The development of special rubber for vehicles in China, the application of rubber products in automobiles!

[Rubber Technology Network - Technical Articles]

I. Development status of special rubber for vehicles in China

With the development of the automobile industry, the demand for special rubber for vehicles is growing. At present, the localization rate of special rubber in China is not high, and it relies heavily on imports. Domestic related enterprises and research institutes are actively tackling the problem and have made breakthroughs in some areas.

Then, what is the development status of China's automotive special rubber industry? Where is the focus of research and development? How will we accelerate the pace of localization? This article will analyze for you.

At present, due to the continuous improvement of automobile performance and the continuous increase of the ambient temperature of auto parts, it is an important issue for the development of automotive rubber parts production industry to develop and apply high-performance new raw materials with excellent oil resistance and high temperature resistance. However, China's special rubber relies heavily on imports, and it is urgent to increase research efforts to change this situation.

Demand for special rubber for vehicles

With the upgrading of the automobile market and the rise of domestic brands, China's automobile industry is in a period of shifting speed and speed. Vehicles put forward higher requirements on the performance and quality of rubber products. Rubber parts need to greatly improve heat resistance. , cold resistance, oil resistance, aging resistance and other indicators.

The rubber parts originally made of general rubber have not been able to meet the current requirements, but must be replaced by special rubber.

[Special rubber for vehicles refers to rubber with high temperature resistance, oil resistance, ozone resistance, aging resistance and high air tightness. It is mainly used for special occasions that meet certain special requirements." Zhao Hongguo, senior engineer of Lanzhou Chemical Research Center of PetroChina Say. It is understood that special rubber products for automobiles are important accessories for automobiles, and various rubber products for automobiles are not only large but also demanding. At present, each car uses 400 to 500 special rubber parts, weighing about 40kg (excluding tires), accounting for 4% to 5% of the whole vehicle, and its output value accounts for 6% of the total output value of auto parts.

According to industry insiders, the performance of special synthetic rubber for vehicles has always been the darling of the market and the price is high. The new technology has promoted the rapid development of special rubber, the use of special synthetic rubber for vehicles has increased year by year, and new special rubber materials have been continuously developed. At present, the amount of special rubber in the automotive industry has reached 70% to 80% of the total rubber consumption of non-tire rubber products.

Most varieties depend on imports

Zhao Hongguo said that because China's automotive special rubber has relatively few varieties and specifications, and the quality is unstable and the process indicators are relatively poor, it can not meet the demand for high-grade special rubber for automobiles. In particular, some high-end special rubber products used in some imported models are basically not produced in China and can only be imported.

Fluororubber is one of them. It is understood that fluororubber is used for engine crankshaft front oil seal, crankshaft rear oil seal, valve stem oil seal, engine diaphragm due to its excellent properties such as odorless, non-toxic, non-combustible, heat-resistant, oxidation-resistant, oil-resistant and chemical-resistant. Wait. However, due to the rising domestic price of fluororubber, many users have to import from abroad. Domestically, about half of the fluororubber products need to be imported from abroad to meet the needs of the development of the domestic automobile industry.

At the same time, acrylate rubber and EPDM rubber are used as special rubbers with excellent performance and are also imported in large quantities every year. According to reports, acrylate rubber can be used to produce dozens of auto parts, which has become a kind of sealing material developed and promoted by the automobile industry in recent years. It is mainly used to manufacture various kinds of skeleton oil seals, such as crankshafts, gearboxes, transmission shafts and other parts. Various heat-resistant gaskets, jackets, hoses, etc. It is estimated that the current domestic automotive industry's annual demand for acrylate rubber will reach 20,000 tons. However, due to the fact that China's acrylate rubber devices have not reached the economic scale, they are far from meeting the domestic market demand. More than half of the acrylate rubber used for the production of auto parts needs to be imported.

Among the special rubbers for automobiles, EPDM rubber is the most used rubber type, mainly for the manufacture of door and window sealing strips, radiator hoses and other parts. China's EPDM synthetic technology and product application technology still need to be further improved, product quality needs to be improved, and it needs to rely on imports to meet the needs of the domestic market.

Research efforts need to be strengthened

The industry believes that there are three reasons for the serious dependence on imports: First, the new rubber produced in China is still insufficient; second, the production of new special rubber in China is small, the production has not yet formed a large scale, and the products have not formed serialization, and The quality needs to be improved. Thirdly, the application research on new rubber is not enough. The company lacks the awareness and ability to actively use new raw materials to improve product quality and production technology. Most of the research work is still stuck in the application of existing raw materials. Explore it. This has limited and affected the development of China's automotive rubber products to a certain extent.

Xu Dianhong, senior engineer of PetroChina Lanzhou Chemical Research Center, said that in some high-value-added automotive rubber products, China must work hard on key high-quality, sophisticated and sophisticated technologies in response to the problem of relying heavily on imports to meet domestic demand. Develop special rubber grades for special accessories, such as special rubber for auto parts that are resistant to high temperature dynamic performance, resistant to harsh conditions, and excellent compression set properties, so that the performance of rubber parts meets automotive requirements.

At the same time, through the introduction of capital, technology and equipment, the production of new rubber seeds will be scaled, serialized and high-performance, and a new series of new rubber varieties with high output, good performance, stable quality and complete varieties will be provided for the production of automotive rubber parts. Gradually get rid of the situation that new rubber species depend on imports.

Second, the classification of automotive rubber products and its role in the car

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 limited natural rubber resources in China