Effect of Foam and Epoxy on Aluminium Honeycomb structure for an Automobile Applications

Abstract

With the world involved in an advancing global warming, we have started to be concerned about the environment
and how we could take care of it since just few decades ago. Nowadays the strategy has changed into reduce consumptions and
pollution. The governments and institutions are now setting aims of decrease the emissions during the next decades. In the
automotive industry, the requirements of reduction of weight and fuel consumption have become an essential study without
losing any mechanical strength. This is done by improving old technologies and developing new ones. One of these growing
new technologies is in the field of materials engineering. Coming from aerospace and aeronautic industries, now the composite
materials are being introduced to the automotive sector. One such attempt is made by reducing the weight of wheel spoke.
Spoke is one of the some rods that are rotating from the center of the wheel that connects the hub. Spoke is an important
automobile part which bears a major load. This work is unique in such a way that spokes are made using epoxy based
composite materials along with the honeycomb material filled with liquid foam which is sandwiched between the fibers. In
general spokes are made using either steel or aluminum material. But from this work it is highlighted that the sandwich based
composite materials can also be used as the spokes material.