Process development for composite electric bus body using resin transfer molding technology

For electric buses, weight saving is a very important consideration for the performance improvement. In this study, the vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding processes to fabricate composite bus body were developed to substitute metal parts. In this process, various fibers and PU foams were selected to build the preforms of the vehicle bodies. The vinylester resin was used to fill the void volume of the preforms by vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding. Five finished body panels were assembled with bolt and adhesive bonding. The weight saving of the composite body is 30% with respect to the metal one.