Utilizing High-Performance Thermoplastics to Improve Durability and Efficiency in Automotive Instrument Panels

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">The present research explores the potential of high-performance thermoplastics, Polymethyl Methacrylate and Polyurethane, to enhance the passive safety of automotive instrument panels. The purpose is to evaluate and compare the passive safety of these two materials through the conduct of the Charpy Impact Test, Tensile Strength Test, and Crush Test —. For this, five samples were prepared in the case of each material via injection moulding, which enabled reliability, and consistency of the findings. As a result, it was found that in the case of the Charpy Impact Test, the average impact resistance varies with PMMA exhibiting a level of 15.08 kJ/m<sup>2</sup> as opposed to the value of 12.16 kJ/m<sup>2</sup> for PU. The Tensile Strength Test produced the average tensile strength of 50.16 for PMMA and 48.2 for PU, which implied superior structural integrity under tension for the first type of thermoplastic. Finally, the Crush Test showed that PMMA is more resistant to crushes on average than PU with the measures of 18.5 and 16.2 KN. In this way, the results of the research allow concluding that PMMA has the capacity to absorb energy and support the development of forces better than PU, and is, therefore, more suitable for the purposes of improving passive safety in terms of automotive applications. The findings suggest that PMMA offers better protection for vehicle occupants by reducing the severity of injuries during collisions, especially automotive instrument panels.</div></div>