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NMP-2007-4.0-3 Multifunctional materials for future vehicles
Technical content/scope: The design, processing and a more intelligent use of new multifunctional materials, together with improvements in production technologies, are essential in order to combine mobility, sustainability, reliability and safety in future light vehicle design and manufacturing. High added value components with improved performance and tailored properties would strengthen in particular the competitiveness of the automotive industry. These new multifunctional materials, developed in particular with the help of modelling methods, would combine classical with new properties, such as self healing of damage caused by abrasion and wear, variable strength or sensor properties, may contain micro-encapsulated inclusions and would be able to self-adapt their range of properties depending on the requirements during application. A sensing functionality of self-healing materials should enable them to sense their internal state and their external environment, so that they can detect their healthiness or their reduced functionality at specific locations and trigger the self-healing mechanisms. Multifunctional materials should also allow the triggering of safety mechanisms, e.g. based upon the state of the driver. New high performance materials and components should be investigated that contain an inherent ability to be active and reactive through the integration of sensors or actuators (e.g. active materials inside matrix materials, touch sensitive plastics, biodegradable parts with slow surface and fast core).
Funding scheme: Large-scale integrating collaborative projects.
Specific features: Industry participation is essential and SME participation is encouraged.
Expected impact: Maintaining the competitiveness of the automotive and other transport industries. Multifunctional, high performance materials should be developed that can adapt their range of properties depending upon their requirements during application, for example in self-healing (abrasion or wear). These high performance materials should be developed at acceptable costs to allow incorporation into vehicle development and maintain worldwide competitiveness of European transport industries.