SGL Carbon says that it has delivered its millionth glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) leaf spring, used in a car’s suspension.
According to the company, while standard steel leaf springs can weigh up to 15 kg, a similar GFRP spring leaf weighs 6 kg, making it around 65% lighter. It also reportedly requires less space and has easier handling, while the composite design means the leaf spring can be tailored to different models.
‘The new leaf spring allows a significant weight saving in our vehicle models compared to conventional steel springs in this application,’ said Erik Johansson, senior design engineer at Volvo Cars. ‘This contributes to lower fuel consumption and reduced CO2 emissions. In addition, we can use a small number of leaf spring variants in many different models.’
This story uses material from SGL, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
