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With increasing use of biofuels in the automotive industry, it has become necessary to evaluate their effects on the properties of polymers used in the fuel delivery systems. In this study, we have considered the effect of biodiesel on the tensile properties of nylon-6, 30% E-glass fiber reinforced nylon-6 and impact-modified nylon-6. The tensile specimens were immersed in 100% biodiesel for up to 7 days before determining their tensile properties. Another set of specimens were immersed in 100% biodiesel under stressed condition and then their tensile properties were determined. The absorption of biodiesel and their effects on tensile modulus, tensile strength and failure strain are reported in this paper.

Owing to their weight saving potential and improved flexural stiffness, metal-polymer-metal sandwich laminates are finding increasing applications in recent years. Increased use of such laminates for automotive body panels and structures requires not only a better understanding of their mechanical behavior, but also their formability characteristics. This study focuses on the formability of a metal–polymer-metal sandwich laminate that consists of AA5182 aluminum alloy as the outer skin layers and polypropylene (PP) as the inner core. The forming limit curves of Al/PP/Al sandwich laminates are determined using finite element simulations of Nakazima test specimens. The numerical model is validated by comparing the simulated results with published experimental results. Strain paths for different specimen widths are recorded.

Seat comfort is a highly subjective attribute and depends on a wide range of factors, but the successful prediction of seat comfort from a group of relevant variables can hold the promise of eliminating the need for time-consuming subjective evaluations during the early stages of seat cushion selection and development. This research presents the subjective seat comfort data of a group of 30 participants using a controlled range of seat foam samples, and attempts to correlate this attribute with a) the anthropometric and demographic characteristics of the participants, b) the objective pressure distribution at the body-seat interface and c) properties of the various foam samples that were used for the test.