COMPOSITES EUROPE 2012 Blog

Sustainability and energy efficiency: What does the future look like for international freight traffic? What new approach can freight forwarders and logistics specialists adopt, so that they are able to transport their clients’ large loads under favorable conditions? How can such an approach ensure high environmental standards? The solution lies in lightweight design for trucks and freight containers, where fuel consumption and transport costs are reduced, CO2 emissions are lowered and climate friendliness is increased.

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Weight can only be reduced in truck bodies, trailers and containers if innovative materials are used extensively in side walls, roofs and flooring. Such materials are far superior to conventional materials such as steel sheeting and aluminum, particularly due to their light weight and stability. Fiber-reinforced plastics are pointing the way forward in this respect. These composite materials feature a low mass per unit area while offering optimum strength, even when layers are thin.
These materials may be integrated into all sections of truck bodies, trailers and freight containers and can widely replace materials such as aluminum and steel sheeting. The ultra-light, extremely sturdy composite material serves as interior and exterior face sheeting in sandwich elements which are used to build roofing and side walls. Floors are also lined with fiber-reinforced composite sheeting, so that they are able to withstand heavy loads. Such sheeting could serve, for instance, as anti-slip decking with granular aggregate.

Strong and lightweightThe robust, lightweight, high-tech material mostly consists of fibers and resin. The material’s physical and chemical characteristics are determined by the type of fiber and the fiber arrangement it features, such as woven fabric or multiaxial fabric, and by the kind of resin formulae used in production.
The result is a long-lasting, sturdy, ultra-light material which optimally reduces tare weight when used in trucks and containers, and, consequently, heavier payloads can be carried. Fiber-reinforced composites compare favorably with conventional materials regarding their typical use as face sheets in sandwich elements. Whereas steel 0.6 millimeters thick has an absolute weight of 4.7 kilograms per square meter, LAMILUX’s 2.0 millimeter-thick fiber-reinforced composite weighs just 2.7 kilograms. Aluminum 1.2 millimeters thick is also clearly heavier at 3.2 kilograms. This means using fiber-reinforced composites can reduce weight in sandwich facing by around 40 percent in comparison to steel and by around 15 percent when compared to aluminum.

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