USING BIO-DERIVED CNC as bubble nucleating agent and reinforcement for foamed plastics in automotive application for lightweighting and decreasing carbon footprint.

Working with industry partners, the Clemson team engineered and constructed an ultra-lightweight thermoplastics composites door that enables innovation for greenhouse gas reduction, recyclability, and circular economy.

1. Bio-derived CNC are eco-friendly than conventional nucleating agent.
2. CNC fibers act as both reinforcement and nucleating agents which promote the foaming behavior of the composites to achieve good cell morphology while retain the good mechanical properties.
3. 15-20% light weighting can be achieved when replacing commercially used TPO used
4. Potential applications for CNC reinforced Poly propylene

CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTAL (CNC) has exceptional properties, however, its strong tendency to agglomerate during the melt processing largely hindered its application as reinforcing filler for the commodity composite.

We are endeavoring to address this dispersion problem, towards which studies are conducted in the directions of:

• Rational designing the CNC-matrix interface
• Engineering CNC surface for high-performance CNC nanocomposite
• Developing industrial viable strategies for the CNC nanocomposite production;
• Unlocking CNC’s potential as a bubble nucleating agent for the microcellular injection molding technology (Mucell)

USING SUPERCRITICAL FOAM INJECTION molding technologies to lightweight hang on parts such as bumpers and trims. This is part of a four-year project that to address the needs of Automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM).

Principal investigator Dr. Srikanth Pilla, Bosch and Jenkins Endowed Professor, “Within the technology portfolio for lightweighting, much of the ‘low-hanging fruit’ has been implemented already — for example, engine downsizing. We believe there’s potential for efficiency gains in the area of load-bearing, structural closure systems at a reasonable price point.”