JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #117 - November/December 2017 - 52

LAND TRANSPORTATION
truck

A large-volume, lightweight CFRP container
hanghai edar om osites echnolog o td and their artner hina nternational
arine ontainers rou
td recentl resented a carbon container ro ect that
offers good technical erformance and which according to the figures collected
ositions itself in a mar et with ver high otential

FRP containers are mainly used in
the high-end logistics market, for
the long-distance transportation
of high-value goods such as electronic
products, cigarettes, pharmaceuticals, etc.
They can also be used for short-distance
transportation in urban areas, since they
combine a large volume and low weight.
With CFRP containers, the fuel consumption and carbon emissions of short-haul
traffic in urban areas can be greatly reduced
considering the frequent traffic lights as
well as loading and unloading.
Technical features
The container's surface is made of 12K plainweave carbon with a clear lacquer. This surface
has a high-quality finish and is easy to clean.
The container has a standardized modular
interface using structural adhesive bonding,
thus reducing handling time and ensuring
reliable sealing.

Produced in Shanghai, the existing CFRP
container weighs 1.7 tons

It is equipped with a layered fixed cargo
system to solve the problem of fixed cargo
and the compression of the underlying cargo,
thus improving the safety of goods during
transportation. The use of the high-strength,
high-modulus carbon fibre composite material can reduce the wall thickness of containers
and increase their loading capacity by 10%.
Due to the use of an integrated moulding
technology, the front end and the top side are
designed with rounded corners, which greatly
reduce the windage coefficient.
The container's weight is significantly reduced
due to the use of a sandwich structure made of
carbon fibre composites and foam processed
by VaRTM technology and an integrated
moulding technology. Compared to the
original 2.7-ton container, the new one weighs
1.7 tons. The use of CFRP facilitates its maintenance during use.

weight drops by 1 ton, the annual fuel costs
by Y8,500, the expressway fees by Y6,500,
and the annual cost of each vehicle by
Y15,000.

Key technical indexes
The inside volume of the 9.6 metre container
is 64.6 cubic metres, with a volume increased
by 4.5 cubic metres. The chassis has a
through beam design, together with a thin
carbon fibre wall panel. The annual freight
revenue per vehicle is increased by Y45,000.
The windage coefficient, Cd, is reduced by
43.5%, from 0.65 to 0.37, and for each vehicle, the fuel consumption is reduced by 4031
litres (17.1%), the annual operating cost by
Y20,000 and the annual carbon emissions
by 9.5 tons. If CFRP containers were used
in all cases, China's annual carbon emissions
would be reduced by 1.1 million tons.
With the CFRP container, the vehicle

In the future, with the development of largetow carbon fibre, prices will decline and recycling technology will be developed. Carbon
fibre composites are expected to be used in
more and more components and structural
materials for the automotive sector.
At present, the operating volume of the
Chinese national market is 100,000 vehicles.
The development rate of the logistics market
is about 30% and it is estimated that by 2025,
the annual demand for CFRP containers will
be 200,000, and that 140,000 tons of carbon
fibre composite materials will be used.

jec composites magazine / N°117 November - December 2017

200,000 containers
At present, the product is being road tested
by SF logistics, Yunda logistics and Deppon
logistics to collect additional operating data.
The use of carbon fibre reduces the integral
cost and improves environmental protection,
thus complying with the national policy of
weight, energy and emission reduction.
Carbon fibre composites have now become
a favourite material for car manufacturers as
they weigh only 50% of steel. In a collision,
their ability to absorb energy is 4-5 times
higher than that of steel or aluminium.
Carbon fibre materials are a breakthrough in
automotive weight-savings.

More information:
www.cedarcomposites.com

http://www.cedarcomposites.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #117 - November/December 2017