Page 54 - ATZ11 November 2019 Professional

DEVELOPMENT BODY

Crash-proof Wood Composites © WoodCar

in Lightweight Bodyworks of the Future

Modern wood composites have good mechanical properties with comparably
low density. At the same time, they improve the CO 2 balance of vehicles.
Used correctly, wood is equivalent to fiber-reinforced plastics and metals.
In the WoodCar research project, Virtual Vehicle, Graz University of Technology
and University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna were able to
demonstrate the suitability of wood composites under crash loading.

SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS als are competitive to fiber-reinforced static and crash load condition. Conse-
WANTED polymers and metals. quently, future development tasks for
To date, however, material data and this application were derived.
The current debates on improving the material maps of wood could not be The automotive industry is searching
CO 2 balance of vehicles of the future call made available for the numerical simula- intensively for new lightweight design
for new considerations on the material tion of crash loads. With the research materials [1, 2]. In modern vehicle con-
mix. Novel materials and sustainable project WoodCar, Virtual Vehicle, Graz struction, an increasing amount of com-
material composites are urgently needed. University of Technology and University posite materials, such as glass fiber and
Modern wood-based materials have of Natural Resources and Life Sciences carbon fiber composites, as well as even
excellent mechanical properties and a Vienna could now demonstrate the small amounts of natural fiber compos-
very low density paired with low mate- potential of wood composite materials ites are being used [3-7]. However, these
rial costs. Properly applied, wood materi- as a lightweight design material under materials are difficult to process and
48