Is Automotive Light Weighting with Plastics A No-Brainer? Margaret Zahller, PE INTERNATIONAL, Inc. Keith Christman, American Chemistry Council Christoph Koffler, PhD PE INTERNATIONAL, Inc. LCA XII Conference, Tacoma, WA September 25, 2012
Mar 31, 2016
Is Automotive Light Weighting with Plastics A No-Brainer?
Margaret Zahller, PE INTERNATIONAL, Inc. Keith Christman, American Chemistry CouncilChristoph Koffler, PhD PE INTERNATIONAL, Inc.
LCA XII Conference, Tacoma, WASeptember 25, 2012
• Comparative cradle-to-grave LCA
• Polymers used to reduce part weight and fuel use in automotive parts
• ISO 14040/44 compliant, critically reviewed
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Project OverviewCase studies
Ford Taurus Front End Bolster
Chevrolet Trailblazer / GMC Envoy Running Board
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PE Sustainability Services
Understand Strategize Improve Succeed!
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Sustainability Improvement Journey
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Sustainability Assessment Sustainability Planning& Management
Sustainability Performance& Improvement Success Goals
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z
420.08.2012
Model Year 201052% PP
45% glass3% steel
9 lb
Functional unit
● Providing structural and component support of a vehicle front over a vehicle lifetime of 150,000 miles
● Passes the Ford latch pull test to support a load of 5,340N without separation.
Ford Taurus Front End Bolster Case Study
Model Year 200852% PP
48% steel 15.1 lb
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z
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20.08.2012
Functional unit
● Providing a stiffness satisfying GM specification within an area of 1.761 m by 0.1275 m over a vehicle lifetime of 150,000 miles
● Meets GM specification for vertical deflection
Model Year 20049% TPO top cover91% steel frame + mounting brackets
28.5 lb
Model Year 200760% PP,
40% glass13.9 lb
Chevrolet Trailblazer / GMC Envoy Running Board Case Study
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• Included production of upstream materials and energy, product manufacturing, use, and end-of-life treatment
• Design data (BOM) collected from auto industry, including scrap rates
• ACC/USLCI polypropylene (2010)
• End-of-life assumptions• 98% of steel recovered for recycling• Plastics to landfill
• Avoided burden
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Data Collection and Modeling
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• Calculated fuel reduction due to light weighting1
• Baseline products: zero fuel reduction• Lightweight products: negative “fuel consumption”
• Based on US driving cycle
• Results assessed with and without adaptation to the drive train
• Fuel reduction two to three times higher with adaptation
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1Koffler C, Rohde-Brandenburger K (2010): On the calculation of fuel savings through lightweight design in automotive life cycle assessments, Int J Life Cycle Assess (2010) 15:128-135
Fuel Consumption
Primary Energy Demand
Global Warming Potential Acidification Potential
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Ford Taurus Bolster Results
2010 bolster compared to 2008 bolster
2008 bolster is the baseline, represented by the value zero
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Primary Energy Demand
Global Warming Potential Acidification Potential
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Trailblazer/Envoy Running Board Results
2007 plastic running board compared to 2004 running board
2004 running board is the baseline, represented by the value zero
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Without Drive Train Adaptation
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Fuel Reduction Potential – Monte Carlo Results
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With drive train adaptation
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Fuel Reduction Potential – Monte Carlo Results
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• Even assuming no adaptation
• Lighter products outperform the baseline for global warming potential and primary energy demand
• Bolster also performs better than the baseline for acidification potential
• With Adaptation
• Lightweight parts perform even better across all impact categories
• Increasingly likely with CAFE standards
• Greater benefit if parts recovered at end of life
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Conclusions
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Thank You