JP6245630B2 - Interior materials for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle interior material made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic.

  Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (hereinafter also referred to as CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic)) is a composite material in which a carbon fiber is woven into a matrix resin as a reinforcing material. In recent years, CFRP is widely used in various fields such as automobiles, architectural civil engineering, industrial equipment, aerospace, sports and leisure because of its light weight and high strength.

  On the other hand, CFRP is also used as a vehicle interior material constituting a rail vehicle seat or the like. In this type of field, the CFRP is required to be nonflammable. In composing the non-combustible CFRP, a non-combustible resin is typically used as the matrix resin, and a phenol resin has been conventionally used as the non-combustible resin (see Patent Documents 1 and 2 below).

JP 2008-48938 A JP-A-8-118527

  However, in the conventional non-combustible CFRP, since the resin material used for the matrix resin is limited, there is no room for selection of the material, and there is a problem that the material cannot be selected according to the use and the use environment.

  In view of the circumstances as described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle interior material made of a non-combustible carbon fiber reinforced plastic capable of realizing non-combustibility with a resin material other than a phenol resin.

In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle interior material according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a fibrous base material and a resin layer.
The fibrous base material is composed of pitch-based carbon fibers.
The resin layer is impregnated into the fibrous base material and is made of a cured product of a flame retardant vinyl ester resin.
The above vehicle interior materials are classified as “non-combustible” in the flammability standards in the material combustion test for railway vehicles (Iron Transport No. 81 Director General of Railway Supervision and Director General of Land Transport Bureau “Combustibility Standards for Rail Vehicle Materials”). It meets the criteria.

It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the vehicle interior material which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the test method of the flammability standard in the material combustion test for railway vehicles (Iron Transport No. 81 Railway Director General's notice to the Land Transportation Bureau Director, "Combustibility Standards for Railway Vehicle Materials").

  The present inventor has found that a non-combustible carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) material can be obtained by combining pitch-based carbon fibers with a flame-retardant grade vinyl ester resin, and has completed the present invention.

That is, the vehicle interior material according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a fibrous base material and a resin layer.
The fibrous base material is composed of pitch-based carbon fibers having a thermal conductivity of 140 W / mK or more.
The resin layer is impregnated into the fibrous base material and is made of a cured product of a flame retardant vinyl ester resin.

  The vinyl ester resin has high strength, high toughness, and high corrosion resistance as compared with the phenol resin, and is excellent in adhesion because it is compatible with the carbon fiber. Examples of the flame retardant vinyl ester resin constituting the resin layer include, for example, a flame retardant vinyl ester resin in which an appropriate flame retardant is added to a vinyl ester resin (for example, “Neopol 8197” (trade name, manufactured by Iupika Japan) ) Etc.) is applicable.

  Carbon fibers are classified into polyacrylonitrile (PAN) -based carbon fibers and pitch-based carbon fibers according to the type of raw material. All carbon fibers have excellent strength, but pitch-based carbon fibers have higher thermal conductivity than PAN-based carbon fibers. Therefore, by constituting the fibrous base material with pitch-based carbon fibers, the heat applied to the resin layer can be efficiently diffused, and non-combustible grade characteristics can be obtained as a whole of CFRP.

  As for pitch-based carbon fibers, isotropic pitch-based carbon fibers and anisotropic pitch-based carbon fibers are further known, but anisotropic pitches excellent in mechanical properties such as strength, elastic modulus and thermal conductivity are known. Carbon fiber is preferable. In particular, when the fibrous base material is composed of pitch-based carbon fibers having a thermal conductivity of 140 W / mK or more, CFRP that satisfies the “non-combustible” standard can be obtained.

  According to the vehicle interior material, nonflammability can be realized by a resin material other than phenol resin. Thereby, the range of selection of the resin material used for the matrix resin is widened, and it is possible to select the material according to the application and the use environment.

  The above vehicle interior materials are classified as “non-combustible” in the flammability standards in the material combustion test for railway vehicles (Iron Transport No. 81 Director General of Railway Supervision and Director General of Land Transport Bureau “Combustibility Standards for Rail Vehicle Materials”). Configured to meet standards. As a result, it is possible to manufacture a structure having fire resistance conforming to the “non-combustible” standard or an equivalent standard such as a ceiling portion above the cargo rack of a railway vehicle, an aircraft interior material, and the like.

  The flame retardant vinyl ester resin may be a room temperature curable resin. This eliminates the need for high-temperature treatment for curing, and can improve productivity.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a vehicle interior material according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, an X axis, a Y axis, and a Z axis indicate triaxial directions orthogonal to each other, and the Z axis direction corresponds to the thickness direction of the non-combustible CFRP.

  The vehicle interior material 10 of the present embodiment is composed of a non-combustible carbon fiber reinforced plastic (hereinafter also referred to as non-combustible CFRP) having a fibrous base material 11 and a resin layer 12. The vehicle interior material 10 is used as a constituent material of, for example, an armrest portion of a railcar seat, a table, a cover part for an undercarriage, and the like.

  The fibrous base material 11 is a woven fabric in which warp yarns 11a and weft yarns 11b made of carbon fibers having a thickness of, for example, 7 to 11 μm are used, and is typically composed of carbon cloth continuous in an XY plane. . The weaving method of the carbon fiber is not particularly limited and is typically a plain weave, but may be a twill weave or a satin weave. The fibrous base material 11 is not limited to a woven fabric, and may be a non-woven fabric. The fibrous base material 11 may be a commercially available pitch-based carbon fiber base material. For example, a carbon fiber base material such as “K63712” manufactured by Mitsubishi Plastics, Inc. can be used.

  The fibrous base material 11 of this embodiment is comprised by the pitch-type carbon fiber whose heat conductivity is 140 W / mK or more. Carbon fibers are classified into pitch-based carbon fibers and PAN-based carbon fibers. In particular, pitch-based carbon fibers are manufactured from pitch, which is a by-product of petroleum refining or coal dry distillation, and have a characteristic of excellent thermal conductivity as compared with PAN-based carbon fibers manufactured from polyacrylonitrile fibers.

  As the pitch-based carbon fiber, an isotropic pitch-based carbon fiber and an anisotropic pitch-based carbon fiber are further known, and an anisotropic pitch-based carbon fiber excellent in strength is preferable.

  The resin layer 12 corresponds to a non-combustible CFRP matrix resin that constitutes the vehicle interior material 10, and is formed of a cured product of a flame-retardant vinyl ester resin impregnated in the fibrous base material 11. The resin layer 12 is configured, for example, by impregnating and curing the fibrous base material 11 with a vinyl ester resin to which an appropriate flame retardant is added.

  Any appropriate flame retardant can be used, and examples thereof include metal hydroxides such as aluminum hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide. In addition to the flame retardant, a flame retardant aid may be added. As the flame retardant vinyl ester resin, a commercially available flame retardant grade vinyl ester resin may be used. For example, “Neopol 8197” manufactured by Iupika Japan Co., Ltd. may be used.

  The vinyl ester resin is a thermosetting resin, and in this embodiment, a room temperature curable flame retardant vinyl ester resin is used. The curing temperature can be selected according to, for example, the type of curing agent. This eliminates the need for high-temperature treatment for curing, and improves workability and productivity.

  The vehicle interior material 10 of the present embodiment is configured by stacking a plurality of fibrous base materials 11 and resin layers 12 alternately in the Z-axis direction. The number of layers of the fibrous base material 11 is not particularly limited, and may be one layer or two or more layers. However, in consideration of strength, two or more layers are preferable. In this embodiment, a three-layer fibrous base is used. The material 11 is included. The resin layer 12 is provided between the surface of the uppermost fibrous base material 11, the back surface of the lowermost fibrous base material 11, and the fibrous base material 11.

  Typically, the upper-layer-side fibrous base material 11 and the lower-layer-side fibrous base material 11 are separated from each other by the interposition of the resin layer 12, but may be partially in contact with each other. Typically, the front or back surface of the vehicle interior material 10 is covered with the resin layer 12, but a part of the fibrous base material 11 may be exposed.

  The number of layers of the fibrous base material 11 and the thickness of the resin layer 12 are not particularly limited, and are appropriately set according to the strength, thickness, fiber volume content (Vf), etc. required for the vehicle interior material 10. The fiber volume content (Vf) is typically 50% or more and 60% or less. Further, the vehicle interior material 10 is not limited to an example formed in a flat shape such as a flat plate shape, and may be formed in a three-dimensional shape partially including a curved surface or a bent surface.

  The molding method of the vehicle interior material 10 is not particularly limited, and an appropriate molding method such as a hand lay-up method, an infusion method, an RTM (Resin Transfer Molding) method, or a VaRTM (Vacuum assist Resin Transfer Molding) method can be adopted. is there.

  According to the vehicle interior material 10 of the present embodiment configured as described above, pitch-based carbon fibers having excellent heat conduction characteristics are used as the reinforcing fibers, so that the heat applied to the resin layer 12 is the fibers. Conducted to the surroundings (XY plane direction) through the porous substrate 11. Thereby, the local temperature rise of the resin layer 12 is suppressed, and the ignition or flame of the resin layer 12 can be prevented.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to increase the flame retardance of the entire CFRP without using a non-combustible resin for the resin layer 12, and as described later, the classification “ It can meet the criteria of “non-flammability”. For this reason, CFRP which satisfy | fills nonflammability qualification is realizable, without using the nonflammable resin material represented by the phenol resin. Moreover, the range of selection of the resin material used for the matrix resin is widened, and it is possible to select a material according to the application and the use environment.

  In particular, the vinyl ester resin has better compatibility with the carbon fiber than the phenol resin, and therefore has excellent adhesion to the carbon fiber. Therefore, according to the vehicle interior material 10 of the present embodiment, the mechanical strength can be increased as compared with CFRP using a phenol resin as a matrix resin.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary for the resin layer 12 to be nonflammable in realizing nonflammable CFRP. Therefore, it is not necessary to make the resin flame-retardant by adding a flame retardant such as aluminum hydroxide or magnesium hydroxide, or a flame retardant aid, thereby reducing the production cost of non-flammable CFRP. And can be manufactured into a desired shape without impairing moldability.

  That is, for example, when producing a non-combustible CFRP using a vinyl ester resin having a strength higher than that of a phenol resin, the resin is customized so as to obtain a non-combustible property, or an excessive amount of a flame retardant is added to the resin. There is a need. However, making flammable resin incombustible requires a long development cost and development period, and excessive addition of flame retardant significantly reduces the moldability of the resin. Not right. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, CFRP can be made incombustible without making the vinyl ester resin incombustible, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced and good moldability can be ensured. be able to.

  Furthermore, according to this embodiment, since the manufacturing method is a method in which a fibrous base material is directly impregnated with resin as in hand lay-up molding, it is not necessary to manufacture an intermediate base material such as a prepreg in advance. That is, since the cost for manufacturing the intermediate base material does not occur, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  Next, examples of the vehicle interior material according to the present invention will be described.

(Example)
As a pitch-based carbon fiber base material, “FT37Y960” manufactured by Mitsubishi Plastics Co., Ltd. is impregnated with flame retardant vinyl ester resin (“Neopol 8197” manufactured by Iupika Japan), and cured at room temperature for 2 hours to form a plate with a thickness of 2 mm. CFRP was produced. The molding method was a hand lay-up method, and the carbon fiber substrate was composed of three layers. The carbon fiber volume content (Vf) of the obtained CFRP was 60%. The CFRP was cut into a 182 mm × 257 mm rectangle and used as a test material. Regarding the obtained test materials, in the environment of temperature 26 ° C and relative humidity 62%, the following flammability standards for railcar materials (Notification "Railway Vehicles" The flammability test according to the flammability standard “) test was performed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the specimen S is placed on the holder 101 and is held at an angle of 45 ° with respect to the horizontal plane. The fuel container 102 is arranged at a position of 25.4 mm (1 inch) vertically below the center of the lower surface of the specimen S. The fuel container 102 is disposed on a base 103 made of a material having low thermal conductivity such as cork. Then, 0.5 cc of pure ethyl alcohol as fuel was placed in the fuel container 102, the alcohol was ignited and left until the fuel was burned out. During the combustion of alcohol, the specimen S was observed for ignition, smoke generation, and flame conditions. After alcohol was burned, the presence of residual flame, residual dust, carbonization, and deformation were examined to determine the flammability standard. And the melt-resistant dropping smoothness was determined.

(Comparative Example 1)
As a PAN-based carbon fiber base material, TR6110HM manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd. is impregnated with a flame retardant vinyl ester resin (Neopol 8197 manufactured by Nippon Iupika Co., Ltd.), and cured at room temperature for 2 hours to form a plate having a thickness of 2 mm. CFRP was produced. The molding method was a hand lay-up method, and the carbon fiber base was 6 layers. The carbon fiber volume content (Vf) of the obtained CFRP was 42%. The CFRP was cut into a 182 mm × 257 mm rectangle and used as a test material. About the obtained test material, in the environment of temperature 26 degreeC and relative humidity 62%, the combustibility test according to the combustibility standard test of the material for rail vehicles similar to an Example was performed, and it determined.

(Comparative Example 2)
As a PAN-based carbon fiber base material, “TR6110HM” manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd. is impregnated with phenol resin (“PR-50273” manufactured by Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd.) and cured at room temperature for 3 hours to produce a plate-like CFRP having a thickness of 2 mm. did. The molding method was a hand lay-up method, and the carbon fiber base was 6 layers. The carbon fiber volume content (Vf) of the obtained CFRP was 44%. The CFRP was cut into a 182 mm × 257 mm rectangle and used as a test material. The obtained test material was judged by conducting a flammability test according to the following flammability standard test for railcar materials in an environment of a temperature of 26 ° C. and a relative humidity of 62%.

(Comparative Example 3)
A prepreg in which a polyether imide resin (manufactured by Teijin Ltd.) is impregnated with “TR6110HM” manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd. as a PAN-based carbon fiber base material and cured at 280 ° C. for several tens of minutes to form a plate having a thickness of 2 mm. CFRP was produced. The molding method was a compression molding method, and the carbon fiber base material was 11 layers. The carbon fiber volume content (Vf) of the obtained CFRP was 60%. The CFRP was cut into a 182 mm × 257 mm rectangle and used as a test material. About the obtained test material, in the environment of temperature 26 degreeC and relative humidity 62%, the combustibility test according to the combustibility standard test of the material for rail vehicles similar to an Example was performed, and it determined.

  Table 1 shows the judgment criteria of the flammability standard test. The results of the above Examples and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 are shown in Table 2.

  As shown in Table 2, it was confirmed that the test material according to the present example satisfies the judgment standard of the category “nonflammability” of the flammability standard in the material combustion test for railway vehicles. According to the present example, pitch-based carbon fibers are used as the carbon fibers, so that it was confirmed that the flame retardancy is high as compared with Comparative Example 1 using PAN-based carbon fibers.

  Furthermore, according to the present example, a determination of “smooth”, that is, no surface deformation was obtained in the melt-drip resistance test. Also from this fact, it was confirmed that the non-combustible CFRP according to the present example is a suitable material for use in the vehicle interior material and the equipment casing used in the vicinity of the ceiling.

  Further, in Comparative Examples 2 and 3, the determination of “non-flammability” was obtained in the same manner as in the Examples. From this, according to the present Example, it was confirmed that a matrix resin can be provided in place of a phenol resin or a polyetherimide resin in constituting a nonflammable CFRP. As a result, it is possible to select a resin material according to the application and use environment, and the degree of freedom in designing the non-combustible CFRP is increased. In addition, as a result of the melt-drip resistance test in Comparative Examples 2 and 3, surface deformation was observed although there was no melt-drip. From this, it was confirmed that the present example was superior to Comparative Examples 2 and 3 in melt-drop resistance.

  Furthermore, since the polyetherimide according to Comparative Example 3 is a thermoplastic resin, high temperature treatment is required for fluidization of the resin. For this reason, according to the present Example, compared with the comparative example 3, favorable workability | operativity can be obtained.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, a room temperature curable vinyl ester resin is used as a constituent material of the matrix resin layer. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a thermosetting vinyl ester resin is used according to a molding method, molding conditions, and the like. May be.

  Moreover, since CFRP of this embodiment has favorable thermal conductivity, it can be used not only as nonflammable but also as a heat transfer member for heat dissipation, for example. As a result, it is possible to configure an interior material for a vehicle that has both non-combustible characteristics and strength and good heat conduction characteristics.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Interior material for vehicles 11 ... Fiber base material 12 ... Resin layer

Claims (2)

It has a fibrous base material thermal conductivity composed of pitch-based carbon fiber of more than 140 W / mK, and a resin layer composed of a cured product of the flame-retardant vinyl ester resin impregnated in the fibrous substrate Composed of carbon fiber reinforced plastic,
The above carbon fiber reinforced plastics are categorized as “non-combustible” by itself in the flammability standard in the material combustion test for railway vehicles (Iron Transport No. 81 Director General of Railway Supervision and Director General of Land Transportation Bureau “Combustibility Standards for Rail Vehicle Materials”). A vehicle interior material that meets the criteria for " The vehicle interior material according to claim 1,
The flame retardant vinyl ester resin is a room temperature curable resin.

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