Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Haibo Zhao

Patrick James Blanchard

Deborah Frances Mielewski

Daniel Quinn Houston

Alper Kiziltas

Bhaskara Rao Boddakayala

Rick H Wykoff

Ann Marie Straccia

Adam Denlinger

Qian Zhou

Katherine Avery Vozar

A method of manufacturing an elastic polymer aerogel material includes dissolving tire waste in a first portion of a solvent to form a first mixture; dissolving a polymer having at least one double carbon-carbon bond in a second portion of the solvent to form a second mixture; combining the first mixture and the second mixture, wherein the tire waste reacts with the polymer having at least one double carbon-carbon bond to form a reactant gel; and undergoing a solvent exchange on the reactant gel followed by freeze drying the reactant gel to form the elastic polymer aerogel material. The tire waste includes natural rubber, synthetic polymers, steel, and curing systems, and the elastic polymer aerogel material defines a 3D porous structure.

Sustainable tire waste aerogel with tunable flexibility made from recycled tires for automotive applications

A battery system includes a first battery module, a second battery module, and a thermoresistant spacer disposed between the first battery module and the second battery module. The thermoresistant spacer may be a thermoresistant urethane foam or a silicon pad and may include thermoresistant additives, which may include at least one of melamine resin powder, aerogel particles, and milled oxidized polyacrylonitrile fibers. A flame retardant material may be disposed over at least a surface of the thermoresistant spacer.

High temperature insulating foam for high voltage battery protection in electric vehicles

Battery thermal suppression systems may be provided for battery arrays and/or traction battery packs. Exemplary thermal suppression systems may include one or more aerosol devices that are adapted to release aerosol particles that may be distributed over and/or around battery cells/battery arrays during battery thermal events, thereby mitigating thermal propagation. The aerosol devices may be active or passive devices and can be implanted at the battery array level, the traction battery pack level, or both.

Battery thermal suppression systems

Systems and methods are provided for aerogel processing and production via vacuum-assisted solvent exchange and ambient pressure drying. In one example, a method includes injecting a solvent at each of a top surface and a base of a saturated aerogel and applying a vacuum-assisted pressure differential across the saturated aerogel to achieve solvent exchange. In some examples, following solvent exchange, the aerogel may be dried in ambient pressure and integrated in a vehicle component. In this way, a rate of solvent exchange may be increased, concomitantly increasing aerogel production efficiency. Further, in some examples, the aerogel may be protected from premature drying during solvent exchange.

Systems and methods for aerogel preparation via vacuum-assisted solvent exchange and ambient pressure drying

A method of forming carbon fibers having internal cavities. The method includes applying a polymer material to a tooling component to form carbon fiber precursor hollow tubes, oxidizing the carbon fiber precursor hollow tubes, and carbonizing the carbon fiber hollow tubes to form carbon fibers, each having a hollow inner cavity.

Method of forming carbon fibers having internal cavities

An air extraction system for a motor vehicle includes a trim panel inlet, an air extractor and an acoustic air duct extending from the trim panel inlet to the air extractor. The acoustic air duct includes an outer wall defining an elongated internal airflow passageway and a plurality of channels. Those channels extend along the airflow passageway within the outer wall. At least one of the channels has an expansion chamber.

Acoustic air duct and air extraction system including a plurality of channels having an expansion chamber

A glass bubble includes a hollow glass body having an outer surface with a diameter of between about 16 micrometers and about 25 micrometers and a surface roughness of about 0.01% to about 0.1% of that diameter. A low density sheet molding compound incorporating a plurality of glass bubbles and resin is also disclosed.

Glass bubbles and low density sheet molding compound incorporating said glass bubbles

Systems and methods for conducting non-destructive testing of fiber composite components are disclosed. The system may include a wire coil proximate the component and a power source connected to the wire coil. A controller may be connected to the power source and configured to continuously vary a current passing through the wire coil to generate a constantly changing magnetic field. A temperature sensor may be configured to detect a temperature of a plurality of regions of the component. The power source may be an AC or DC power source. The method may include generating a constantly changing magnetic field in proximity to a carbon-fiber composite, thereby inducing an electrical current in the carbon-fiber composite, and measuring a temperature of a plurality of different regions of the carbon-fiber composite to determine whether a defect is present. A defect may be identified by a temperature abnormality in a region.

Non-contact quality control of fiber composites

Carbon particles are disclosed, as well as methods and systems for forming the particles. In one embodiment, the system may include a receiving vessel configured to receive a liquid carbon precursor and at least one orifice at a bottom of the receiving vessel and configured to release droplets of the precursor. A cooling vessel may be positioned below the receiving vessel to receive the droplets and configured to hold a coolant for solidifying the droplets into carbon precursor particles. The method may include introducing a liquid carbon precursor into a tank having a plurality of orifices defined therein such that droplets of the precursor are released from the orifices and solidifying the droplets in a cooling vessel positioned to receive the droplets from the orifices. The method may then include carbonizing the solidified droplets to form carbon particles. The particles may be solid or hollow.

Carbon spheres and methods of making the same

A fiber tow and methods for separating a fiber tow are disclosed. The fiber tow may include adjacent filaments and a polymer coating covering at least a portion of the adjacent filaments. The polymer coating may include a polymer that is configured to contract in a direction generally parallel to the adjacent filaments and expand in a direction generally perpendicular to the adjacent filaments. The polymer coating may contract/expand in response to an energy source, such as heat or a UV light source. The methods may include coating at least a portion of a plurality of filaments with a polymer, bundling the filaments into a fiber tow, and exposing the fiber tow to an energy source to contract the polymer in a direction generally parallel to the filaments and to expand the polymer in a direction generally perpendicular to the filaments. The filaments may be carbon fiber filaments.

Method of splitting fiber tows

A method is provided for treating the outer surfaces of a plurality of glass bubbles. That method includes loading a plurality of glass bubbles into a processing vessel having a roughened lining and displacing the processing vessel so that the plurality of glass bubbles move against the roughened lining to thereby roughen the outer surfaces. Alternatively, or in addition, the glass bubbles are subjected to air plasma treatment to increase the surface energy of the glass bubbles.

Surface treatment of glass bubbles

The present disclosure includes atmospheric plasma systems and methods for plasma treating a surface. The plasma system may include a plasma probe configured to receive a source air that is at or above atmospheric pressure and discharge a plasma from a probe tip. It may also include an air supply system including an air supply conduit configured to supply the source air to the plasma probe and a heat source configured to increase a temperature of the source air in the air supply system to above an ambient temperature. The heat source may include an inline heater disposed within the air supply conduit. The source air may be heated to a temperature of 25&#xb0; C. to 1,000&#xb0; C. The heated air plasma system may provide a higher plasma dosage to a treated surface and may allow for reduced cycle times and larger plasma treatment working windows.

Heated air plasma treatment

In at least one or more embodiments, a system for scutching material fibers includes first and second plates defining a first cavity to receive and discharge material fibers, the first plate including a first number teeth extending into the first cavity and movable in a first direction, the second plate including a second number of teeth extending into the first cavity and movable in a second direction different from the first direction. Teeth as present in the first number and/or the second number of teeth may be spaced apart from each. In certain instances, the material fibers may be carbon fibers.

Growing community of inventors

Northville, MI, United States of America

Haibo Zhao