Media Tight

The goal of the project was the development of generalized design rules for durable media tight feedthroughs in fiber-reinforced plastics under service loads.

Media tightness has to be achieved for electrical feedthroughs as well as for working fluids in many components used in the automotive industry. Tightly sealed vessels and casings prevent fluids from leaking and also environmental fluids to get inside the component. These demands should be met under a broad range of service loads and environmental stresses. The rapidly growing need for resource efficient products in combination with lean and cost efficient production processes make hybrid constructions a good choice to achieve both goals. Hybridization is achieved by a metal insert, which is fully integrated into the continuous or short fiber reinforced component, without any additional manufacturing step or seals. To make use of this hybridization, general design principles as well as reliable testing and qualifying procedures must be available. It was possible by the in-situ leak detection und typical loading scenarios to identify basic features of durable leak proof metallic bushings and feedthroughs. From the results, it became clear that the location and design of the metallic insert in the composite could significantly limit the lightweight potential of the component. The reason for this is that the loads to cause leakage are far below the material’s strength and therefore a careful design and placement is required. Besides basic design rules, it was also possible to define requirements for the evaluation procedure of such components.