DOMO Chemicals completes THERMOFIP development phase
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DOMO Chemicals completes THERMOFIP development phase

The economic objective of the project is to put its members in a privileged position for competing in the automotive cooling and oil system market

  • By ICN Bureau | June 02, 2023

By optimizing the simulation and use of fiber-reinforced plastic parts exposed to water- and glycol-based coolants, THERMOFIP gives DOMO a significant competitive advantage in the automotive cooling segment.

The main economic objective of the THERMOFIP project is to put its members in a privileged position for competing in the automotive cooling and oil system market. Due to the general desire to reduce CO2 emissions and the resulting changes in engine architecture, this market has seen incredible growth recently.

In particular, the market for active components such as actuators and valves is expected to triple by 2025 (compared to 2018), creating huge opportunities for both parts manufacturers and plastics suppliers. In this market environment, being able to rely on an enhanced predictive simulation technology can be an important lever for gaining market shares.

When calculating the final mechanical properties of a part made of glass fiber-reinforced polyamide resin, integrative simulation offers the advantage of also taking the forming process into account. This opens new possibilities for parts optimization. The project’s goal was to achieve a significant weight reduction of around 20% for the targeted parts. To unlock the full potential of parts optimization, it is crucial to simulate the effects of aging on reinforced polyamides. Among the various factors contributing to time-related degradation of part performance, one of the most critical is contact with mixtures of water and ethylene glycol. This aspect is just as important for material suppliers as it is for the companies designing the parts and the carmakers using them.

THERMOFIP has been focusing on this specific topic. The ultimate goal of the project is to simulate how coolants influence the progressive embrittlement of materials, in order to find new ways of making even lighter parts.

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