Читать книгу Plastics and the Ocean - Группа авторов - Страница 33

The advantage of plastics in construction, that combines strength that can exceed those of metal, but at a much lower density (mass per unit volume), is best illustrated by their applications in transportation. Airplane design, where weight and strength are particularly critical, presently uses increasing amounts plastic composites in place of aluminum. An exceptional example is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft that is 50% by weight (and 80% by volume) made of plastics or composites. Not only is the molded modular construction faster and less tedious to assemble compared to aluminum structures, but the finished lighter aircraft incurs 20% fuel savings in operation as well as significantly lower carbon emissions during its manufacture. With close to 1000 of these in the air at the time writing and another 500 on order, the energy savings achieved in the aviation industry by the use of plastics are considerable. Other models of aircraft also use increasing amounts of composites in their design.

The same is true of watercraft, a prime example being the Visby class submarine of the Swedish Navy, that uses composites for hull manufacture. The weight advantage of using plastic composites in the vessel is close to 50%, with the added strategic advantage of lower radar, magnetic, and acoustic signatures, compared to traditional metal designs (Rubino et al. 2020). Automobiles where light‐weight is critical to ensure fuel savings, also use increasing amounts of plastics. Most of the plastic components in automobiles in the North American market in 2017 were made of PP, PU nylon, and PVC (32%, 17%, 10%, and 6%). In addition to the fuel efficiency that comes with a reduced weight of the automobile, plastics also contribute to corrosion resistance and design flexibility, allowing appealing and safe innovations at a reasonably low cost compared to traditional materials.