Polymer Nanocomposites for Advanced Automobile Applications

The automotive industry is one major sector that consume material such as plastic at the advanced technological level. Hence, automotive plastics are now gaining attention due to the desire for light weight and low CO2 emission from vehicles. It is therefore anticipated that polymer nanocomposites will significantly enhance the performance of current technologies for car industries due to their excellent mechanical, chemical, thermal, electrical and barrier properties and their influence on fire retardancy. Hence, with the use of polymer nanocomposites, the encouraging outcomes in different sectors of automotive industry has resulted to new horizons in terms of advanced polymer nanocomposites for automobile applications. This chapter reviews advance polymer composites for automobile applications. Methods of fabricating polymer nanocomposites and several applications of polymer nanocomposites in automotive industries are discussed

Linking materials science and engineering curriculum to design and manufacturing challenges of the automotive industry

© 2017, IGI Global. All rights reserved. Materials engineering applications are becoming more widespread, varied and sophisticated due to advances in science and increasing interdisciplinary cooperation. To be able to impart engineering graduates with the required technical background, educators need to update the course syllabus and the program curriculum continuously. Most importantly, in a world of constant change, educators need to develop the right graduate capabilities in engineering students. This calls for new, innovative teaching approaches to materials education. This chapter demonstrates the authors' teaching approach through the design and development of an Automotive Materials course at postgraduate level in an 'International Automotive Engineering' program at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. To elucidate this teaching approach to materials education, the authors discuss in detail the need to impart an up-to-date understanding of new, alternative materials, the development of graduate capabilities, interdisciplinary systems thinking towards materials education, and the environmental sustainability of engineering materials