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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Pultrusion and Vitrimer Composites: Emerging Pathways for Sustainable Structural Materials

Pultrusion is a manufacturing process used to produce fiber-reinforced polymer composites with excellent mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties. The resulting materials are lightweight, durable, and corrosion-resistant, making them valuable in aerospace, automotive, construction, and energy sectors. However, conventional thermoset composites remain difficult to recycle due to their infusible and insoluble cross-linked structure. This review explores integrating vitrimer technology a novel class of recyclable thermosets with dynamic covalent adaptive networks into the pultrusion process. As only limited studies have directly reported vitrimer pultrusion to date, this review provides a forward-looking perspective, highlighting fundamental principles, challenges, and opportunities that can guide future development of recyclable high-performance composites. Vitrimers combine the mechanical strength (tensile strength and modulus) of thermosets with the reprocessability and reshaping of thermoplastics through dynamic bond exchange mechanisms. These polymers offer high-temperature reprocessability, self-healing, and closed-loop recyclability, where recycling efficiency can be evaluated by the recovery yield retention of mechanical properties and reuse cycles meeting the demand for sustainable manufacturing. Key aspects discussed include resin formulation, fiber impregnation, curing cycles, and die design for vitrimer systems. The temperature-dependent bond exchange reactions present challenges in achieving optimal curing and strong fiber–matrix adhesion. Recent studies indicate that vitrimer-based composites can maintain structural integrity while enabling recycling and repair, with mechanical performance such as flexural and tensile strength comparable to conventional composites. Incorporating vitrimer materials into pultrusion could enable high-performance, lightweight products for a circular economy. The remaining challenges include optimizing curing kinetics, improving interfacial adhesion, and scaling production for widespread industrial adoption.

Fiber composites↗
DOE OSTI2025

Lightweight Metal Stamping Optimization Enabled by Artificial Intelligence

Successfully manufacturing an automotive body structure made via the sheet metal stamping process depends upon simultaneous consideration of component design, tooling design, stamping process control, and material properties. In many cases, introducing lightweight sheet materials (e.g., aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, advanced high strength steels) holds the potential to significantly reduce vehicle weight, but challenges the stamping process by introducing materials with inherently less ductility. Successful and repeatable applications require co-developing the stamping process controls with the varying material properties, including formability. During the stamping process, as soon as the forming limit of the sheet is exceeded, the material shows localized necking which quickly leads to splits. Controlling process variability to avoid these material splits will enable deployment of less formable, lighter, and stronger materials for stamped automotive components. A typical optimization procedure for manufacturing requires an iterative process involving parameter setting, execution of computational simulations, and modifying the parameters. The entire process demands substantial computational time, making it impractical for real-time feedback towards rapid corrective actions required for in-line control for running production processes. To overcome this challenge, artificial intelligence (AI) can be leveraged to determine optimal manufacturing parameters within a single manufacturing cycle time. This research proposes an in-line optimization framework incorporating a trained AI model to predict kidney-shaped die forming. Preliminary results indicate that the AI framework can accurately predict draw-in values based on a given parameter set, a process referred to as forward prediction. Furthermore, the AI framework can also predict the optimal parameter set that leads to the desired draw-in values, referred to as inverse optimization (or backward prediction). This research has been performed in collaborations with USCAR (US Council for Automotive Research) and AutoForm. The members of USCAR are Ford, GM, and Stellantis.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Solid-State Joining of Magnesium Sheet to High-Strength Steel

Increasing the use of lightweight materials and implementing enabling manufacturing technologies are the two primary paths toward automotive weight reduction. In many situations, the ability to substitute light weight material requires a need to attach and join light weight material to existing steel substructures requiring dissimilar joining technologies. Dissimilar joining methods currently available in cost range for high volume automotive manufacturing face multiple challenges. The problem is exacerbated in the case of Magnesium alloy to steel joints because of their highly dissimilar nature and lack of mutual miscibility. Additionally, Magnesium’s poor room temperature ductility complicates the use of point fastening technologies. Two emerging solid-state joining technologies Friction Stir assisted Scribe welding (FaST) and Ultrasonic Welding (USW) that employ large amount of plastic deformation at the interface were used to investigate, develop, and understand dissimilar joints between Magnesium Alloy to DP590 Steel. Various process responses including interface temperatures, process forces, strain fields were captured during the development of the welding process. Variety of welded samples were tested and characterized to understand the relationship between welding conditions and joints microstructure and mechanical properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Reduction of CO 2 Emissions Through Lightweight Body Panels (Project Final Report)

Lightweight construction is an integral part of Volkswagen’s overall strategy of reducing CO 2 emissions. Due to its low cost, steel is the most commonly used material for automotive exterior body panels today. Unfortunately, steel has a high density, resulting in a relatively low specific strength. Glass fiber based sheet molding compounds (SMC) provide high properties in combination with lower density. The high specific strength of SMC offers an enormous lightweight potential. To unlock the full potential of SMC materials in combination with cutting edge manufacturing processes, Volkswagen Group of America worked together with IACMI (Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation) and the academic partners: University of Tennessee Knoxville, Purdue University and Michigan State University; as well as the industry partners: Ashland, IDI, Owens Corning and Continental Structural Plastics. Leveraging the expertise of all project partners, reaching over the entire supply chain the project demonstrated the potential of these materials. This report will highlight the major steps in the development process on the way to technology readiness for SMC using the example of the Volkswagen Atlas Liftgate. Over the 36-month period of the project, the work focused on three R&D areas: material development, design and simulation, and development of the manufacturing process. Material selection included alternative fibers and resin systems, and accounted for material availability, properties, and cost-efficiency. The work undertaken in the field of design and simulation has pushed the envelope of short fiber reinforced thermoset molding compound process simulation. Design iterations were virtually tested, while the final design was used to validate the simulation software against physical parts. Manufacturing development used cutting-edge technology, while experts along the supply chain were working together to ensure the best possible results. In the final stage of the project, liftgates were molded, trimmed, bonded, painted and assembled before exhaustive testing. The result is an e-coat (electrophoretic dip coating) capable Class-A SMC liftgate, which is ready for high-volume production, and can be used as a technology demonstrator. The prototypes manufactured in the scope of this work have exhibited a mass reduction for the Volkswagen Atlas liftgate of up to 35% compared to the series production steel version, without a degradation of the functionalities.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Reclaimed Carbon Fiber Reinforced Automotive Part Using 3-DEP® Preforming Technology on Additive Manufacturing Tool Made with Reclaimed Carbon Fibers

The project focused on how well tools designed and built using reclaimed carbon fiber on the Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) can be used to manufacture preforms made with reclaimed carbon fibers. The project supported multiple Institute for Advanced Composite Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) goals: • Enables the use of recycled carbon fibers in two areas: o Tooling material compounded with reclaimed carbon fiber. o Preforms made with recycled carbon fiber (rCF). • Lowers manufacturing costs by producing low cost 3-DEP® preform tooling. • Reduces manufacturing cycle time with quick additive manufacturing techniques. • Produces lightweight automotive components that will increase fuel economy which will in turn reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The project demonstrated a tool made from reclaimed carbon fibers, gathered technical data that will guide optimization of tooling materials, evaluated preforms made with the BAAM printed tool, and developed cost evaluations. This project has been a total success. First the project demonstrated that reclaimed carbon fiber can be compounded and successfully printed in the BAAM equipment. Second preforms were successfully made from reclaimed carbon fiber using a reclaimed fiber printed tool. Third the team successfully printed a molding tool out of reclaimed carbon fiber. Fourth the project went beyond the scope of this phase I project in 3 areas: (1)- Techmer PM compounded rCF in 2 resin systems instead of just one system (2)- Local Motors evaluated and collected data that will support their IACMI 3.6 project (Robert Bedsole, 2017) . (3)- University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK) molded a part using the reclaimed preform on a molding tool made from printed reclaim fiber.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

FY2020 Materials Annual Progress Report

The Materials Technology subprogram supports the Vehicle Technologies Office’s (VTO’s) mission to accelerate the deployment of clean energy technology toward achieving net-zero emissions in the transportation sector. The Propulsion Materials research portfolio seeks to develop higher performance materials that can withstand increasingly extreme environments and address the future properties needed for a variety of high-efficiency powertrain types, sizes, fueling concepts, and combustion modes. The Lightweight Materials research portfolio enables improvements in fuel economy by providing properties that are equal to or better than traditional materials at a lower weight. Because it takes less energy to accelerate a lighter object, replacing cast-iron (Fe) and traditional steel components with lightweight materials—such as advanced high-strength steels (AHSS), magnesium (Mg) alloys, aluminum (Al) alloys, and fiber-reinforced polymer composites—can directly reduce a vehicle’s fuel consumption. By 2025, the Materials Technology research activities seek to enable a 25% weight reduction of the glider for light-duty (LD) vehicles including body, chassis, and interior as compared to a 2015 baseline at no more than a $5/lb-saved increase in cost.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2022

6.26 Low Cost Basalt Fiber for Automotive Applications

Vehicle lightweighting is an essential component to the automotive industry to improve fuel economy of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to meet ever improving emission standards and to improve the range of electric vehicles (EV). Composite materials offer high specific modulus and specific strength, which makes them appealing for these light weighting efforts. Sheet molding compounds (SMC) are particularly interesting from an automotive perspective because of the relatively low cost and high volume of producing SMC parts. Traditionally, composite materials for automotive application are glass fiber reinforced because of the attractive price - performance ratio, but basalt fibers are a cost and recycling competitive reinforcement alternative in this market. The aim of this project was to examine the feasibility of utilizing basalt fiber for automotive applications. More specifically, an effort was made to examine different fiber sizings on basalt fiber combined with vinyl-ester (VE) resin, and their performance as part of an SMC process. In addition to offering vehicle lightweighting with fiber reinforced polymer composites, basalt fiber is a fully recyclable material and thus supports the IACMI technical goal of: Demonstrate that the technology is capable at a sufficient scale for >80% recyclability or reuse of fiber reinforced polymer composites in five years into useful components with projected cost and quality at commercial scale competitive with virgin materials on a pathway to 95% recyclability or reuse starting in ten years. Three different fiber sizings were applied to a continuous roving of basalt fiber and compared to a traditional Electrical/Chemical Resistance (E-CR) glass fiber that is typically used in these types of applications. Fiber tows were examined for Loss on Ignition percentage (LOI%), Tex, and tow strength. Some sizings clearly outperformed others, and the ability to process these fibers on a pilot scale SMC line was demonstrated. A test plan for the manufacturing and mechanical testing of SMC panels was developed. This work continues outside the time frame allocated for this project. When this work is completed, it will be added to this report and posted as Appendix C. Glass fiber reinforced SMC materials have already proven feasible as a light weighting method for traditionally steel parts like the Volkswagen (VW) Atlas lift-gate (Figure 1); this project team is seeking the feasibility of basalt fiber as a drop-in replacement for glass fiber reinforced SMC. Sizing development for basalt fibers has proven that the mechanical properties are better than E-glass and closer to S-glass, which makes it an interesting material for SMC applications. Better mechanical properties translate to less material needed to achieve load case requirement for target applications. The business case has already been demonstrated for 100,000 parts per year of glass fiber reinforced SMC Atlas lift-gates compared to traditional steel manufacturing processes. Reduced overhead and assembly costs are offset by glass fiber SMC higher cost per kg beyond 100,000 parts per year, which is still a relatively low volume for the automotive industry. For basalt fiber reinforced SMC to become feasible for automotive applications, the price-performance ratio has to be precisely determined. Based on the mechanical performance it is possible to establish a range of applications and technical solutions in which the potential of basalt SMC can be utilized, while the price of the material can be used to compile the business case for such applications. Based on these business cases and the sustainability indicators, glass fiber reinforcement (or other) materials can be directly substituted. Volkswagen’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions cannot be understated. Basalt fiber shows promise of reducing the carbon footprint in SMC materials, especially if sizing optimizations can be made with thermoplastic based SMC. To fully realize the value of basalt fiber reinforced materials, a lifecycle cost analysis should be performed on basalt’s production and recycling, and then compared against E-glass. From this assessment, a true judgement can be made on the commercialization potential of this material. Figure 1. Example of Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite Liftgate As a conclusion, we can state that Mafic basalt fiber is not a direct replacement for E-glass or E-CR glass based on price, but should be considered a technical solution when E-glass does not provide adequate performance in a composite design and S-glass, aramid and carbon fibers are too costly. Mafic basalt fiber can be placed on the high-performance fiber spectrum next to S-glass for performance but at one third the price. It should be considered for more technically challenging structural designs wherein the performance can demonstrate 20-25% performance enhancement over E-glass to elicit more strength or a weight reduction. Both Michelman and Mafic produce thermoplastic sizings which, in combination with Nylon and polypropylene resin and fibers, can further advance high speed composite implementations while maintaining an eco-friendly manufacturing process.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Multi-Functional Smart Structures for Smart Vehicles

This report summarizes the development of a new class of recyclable multi-functional composite materials for production of lightweight smart structures and surfaces. Functional high stiffness conductive composites were processed using molding methods that integrated continuous fiber and additively manufactured features. Methods for integration of sensing functionality and controls were also developed to reduce system cost while providing a new capability for structural health monitoring. This new class of composites is applicable to a broad range of vehicle interior, exterior and battery enclosure systems. By way of demonstration, a vehicle instrument panel cross car beam was developed that provided a 38% mass savings compared to steel while maintaining a cost penalty competitive to alternate lightweight material solutions. These technologies were validated for implementation by a uniquely qualified project team comprising a US automotive OEM, Tier 1 and Tier 2 supplier, with key contributions from Oak Ridge National Lab, Purdue University and Michigan State University.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Computational micromechanics model based failure criteria for chopped carbon fiber sheet molding compound composites

Chopped carbon fiber sheet molding compound has a great potential in lightweight automotive, marine, and aerospace applications. One of the most challenging tasks is to predict the failure strength of the material due to its anisotropy and heterogeneity, as well as complex stress states in real-world working conditions. In this work, a novel constitutive model of carbon fiber chip is proposed to capture the pre- and post-failure behaviors under different loading modes. On this basis, we propose a new computational micromechanics model, which is calibrated and validated by uniaxial tensile, compressive, and in-plane shear experiments. Furthermore, a set of microstructures representative volume element (RVE) models under complex loading conditions are reconstructed to understand the relationship between the microstructure characteristics and the failure envelopes. Finally, several modified versions of classical failure criteria are proposed for anisotropic materials with consideration of the fiber orientation tensor. The modified Tsai-Wu failure criterion, which shows the best accuracy among all failure criteria, is highlighted in the comparative study.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Extending Ultrasonic Welding Techniques to New Material Pairs (FY 2023 Annual Progress Report)

Modern multimaterial vehicles require joining of various lightweight materials, such as aluminum (Al) and magnesium (Mg) alloys and carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP), with advanced high-strength steels together to form a high-performance and lightweight body structure. A variety of joining methodologies (e.g., resistance spot welding, adhesive bonding, linear fusion welding, hemming, clinching, bolting, riveting) have been attempted by the automotive industry to join different materials. Often, these joining techniques are limited to only certain material combinations. For capital and operational cost, automobile original equipment manufacturers need to limit the number of joining technologies implemented on an assembly line.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Closing the Loop on Automotive Carbon Fiber Prepreg Manufacturing Scrap

The project demonstrated how to “close the loop” on carbon fiber by integrating industrial carbon fiber scrap into new functional components in an automotive lightweighting application. The project serves as a validation of discontinuous recycled carbon fiber in a commercial context, while generating comprehensive material data throughout the production chain.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2021

Closing the Loop on Automotive Carbon Fiber Prepreg Manufacturing Scrap

The project demonstrated how to “close the loop” on carbon fiber by integrating industrial carbon fiber scrap into new functional components in an automotive lightweighting application. The project serves as a validation of discontinuous recycled carbon fiber in a commercial context, while generating comprehensive material data throughout the production chain. To this end, the project exhibited increasing complexity as material evaluation progressed from benchtop to commercial scale through full-scale part production, with key material properties thoroughly characterized throughout the process. Of particular focus was the form of the fiber that was fed into compounding, as recycled fiber has historically been problematic to feed at commercial-scale. Carbon fiber is energy-intensive to manufacture, so reuse of existing fiber material can reduce costs and increase sustainability. Additionally, by integrating recovered short fiber into a thermoplastic, regrind processes can be used to provide feedstock for later generations of product. While regrind plastics are not “infinitely recyclable”, reusing the manufacturing scrap over several generations of products can greatly increase material sustainability and lower the fractional embodied energy of each successive product. As such, this project supports the IACMI technical goals of (1) 25% lower carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) cost, (2) 50% reduction in CFRP embodied energy, and (3) 80% composite recyclability into useful products. The initial stage of the project involved down selecting surface treatment (sizing) chemistries. Sizing evaluations were performed on Vartega’s chemically recycled intermediate modulus fiber along with standard modulus dry scrap which was oversized with sizing provided by Michelman. More dramatic improvements from sizing were found on the standard rather than the intermediate modulus fibers. The strength of the chemically recycled individual fibers were evaluated by Michelman and ORNL through single fiber testing and found to be comparable to similarly evaluated virgin fibers. UDRI’s mechanical testing on injection molded test specimens identified similar mechanical properties and fiber distribution relative to benchmark specimens. Additional surface chemistry tests and visualizations were performed by the Colorado School of Mines to confirm close conformance between the benchmark and recycled-fiber specimens. As the mechanical test results exceeded the 80% threshold established as the go/no-go(GNG), the project scale was increased to use commercial-scale equipment that would both better characterize the manufacturing utility of the target product format and allow qualitative assessment of a complex commercial part. An upscaled compounding evaluation was performed with a 27 mm twin-screw compounding extruding using oversized standard modulus fibers that were formatted to improve bulk solids transfer. The project team anticipated that milestone mechanical benchmarks could be achieved given the favorable performance of the sized standard modulus material identified in the initial micro-compounding trials. While the mechanical performance did meet the milestone target for that phase of the project, mechanical properties for this standard modulus-based compound were still less than those of the Ford specification. To compare the performance, the project team oversized intermediate modulus dry fibers and compounded them with the project resin at BASF using a 40 mm compounder. Test specimen mechanical performance exceeded the targets laid out in both the project milestone and the Ford specification. A series of prototype parts were successfully molded, albeit with instances of short shot components due to the high thermal conductivity of the carbon fiber compared to glass fiber for which the prototype tool was designed for. The project demonstrated that recycled carbon fiber is a viable option in fiber reinforced compound, providing greatly increased strength and modulus for applications that require them. The “agglomerated” format that facilitated effective bulk solids transfer of recovered fiber showed promise for industrial application.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Low-Cost Highly Recyclable Structural Composites Utilizing Vitrimers and Natural Fibers (Basalt) Manufactured via a Novel Pultrusion Method for High-Volume Applications

The project’s overall goal is to explore and demonstrate as proof-of-concept that a highly recyclable and repairable composite material system, that is reinforced with natural fibers, can be used to produce lightweight structural components using a low-cost manufacturing process for high-volume automotive applications. More specifically, the project’s objectives will focus on vitrimer resins (which are a hybrid polymeric system of thermoplastics and thermosets) reinforced with basalt fibers and manufactured using pultrusion technologies. Pultrusion, as a method, is well-known to be one of the lowest-cost manufacturing processes for high-volume applications. However, to date, the validity and viability of such attractive objectives have not been demonstrated in support of the automotive industry.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Achieving Metallurgical Bonding in Aluminum/Steel Bimetallic Castings

Abstract Aluminum castings are increasingly being used in automotive powertrain and structural applications for vehicle lightweighting. Cast aluminum parts often need to be machined and joined to steel components in multi-material systems. Bimetallic components produced by casting aluminum over steel substrate are advantageous due to the elimination of machining and traditional dissimilar material joining processes. However, forming a strong metallurgical bonding during overcasting process has been challenging. In this paper, the effects of processing conditions such as substrate surface preparation, pre-heating temperature, melt conditions as well as casting design were studied by investigating the bimetallic interfaces for aluminum A319 casting alloy and a high alloy steel substrate in a sand-casting process. Zn and Al-based substrate coatings were evaluated. The experimental results suggest a metallurgical bond between aluminum and steel can be formed during the sand-casting process via high temperature diffusion with or without coatings. Al-based substrate coating prior to overcasting results in the formation of a continuous layer of intermetallics at the bimetallic interface, with large Al–Si–Fe intermetallics penetrating the cast aluminum.

Moodispaw, Michael P. (ORCID:0000000267635882)↗
DOE OSTI2021

USAMP Low-Cost Mg Sheet Component Development and Demonstration Project

The overarching objective of this USAMP project was to develop and demonstrate door panels made from magnesium (Mg) sheet with a cost penalty over conventional steel stampings of no more than $\$5.50$/kg saved. The technical approach integrated experiments with advanced computational tools based on Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) methods to develop new alloy chemistries and their thermomechanical processing that promise improved formability and lower forming temperatures. A penultimate task before finally forming the stampings was to incorporate actual microstructure into models that would enable formability simulations. This approach would, for the first time, account for individual magnesium grains moving in an anisotropic fashion unlike that for aluminum or steel that have isotropic properties upon which the current simulation tools are based. In separate activities, new coatings and lubricants to facilitate forming and improved corrosion protection and joining strategies, were developed to ensure that the door could be produced with stated product requirements. A technical cost model, which included parts production, assembly, and paint for a door specifically designed for Mg sheet, showed the cost penalty to be between $\$4.26$ to $\$6.60$/kg saved, which enveloped the project’s cost targets. The cost of the coated Mg sheet was identified as the key driver for the cost penalty. The mass of the Mg-intensive door was 7.9 kg, which was 54% less than the baseline steel door.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗