Substituição de materiais poliméricos através de seletores de materiais e fornecedores: um estudo de caso na indústria automobilística Substitution of polyphthalamide (PPA) used in the fuel tank cap lid of a car by other polymers

Neste trabalho foi avaliada a substituição de poliftalamida (PPA) da portinhola do tanque de combustível de um automóvel por outros polímeros. Foram utilizados e avaliados vários seletores de materiais disponíveis na Internet para a identificação de possíveis materiais substitutos à PPA. A PPA é um polímero de alto desempenho não produzido no Brasil, de custo elevado e de difícil processamento. Apesar de sua indicação de uso em peças da indústria automotiva devido às suas excelentes propriedades, sua substituição por outros plásticos implicaria em uma série de vantagens no processo produtivo. Após o resultado desta busca em sites, foram sugeridas melhorias para a elaboração de um novo seletor de materiais poliméricos. A avaliação final deste estudo de caso compara os resultados obtidos através da pesquisa nos seletores de materiais com aqueles obtidos através da consulta direta aos fornecedores locais de polímeros.In this study, we evaluated the possible replacement of polyphthalamide (PPA) at the fuel tank cap lid of a car by other polymers. Various materials selectors available in the Internet were used to identify possible substitute materials to PPA. This material is a high-performance, high-cost, difficult-to-process polymer, which is not produced in Brazil. Despite its applicability to automotive parts due to its outstanding properties, its substitution by other polymers would imply in a series of advantages for the process of parts production. After the selectors' usage, a series of enhancements to these sites were suggested in order to make it possible to create a better layout of a materials selector for a future implementation. This study's final evaluation compares the final results obtained from the selectors with those from the local polymer suppliers

Analysis of the fracture behavior of polypropylene: sawdust composites

Natural fiber reinforced composite is an emerging area in Polymer science. The use of lignocellulosic materials in thermoplastic composites may contribute to reduce the waste of vegetal biomass. The natural fibers are biodegradable, low cost materials having density and specific properties comparable to those of conventional fiber composites. In this work composites of polypropylene (PP) plus maleated polypropylene (MAPP) filled with sawdust were prepared under fixed processing conditions (mixing temperature, mixing time and rate of rotation). The composites were fractured by tension and the fracture mechanisms were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The SEM studies of the fractured surfaces of the composites indicate that the failure is due to fiber pull-out accompanied by tearing of the matrix; the pull-out increases with MAPP content