French company Arkema recently announced that Rilsan® HT is the first polyphtalamide (PPA)-based material to replace metal in high-temperature engine-compartment tubing application for automobiles. The company claims that relative to the metal assemblies, tubing assemblies made from Rilsan® HT lower the overall system cost and ensure longer service life of engine components. In addition, the high temperature PPA-based material contains up to 70% renewable carbon, which contributes to the eco-design concepts of vehicle manufacturers. According to the company, Rilsan® HT tubing assemblies are more cost effective in series production and have lower overall system costs than metal tubing assemblies. With processing characteristics similar to those of high-performance aliphatic polyamides, Rilsan® HT can be economically processed on standard extrusion equipment, easily thermoformed and assembled.
Since long, PPA-based injection resins have been increasingly used in place of metal in automotive applications as a way to optimize costs, reduce emissions and weight, improve fuel economy and extend car life. However, the inherent brittleness of polyphtalamides has limited their use to injection-molded parts. To fill the vaccum, the company claims that this is first flexible PPA extended to metal substitution to previously unthinkable possibilities for automotive powertrain and other under-the-hood components. The material, company says, is only PPA-based extrusion resin that can replace metal in tubing for severe engine-compartment service and other demanding industrial applications. Extraordinary flexibility gives Rilsan® HT excellent thermoformability and fitting-insertion properties. This new PPA-based resin surpasses other high-temperature thermoplastics with superior long-term resistance to thermo-oxidative and chemical aging at high temperatures. Unlike other PPA-based resins, Rilsan® HT features very low moisture uptake resulting in exceptional dimensional stability and low tendency to creep.
06-Mar-09 
