New Materials

Thanks to extensive use of advanced materials, QarmaQ is 60 kg lighter than a comparable vehicle made with traditional materials.

HPPC composites for horizontal body panels significantly reduce part weight -  up to 50 percent per part -  while maintaining strength equal to that of steel.

Another environmentally progressive aspect of QarmaQ’s design is the use of GE paint replacement technologies, including Visualfx™ resins with Lexan™ films, to replace painting operations that can release toxic and greenhouse gases.

To eliminate dependency on PVC in the wiring, GE’s Noryl™ resin technology was used for wire and cable coating. Replacing PVC, these ultra-thin coatings can reduce cable weight by up to 25 percent.

The wrap-around GE Lexan™ windscreen and extensive use of GE polycarbonate glazing materials provides a weight saving of up to 50 percent in relation to glass, while simultaneously allowing more adventurous shapes than flat glass.

The glazing features a unique technology from Exatec™ which deposits a thin protective layer of glass on the Lexan™ to add protection from scratching and the effects of weathering.

The QarmaQ also introduces new curved and moving side glazing in Lexan. As well as allowing such advanced applications, the impact resistance and other properties of this material also helps increase both occupant and pedestrian safety.

Exatec™ infrared coatings on the whole transparent areas reflect heat, helping cool the interior and reducing the power demands upon the infrared regulated air conditioning.

Lighting is achieved by incorporating mood illumination into the actual material, delivering a unique interior ambience. The material also facilitates a perfectly flat, fully integrated fractal radio antenna within the roof structure.

Among other milestones in the construction of QarmaQ, the front wings were designed from the beginning to be one very large single injection moulded component.

Together with the deformable bonnet and precise bumper mouldings, these also form a major addition to pedestrian impact safety.

The sophistication of the material and manufacturing technique also played a major part in the ability to fully encapsulate the complex headlight shape into the whole frontal styling.

At the other end, the tailgate breaks new ground by bonding different materials, including the glazing and rear light assemblies, to create a one-piece component structure.

This increases the integral strength, while at the same time simplifying vehicle assembly and reducing weight.

Another major safety advance is the use of sensors to detect vehicle presence in the blind spots of the rear view mirrors when pulling out or overtaking, and audio-visually alert the driver.

Pedestrian Safety

The issue of pedestrian safety is a growing one. In the EU, one-fifth of all traffic fatalities – 7,000 people per year – are pedestrians hit by a vehicle. In densely populated Korea, the rate is as high as 39 percent.

QarmaQ's Elastic Front™ safety system, which encompasses the whole front end of the vehicle, is arguably the world's first global pedestrian protection solution on a CUV.

Three energy-absorbing structures are fully integrated underneath the futuristic styling of QarmaQ and this system takes advantage of several advanced materials that offer inherent energy absorbing properties.

The QarmaQ's body panels have been designed to work in concert with energy-absorbing systems on the underside of these panels to manage and dissipate the force of a pedestrian/CUV collision. The Elastic Front™ has been engineered to meet EEVC WG17 Phase2, Euro NCAP, and JNCA pedestrian impact requirements and is currently undergoing testing for final validation.

Engine

The QarmaQ's 2-liter diesel engine is fully compliant with EURO5 emission regulations. It features high pressure fuel injection with fine fuel spray atomization and a Catalyzed Particulate Filter system, CPF, which is capable of cleaning about 90 percent of the particulate matter from the diesel emissions.

By switching the position of CPF from the under-floor area to a location more closely coupled to the exhaust manifold, it was possible to minimize the catalytic light-off time and to enhance the naturally regenerative characteristics of the CPF.

About GE Plastics

GE Plastics (www.geplastics.com) is a global supplier of plastic resins widely used in automotive, healthcare, consumer electronics, transportation, performance packaging, building & construction, telecommunications, and optical media applications.

The company manufactures and compounds polycarbonate, ABS, SAN, ASA, PPE, PC/ABS, PBT and PEI resins, as well as the LNP* line of high-performance specialty compounds.  GE Plastics’ dedicated Automotive organization offers plastics solutions for five key automotive segments:  body panels and glazing; under the hood applications; component; structures and interiors; and lighting.

(Source: Hyundai, Autoblog.com)