Bengaluru Engineers Have Created A New Plastic That's Strong Like Steel Yet Lightweight

Scientists, researchers, especially engineers are always working on new materials to further current products’ performance. And carmakers are also spending efforts to come up with lighter, stronger materials so that their cars can perform better. But such solutions often cost a lot.

Nevertheless, a group of engineers from this Bengaluru-based R&D facility of Sabic, an Arabian petrochemical firm, has come up with a plastic that’s stronger than steel but is still extremely light. The team has created Noryl GTX, a hybrid solution combining resin and metal.

Noryl GTX blends modified PPE (polyphenylene ether polymer) and PA (polyamide) technology. It provides heat resistance, low water absorption, and dimensional stability of PPE polymer along with the chemical resistance as well as the flow of PA polymer.

Sabic’s regional head for New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia, Janardhanan Ramanujalu, said that while plastic is not normally associated with extreme heat, their team has developed polymers with the ability to work in extremely high temperatures and it will replace conventional metals.

He also said that the team has combined resin with steel to generate a crash-box structure that’s highly efficient energy-absorbing. That allows cutting the weight by as much as 30 percent, competing with high-strength steel and is strong enough to meet the requirements for surviving crashes.

Consisting of 300 engineers, the Bengaluru R&D facility has been constantly bringing new, innovative technology advancements. Each year, it also files 70 patents or more.

The facility’s head Rajeshwer Dongara said that their team collaborates with customers from across the world to design and optimize the resin structures of Noryl GTX that are molded over onto vehicles’ steel skeleton.