By Ben Bahavar, Ph.D., Nerac Analyst
Originally Published: June 14, 2016
In the automotive sector – including cars, light trucks, and motorcycles – as well as the commercial aerospace industry, lightweight materials increasingly replace metal parts or structures, thus enabling manufacturers (OEMs) to meet ever stricter regulations to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of their vehicles.
Innovation has also picked up pace recently with new micro-alloyed steel compositions that could lead to lighter metals with high strength for use in structural components – this is due to the demand for decrease in the thickness and increase in the strength of structural parts for automobiles out of consideration of global environmental problems and collision safety.
This article examines the increase in patent and non-patent activity concerning the development of new grades of engineering polymers as materials to replace some of the metal components in automobiles and airplanes.
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