MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asahi Kasei develops the world’s first polyamide beads foam, said the company.
With the ongoing disruptive megatrends in the automotive industry, the automotive OEMs and suppliers are facing a strong innovation pressure. New, innovative solutions are in high demand. Asahi Kasei’s newly developed polyamide beads foam offers unique possibilities for lightweight and noise reducing applications.
The disruptive CASE (Connected – Autonomous – Shared – Electrified) megatrends and are leveraging the innovation pressure on the automotive industry to new heights. In addition to changing consumer needs, the EU legislation regarding the reduction of CO2 emissions has been significantly pushing the demand for new and innovative lightweight materials as a substitute for metal and aluminum parts. At the same time these materials have to live up to the high safety standards in the automotive industry, and to provide solutions to the changing and tightening regulations worldwide. Plastics and foams with their broad range of properties will become a key in this field, contributing to a reduction of CO2 emissions of conventional passenger cars with a combustion engine, and a longer driving distance of electrified cars.
Another challenge for the automotive industry is the tightening of noise regulations. With Regulation No. 51-031 issued by the United Nations in 2016, the noise level emitted to the outside must be continuously reduced in newly manufactured vehicles.
Asahi Kasei is one of only four fully integrated polyamide manufacturers worldwide – and is able to produce PA 6.6 completely from monomer to compound. Based on this expertise, the company is currently developing the PA Foam, a foam bead material based on polyamide – the first of its kind worldwide. It is offering solutions to both aforementioned challenges in the automotive industry – stiffness, mechanical strength and heat resistance for use in structural lightweight applications of cars, and noise reducing characteristics.
The PA Foam features the typical heat, chemical and oil resistant properties of polyamide, mixed with an outstanding rigidity or noise reducing quality – depending on the shape of the beads. PA Foam consisting of round-shaped beads features a strong rigidity, making it a promising alternative material for aluminum and metal in structural applications, as well as for use for insulators, ducts, spacers, or other lightweight parts of the battery case of electrified vehicles.
Asahi Kasei Corporation is a globally active diversified technology company with operations in the Material, Homes, and Health Care business. The Material division encompasses fibers & textiles, petrochemicals, performance polymers, performance materials, consumables, battery separators, and electronic devices. The Homes division provides housing and construction materials to the Japanese market. The Health Care division includes pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and acute critical care devices and systems. With approximately 39,283 employees around the world, the Asahi Kasei Group serves customers in more than 100 countries and achieved sales of 17.6 billion euros (2,170.4 billion yen) in the fiscal year 2018 (April 1, 2018 – March 31, 2019).
MRC