Porsche develops carbon fibre reinforced tape

Porsche applied for six patents when developing this technology.

Carbon fibre is known for its strength and light weight. Over the years, it has been used in many automotive applications, right from supercars to Formula 1 and other motorsports. However, carbon fibre is known to be very expensive, making it out of reach for mass market vehicles.

Now Porsche engineers have been working on a solution that can see targeted and strategic use of carbon fibre, offering strength, and at the same time not exploding budgets.

Researchers have created a new material called TABASKO. The word is an acronym derived from the German name “tape-based carbon fibre lightweight construction.” Essentially, TABASKO is a polypropylene film with strands of carbon fibre inside. This tape can be embedded in other components to dramatically increase strength while also cutting weight.

To test this, Porsche engineers evaluated this material in a prototype luggage tray for a Porsche Taycan. At just 0.2 mm thick, strips of this carbon fibre-reinforced tape were embedded in the tray, which was made of 1.8-mm thick glass fiber-reinforced plastic. Surprisingly, that tiny addition of carbon fibre made a huge difference.

Porsche says the TABASKO-reinforced luggage liner required 66 percent more compressive force to achieve the same amount of deflection, the rigidity was 2.5 to 2.8 times higher, and the impact resistance was roughly five times better.

Porsche also added that the total weight of carbon fibre in this component is only 1 percent, but because engineers used continuous fibers and placed them in the precise locations, additional support was needed; impressive test results were achieved.

According to a press release from Porsche, “The preliminary development of the new material has meanwhile been completed. The technical department responsible for the luggage trays has already signalled interest in series production for future vehicles. Discussions are currently ongoing with the plastic suppliers.”

Porsche applied for six patents when developing this technology. These include advancements made in production methods, the material's structure itself, tooling technology, and the process sequence in series production.

From the current status, it looks like TOBASKO might be incorporated into Porsche vehicles soon.

Source: Top Speed