materials