Crash-proof and sustainable polymer-based composites in modern day transportation systems: a review on fabrication of lightweight components for land, sea and air travels

Abstract

The need for advanced materials that are lightweight, durable and sustainable in the transportation sector in the recent times cannot be overemphasized. Previously, the focus was solely on endurance and crashworthiness without environmental considerations. However, due to environmental concerns in recent times, researchers are now focusing on lightweight and biodegradable materials that are sturdy, crash-proof, and sustainable. In other to achieve these, when selecting materials for transportation applications, many criteria are typically taken into consideration to cater for the divergence in the environment that the materials will be exposed to in service. Thus, polymer-based materials have been discovered to be appropriate for these purposes based on their inherent qualities such as lightweight, processing flexibility, acceptable properties, availability, economic viability and aesthetics. Therefore, most components of modern-day transportation gadgets and appliances are primarily developed from polymer-based composite materials. This review presents various parts of these gadgets/appliances such as; automotive, ship, train and airplanes that are being used for transportation systems that were produced from polymer-based composite materials. As emerging materials, components from polymer-based composites improve fuel efficiency and promote viable transportation. Hence, the progressive application and future benefits of polymer-based composites as lightweight materials in the transportation industry were the focus of this review. Key policies and regulatory frameworks influencing material selection across different sectors were provided while polymer-based composite materials in different modern day transportation systems like electric cars, naval ships, high-speed trains, and aircraft such as the Boeing 787 were identified and specified.