Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
polymer composite in the 2007 Chevrolet Silverado FE model. The
substitution resulted in a 19% decrease in vehicle weight (from 2307 to 1874
kg) with no effect on safety in front crash tests. However, replacing metal
components with composite or plastic is not a trivial process; it requires the
redesign of the vehicle and therefore demands upfront capital investment as
well as design time.
These savings in energy and emissions will be meaningful only if the weight
reduced is not negated by the automaker adding on more features that may
offset the reduction. The average curb weight of the light North American
automobile has been trending up over the last two decades, increasing by
1.2% year, while the fraction of plastics/composites in the vehicles also
increased during thesame period (Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
2009)! To achieve significant fuel savings, however, materials replacement
