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Classification of automotive rubber products and their role in automobiles

2019-03-28
[Rubber Technology Network - Technical Articles]

Classification of automotive rubber products and their role in automobiles

The rapid development of China's automobile industry has promoted the development of other related supporting industries in China, especially the rubber industry. In the past few years, automotive rubber products have developed into a unique specialized product industry. Automotive rubber products are an indispensable component in automotive accessories. There are about 100-200 rubber products installed in each car, and about 200-500 rubber parts are used. In addition to tires, depending on the size of the car, the consumption of rubber materials is about 15-60 kg, while automotive rubber products (excluding tires) account for about 6% of the total cost of the car. There are more than 1,000 varieties of non-tire rubber products for the automotive industry, with specifications exceeding 8,000. According to statistics, the automotive industry accounts for more than 70% of the world's annual consumption of raw rubber, of which 60% of tires and 40% of automotive rubber parts.

High speed, safety, comfort, energy saving and environmental protection are the goals pursued by contemporary cars. With the development of automobile modernization, the requirements for automotive rubber products are becoming stricter and more demanding. Not only do rubber materials with various special properties meet the new technical requirements of automobiles, but also require higher physical and mechanical properties of rubber materials, such as Anti-aging, high temperature resistance, low temperature resistance, new fuel resistance, excellent dynamic fatigue performance, and durable service life. In fact, every high-performance of modern cars relies on the technological advancement of rubber products. The performance and quality of automotive rubber products play an important role in improving the quality of complete vehicles. It is worth pointing out that the role played by rubber products is always an accessory, but this accessory always keeps abreast of the technical progress and technical level of the mainframe. Therefore, it can be said that the technology and quality of automotive rubber products can basically reflect the technical level of automobile.

1. Classification of automotive rubber products and their role in automobiles

Rubber tires are called the two legs of a car, and the important role of the tire in the car is self-evident. Tires are rubber products with the largest amount of glue in the rubber industry, so in the rubber industry, tires are often separated from rubber products into a special type. In automotive parts, rubber tires are a special accessory.

Automotive rubber products can be divided into seven categories: tires, sealing products, shock absorbing products, safety products, tape products, hose products and other products such as wipers, fenders, adhesives, sealants and interior products.

1.1 tire

Car tires play the role of carrying the weight of the car, the weight of the people and the goods on the car, and also play the role of the car to advance, retreat, turn and brake. The safety, comfort and driving performance of a car depend to a large extent on the high performance and quality of the tire.

Rubber tires have a history of 160 years. As early as 1845, the British R. W. Thomso put a hose on the wooden wheel, which reduced the rolling resistance of the wheel and reduced the vibration, but this early rubber tire was very popular at the time. Of course this should be attributed to the excellent properties of rubber materials. Until 1888, the British J. B. Dunlop invented pneumatic tires. In the next hundred years, with the development of the automobile industry, rubber tires have experienced the development and advancement of several generations of products. The development of tire frame materials from cotton cords, rayon to nylon cords To today's steel radial tires.

Humans invented pneumatic tires, which effectively promoted the development of automobiles. Because the pneumatic tire has excellent shock absorption performance, the vibration is obviously reduced, the safety of the vehicle is better, the ride is more comfortable, and the driving speed of the vehicle can be greatly improved. With the continuous advancement of rubber materials, formulation technology, manufacturing equipment and manufacturing processes, the safety and durability of automobile tires are greatly improved. For example, in 1900, the mileage of each tire was only 800km; by 1978, the mileage of each tire had reached 60,000km; to the 21st century, the mileage of each tire was no less than 140,000km, or even 20 Ten thousand km. The speed of the car has increased significantly with the rapid construction and commissioning of the expressway, from tens of km/h to 100km/h, 140km/h and even 200km/h.

1.2 sealing products

Sealing products are divided into three categories: O-rings, skeleton oil seals and sealing strips. O-rings and skeleton oil seals are installed in the engine, gearbox, car main shaft and hydraulic pneumatic transmission system to prevent leakage of lubricating oil, hydraulic oil and other liquids or gas leakage, to ensure the normal operation of various component systems, and to prevent external grit Dust impurities enter the system and affect the normal operation of the machine. O-ring seals and skeleton oil seals are primarily used for the sealing of rotating shafts or reciprocating shaft systems. According to the structure, the skeleton oil seal can be divided into internal skeleton oil seal, outer skeleton oil seal, semi-exposed skeleton oil seal, lip seal oil seal, with lip oil seal and combined oil seal, etc.; according to the installation position in the automobile, it can be divided into crankshaft front oil seal and crankshaft rear oil seal. , gearbox oil seal, cam box oil seal, wheel housing oil seal, semi-shaft oil seal, pneumatic guide oil seal and shock absorber oil seal. Sealant strips are mainly used in automobile doors and windows, trunks, engine covers, etc., and serve as sealing, windshield, rain, shock absorption and sound insulation. According to the structure, it can be divided into pure rubber sealing strip (also can be divided into sponge rubber and dense rubber) and composite sealing strip (divided rubber/metal skeleton composite strip, two or more rubber composite strips and rubber plastic composite strip).

1.3 damping products

Rubber shock absorbers are mainly installed in engines, body, air conditioning and car suspension systems. It is mainly used to reduce the vibration and noise when the car is running, and to improve the stability, safety and comfort of the car. With the continuous improvement of the comprehensive performance of modern automobiles, higher and higher requirements are placed on the performance and quality of rubber shock absorbing products. Mainly required to have shock absorbing damping properties, anti-dynamic fatigue performance and long life durability. Automotive rubber shock absorbers mainly include air springs, engine front and rear suspension pads, flexible couplings, rubber bushings of various shapes, gaskets, and the like. In the premium car, special shock absorbers with excellent performance are also installed in each tire support.

1.4 safety products

Automotive rubber safety products play a role in braking reliability, driving safety and personal safety in automobiles. Safety products mainly include brake film (diaphragm), cups, brake pads, airbags and bumpers.

The brake film and the cup are directly related to the safety of the car. When an accident occurs in the car, the car is quickly decelerated and stopped to ensure the safety of the vehicle and personnel. Airbags are rubber products that provide safety for vehicle personnel in the event of an accident in a vehicle. The bumper is used to reduce the impact of a car in the event of a collision.

1. 5 hose products

Hose products are used in the three parts of the chassis, engine and body. They are used for the seven systems of oil, gas, drive, control, brake, cooling and heating. They are used for oil supply, gas supply, water supply and power transmission. The hose types include fuel pipe, water hose, brake hose, vacuum hose, air-conditioning hose, radiator hose, power steering hose and profiled hose.

1. 6 tape products

Tape products are mainly used in automobiles to transmit torque power and speed, and transfer power from the power source engine to where power is needed. Installed in cooling fans, cooling pumps, brake compressors, booster pumps, air conditioning systems and steering systems. The tape products are divided into V belts (also divided into ordinary V belts and V-ribbed belts) and timing belts (toothed belts). According to the structure, the V belt is further divided into a cutting belt and a wrapping belt. The V belt is characterized by high speed and high transmission power. The synchronous toothed belt is used for the ignition of the engine engine, and the use condition is high speed, large transmission power and high temperature.

1.7 other products

Such rubber products include automotive rubber sheets (inner rubber sheets and fenders), automotive interiors and adhesives, sealants, wiper strips, and the like. Floor glue is used to lay the ground inside the car, anti-shock and anti-skid. The wiper strip is used for rain and snow to remove the rain and snow on the windshield, ensuring the driver's sight, normal operation and normal driving. Adhesives are used for the bonding of automotive interior materials and the protection of the underside of automobiles.

2 Current Status and Development Trend of Automotive Rubber Products in China

2.1 tire

In recent years, as cars have gradually entered the family, it has stimulated the rapid development of China's automobile industry and promoted the development of the automobile supporting industry and the rubber products industry. Obviously, rubber tires are the first to bear the brunt.

Due to the high speed of automobiles, rubber tire products have been transformed from bias tires to radial tires. Radial tires are the development direction of China's tire industry and are the key models supported by the state. Since 2001, China's domestic tire factories have been carrying out infrastructure and technological transformation around radial tires, and the development speed is very fast and very successful. In 2004, China's tire production reached 210 million, including 190.9 million radial tires, with a sub-industry rate of 52%. In addition to meeting the domestic market demand, nearly one-third of the production of tires entered the international market. In 2005, China's tire production reached 230 million, including 130 million radial tires, with a meridian rate of 56%. It is predicted that by 2010, China's tire production will reach 300 million, including 130 million radial tires, and the meridian rate will reach 70%. In automobile tires, radial tires will account for about 85%, and by 2015, we will strive to achieve a car tire rate of 95%.

In 2004, China's tire consumption of raw rubber was 2.2 million tons. In 2005, the amount of rubber consumed reached 2.43 million tons, an increase of 10.5%. Among them, natural rubber accounts for 56.6%, synthetic rubber accounts for about 43.4%, synthetic rubber is mainly styrene-butadiene rubber and butadiene rubber (tire), and butyl rubber and chlorobutyl rubber (intermediate tire). Due to the limited natural rubber resources in China, the future development direction should appropriately increase the proportion of synthetic rubber used. The main added synthetic rubbers are styrene butadiene rubber and butadiene rubber. However, since the comprehensive performance of the two synthetic rubbers is not comparable to that of natural rubber, excessively increasing the application ratio of the two synthetic rubbers will lower the quality of the tires, and the physical properties of the two rubbers should be improved or new varieties should be developed in the future.

2. 2 sealing products

In recent years, China's automotive rubber products industry has introduced a number of key enterprises with large production scale and high professional level through the introduction of foreign advanced technology, equipment and technological transformation, and gradually formed a relatively complete industrial system, which can basically meet And adapt to the needs of China's automotive industry.

At present, there are about 30 skeleton oil seal factories with a certain scale and level in China, and the total production capacity is about 200 million pieces. At present, the company can produce automobile-specific skeleton oil seals with various structures including internal and external skeleton oil seals, pressure oil seals and hydrodynamic oil seals of the main lip belt return line, which can meet the needs of the domestic automobile market. However, due to the high speed of the automobile, the addition of fuel additives makes the oil seal use temperature, and the medium resistance and precision are increasingly improved. For example, the speed of the oil seal lip of some car crankshafts can reach 200 m / s, the lip temperature can reach 250 ° C, the structure and material of the original oil seal have not adapted to the use requirements. Foreign oil seals for automobile engine parts are generally made of fluorosilicone rubber, acrylate rubber and fluororubber. The NBR/PTFE composite oil seal can achieve an oil seal life of 4000-4500h, that is, a mileage of 130,000km-180,000 km.

China's automobile oil seals are still dominated by nitrile rubber. Although a few manufacturers can produce fluorine rubber and acrylate oil seals, the output and quality cannot keep up with the needs of the automotive industry, and their service life is less than 100,000 km. Oil seals for key parts of high-end cars, such as rear oil seals for crankshafts and oil seals for automobile guides, still rely on imported parts, and the localization rate is very low. For the skeleton oil seal, further improving the heat resistance, dynamic fatigue resistance and compression set resistance of the rubber compound, improving the level of work and automation, and improving the precision of the mold processing are all tasks in the future. Fluorosilicone rubber, chloroether rubber, hydrogenated nitrile rubber and acrylate rubber will be widely used as the main material of the oil seal.

There are more than 60 manufacturers of sealing strips in China, and there are 49 production lines of various automobile sealing strips, with a total annual production capacity of 200 million meters.

Sealing strip is one of the fastest growing industries of rubber products in China in recent years. No matter the output, output value or profit has increased greatly, it has basically formed a professional system. The production plant introduced the production technology, equipment and testing instruments of Italy Seiya Seals Co., Ltd. The technology and product quality are equivalent to the international level in the 1990s. They can design and develop their own products to meet the needs of the domestic car industry. The rubber varieties are mainly made of EPDM rubber. In the future, the development direction will use TPE as the sealing strip, TPV as the glass guide groove and the new process of multi-face flocking and extrusion laminating.

2.3 damping products

China has more than 20 rubber shock absorber products with considerable scale, and its production capacity is about 70 million pieces, which can basically meet the needs of domestic automobile production matching and maintenance replacement.

At present, advanced foreign countries have successfully developed a new generation of rubber shock absorbers for liquid-sealed shock absorbers, electronically controlled shock absorbers, torsional shock absorbers, etc. These products are still in the development stage. China's automotive shock absorber products still use natural rubber, as well as natural rubber and butadiene rubber or with butadiene rubber. The direction of material development should be EPDM rubber, butyl rubber and other rubber grades with good heat resistance and excellent damping performance. The development of new shock-absorbing materials with more heat resistance and dynamic fatigue resistance and the development of liquid-sealed shock absorbers are the research topics that should be invested more in China in the future.

2. 4 safety products

There are more than 30 production plants for brake film (diaphragm) and brake cups for automobiles in China. After years of transformation, the product performance basically meets the requirements of the automotive industry. The high-strength rubber diaphragm produced in China has reached the technical threshold of 1 million times. The production capacity of the membrane is 35 million pieces and the production capacity of the membrane is 15 million pieces. The main raw rubber used is natural rubber or natural rubber and synthetic rubber. In the future, high-strength rubber separators such as EPDM rubber and thermoplastic elastomer TPE should be further developed.

The production of airbags in China has just started, with only 6-7 manufacturers, with a total production capacity of about 200,000 sets/year. The National Automobile Safety Law stipulates that cars with a total weight of less than 2.5 tons (M1 class) must be subjected to a crash test before the above catalogue. All cars must meet the standards and must be equipped with safety capsules. Airbags are generally made of neoprene with a nylon skeleton. Looking forward to the next step is to manufacture airbags from thermoplastic elastomers.

2. 5 hose products

Automobile hoses have been growing at a rate of about 25% in recent years. There are more than 20 automobile hose factories in China with a total production capacity of 200 million standard meters. The proportion of resin composite hoses including brake hoses and cooling water pipes is mainly increased by braided hoses and wound hoses; short-fiber hoses are valued for their simple process and good performance. From the perspective of rubber materials, it has evolved from a single rubber type to the inner, middle and outer layers to adapt to different working environment conditions, and is generally composed of 2-3 different rubber compounds. In recent years, the development of automobile hoses has begun to take shape, and many enterprises have introduced advanced foreign technology.
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