When the
Polestar 1 was revealed to the world last year, the reaction was overwhelming.
Complete with its concept car looks, the first car from Polestar left no one in
any doubt. This was not a test. This was an exciting new car company with big
ambitions.
Low, sleek and with a captivatingly athletic stance, everyone behind the
scenes at Polestar were determined that those beautiful proportions would find
their way onto the very first production version in 2019.
But to stay
faithful to the original design would mean using some advanced materials.
Carbon fibre would not only be needed to maintain the slender proportions and
keep the weight down, but also to meet those ambitious performance figures.
But how
challenging would the material prove to be? Would designers and engineers be
able to find the right balance of materials and would the advantages of carbon
fibre really be worth it?
We
interviewed Zef van der Putten, Principle Engineer on Polestar 1, to find out
more.
Perfecting
the use of Carbon fibre
Carbon
fibre is still considered exclusive, expensive and lightweight, but that makes
it the perfect choice for a car that guarantees so much cutting-edge
technology, future thinking and performance.
Having
first made an appearance in Formula 1 some thirty years ago, carbon fibre was
complex to work with but harness its properties and the advantages were huge.
What was obvious was that it was significantly lighter and stronger than other
materials. Soon every team was using it and so were high-end performance car
manufacturers – its reputation as a serious performance-enhancing material was
sealed.
Fast
forward to the present day and carbon fibre body structures have become the
embodiment of cutting-edge, high-tech performance - reducing weight, increasing
performance, lowering the car’s centre of gravity and improving torsional stiffness.
And this is
confirmed upon closer inspection of the car. A simple walk around reveals some
serious engineering pedigree. The upper body, including the doors, front wings,
bonnet and boot-lid are made of Carbon-Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP). And
then there’s that low roofline that has mesmerized so many people.
“With a
standard steel roof construction, all of these sections would have been bigger
- the roof higher and the windows more upright. Making the whole roof
construction out of carbon fibre enabled us to realise that low, elegant
roofline.” Says Zef.
Your eye
automatically follows the line from A-Pillar to C-Pillar. But what you don’t
see is what lies beneath: a super stiff pre-fabricated carbon fibre tube that
is baked into the two half shelves of the carbon-fibre pillar construction.
They are linked laterally by slim, light and ultra-stiff carbon fibre
cross-sections.
But that’s
not all. The SPA platform is heavily reworked with 320mm removed from the
wheelbase and another 200mm in the rear. Then, like all great engineering
teams, the group has looked to nature for inspiration and incorporated the
‘Dragonfly’ * – an insect-shaped patch of carbon fibre bonded to the chassis.
Its wingspan and abdomen radically improve torsional stiffness at one of the
critical points in the body structure between the middle floor and rear
construction. The result is dramatic: +45% increase in torsional stiffness in
the chassis structure.
* A
cleverly shaped patch of CFRP bonded to the steel underbody, stiffens the
traditionally weak interface between the middle floor and the rear structure.
At Polestar, this component is known as the Dragonfly.
Bonding
with the material
When asked
what is was like to work with the carbon fibre on the project, Zef had this to
say:
”One of the
main challenges was to get to know the material. We wanted the perfect solution
for Polestar 1 and were prepared to do whatever it took to find it. We’ve
learnt a lot and, even if everything didn’t go exactly the way we expected, you
often learn more from the surprises. The process has resulted in a very high
level of precision and finish.”
Once they’d
familiarised themselves with the material, the Polestar engineers set about
defining and controlling all the other parameters – these included critical
decisions such as which fibre and resin to use, along with how to assemble and
paint the various sections.
The team
also learnt how to define the material for Computer Aided Engineering (CAE)
calculations so that they could test and evaluate the parts. They also knew
from experience that carbon fibre behaved differently depending on directional forces. So
draping simulations were done to anticipate what the material would do in
reality.
And the
advantage of all this clever modelling? The directional weaves in the material
are now specifically placed in the car to counteract forces and increase
strength during different driving conditions.
We were
expecting big numbers from the car in terms of performance and small numbers in
terms of dimensions and weight. So there's been a lot of research, analysis,
testing and also a bit of head scratching along the way. The car is a massive
230kg lighter by integrating the material into the under body which completely
neutralises the added weight of the batteries.
Impressive.
The
Dragonfly (Odonata: Anisoptera) Nature's answer to strength, speed and agility.
Honed through relentless evolution.
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Realising
the design
The design
concept and execution is very important for any brand. As Polestar 1 was the
first car to emerge from the Polestar stable, it was crucial to make a
statement and visualise the brand’s design language.
According
to Zef, the material doesn’t really play a big role initially. It’s later, when
it comes to surfacing and integration of details, that where the differences
become obvious. Carbon fibre takes the design to a whole new level.
Restrictions, such as press depth, are suddenly no longer an issue. That means
the designers can create much more dramatic surfaces - or more flat ones if
they want.
“If we had
been working with steel then the bonnet surfacing would be far less dramatic
than it is. Now we’ve been able to create the car more like a sculpture and
create sharper edges on the feature lines - that makes the car look more
technical and refined,” adds Zef.
He
continues: ”With carbon fibre in low-volume production, a lot of things can be
done by hand. So you can always find solutions, you can talk to the supplier
and do things differently to arrive at the right result. Proportions and stance
are always really important in any design and we are obviously very pleased
with the result.”
Painting
carbon fibre is completely different from painting steel. To get the right
colour and the finish has meant challenging the team to achieve perfection.
What's on
the surface counts
Such an
exclusive and expensive material requires expertise and craftsmanship
throughout every stage of the process. When it comes to painting the new
Polestar 1, there’s been a lot of experimenting and practice.
“Every car designer knows exactly what to do – and what not to do to – when they create a car in steel. But this is something else. Almost everything is possible, says Zef.”
But
painting carbon fibre is completely different from painting steel. All the parts arrive
from the supplier coated with a primer and to get the right colour and the
finish has meant challenging the team to achieve perfection.
And the
same goes for the quality control. Where hawk-eyed, highly skilled people once
scanned for the smallest imperfections in colour or finish, they found those
issues didn’t exist in painted carbon fibre. They’re now looking for completely
different quality issues. As with all things at Polestar, the ambition is high,
and everyone is continually pushing to find the perfect way to work with the
material.
When safety
is part of performance
Polestar
have performed extensive testing in order to secure the rigorous demands on
safety and durability of the Polestar 1. Assembling the carbon fibre parts with
the steel platform and the other parts of the Polestar 1 is challenging. Steel
is more elastic than carbon fibre and in order to fasten the two materials,
Polestar uses specially developed adhesive that can handle the variation in
movement from the steel and carbon fibre parts. Zef explains:
“The
challenge is that carbon fibre is a linear brittle material and traditional
automotive structures normally use materials that get deformed before breaking
(like steel for example). Carbon fibre on the other hand, behaves in different ways depending on the
direction of the forces.”
The
end-result makes the Polestar 1 a car with world leading attributes within
crash safety and durability. Merging the carbon fibre body with the steel
platform provides the Polestar 1 with the best of both worlds, in terms of
driving characteristics and safety.
Reflecting
on the details
Every
carbon patch is placed by hand to make sure the pattern lines up and every part
is also finished off manually.
Looking
back on the work so far, carbon fibre makes a strong case for itself. It’s
definitely high-tech, still requires a dedicated amount of crafting and there’s
a fair amount of patience involved in getting it absolutely right. But when you
do, there is a feeling of bespoke, precision engineering and design
sophistication that is impossible to ignore. Your perspective changes. You run
your hands over the car and know that the surfaces are not pressed in tools by
machines, that the carbon patches are each placed by hand and because of that,
you know the pattern lines match up. You also know each part is finished off manually and with obsessive detail.
Put all this together and it’s a very special feeling.
Will we see
more use of carbon fibre in the future? It’s a tough question to answer and
there are many parameters that must be decided before a team can make that
decision, but one thing is certain: There are lots of places that are ideally
suited to carbon fibre in cars and the advantages are worth it. If its use
becomes more commonplace, it’s good to know that suppliers are also looking at
ways to recycle and re-use the material in the future. Something that is a
critical factor in using the material on Polestar 1.
So did the
team find the right balance and stay true to the Polestar philosophy: no
compromise, no shortcuts?
It would
appear that they did… and then some.
Fast facts
– Carbon fibre and Polestar 1:
- Weight. A total saving of
-230kg using carbon fibre together with the SPA chassis.
- Stiffness. Increased
Torsional stiffness from 22Nmm-2 to 32Nmm-2. That’s +45%.
- Centre of Gravity. A steel
SPA floor + carbon fibre upper lowers the centre of gravity for superior
handling and performance.
Carbon
fibre is one of our cutting-edge technologies. There are many more.
Polestar 1
is an Electric Performance Hybrid, an exclusive car that pairs electrification
with outstanding performance, gorgeous proportions, exquisite craftsmanship and
innovative technology. Every piece is developed and chosen with care. The use
of carbon fibre is just one area that demonstrates how serious we are about
making Polestar 1 a car without compromise.
Source: Polestar.com
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