A vehicle air duct that can be commercialized using domestic technology has been developed. The development of a domestically produced air duct is expected to reduce dependence on imported products (French-made air ducts) and enhance the self-reliance of the domestic automobile industry.
The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (hereinafter referred to as KIMM) announced on the 2nd that a joint research team consisting of the research team led by Bae Seung-hoon at the Busan Machinery Technology Research Center, Yujin SMRC A.T, and SH Korea has successfully improved the manufacturing technology of air ducts for automobile cockpit modules and developed an air duct that meets complete vehicle standards.
Members of the research team at the Busan Mechanical Technology Research Center are gathered to share their opinions on the air duct performance developed by the joint research team. Photo by Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials
The cockpit module encompasses the integrated basic unit of key components that make up the driver's seat in a vehicle, including the instrument panel, air conditioning system, radio, clock, and small storage compartments. It helps the driver operate functions and check information.
The existing air ducts were made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), making them heavy and lacking in insulation performance. They also caused significant heat loss, inconvenience during assembly, and noise issues. These problems lowered vehicle fuel efficiency and posed safety risks, as the ducts could break during accidents and injure the driver.
The air duct developed by the joint research team uses foam sheets to reduce the weight by about 60% compared to existing air duct products, while improving performance in airtightness, noise reduction, and safety.
Most notably, this air duct is manufactured using vacuum forming and hot knife processes applied to foam sheets, resulting in a lower defect rate than traditional blow molding and enabling precise realization of complex shapes, thereby increasing productivity.
Vacuum forming is a process where the foam sheet is preheated, placed into a mold, and formed into the mold shape under vacuum conditions. The hot knife process involves heating the knife blade and cutting the air duct shape accordingly, offering the advantage of precise cutting.
The joint research team conducted performance evaluations to ensure the reliability of the developed air duct and confirmed that it meets complete vehicle standards. During this process, they also secured technology to extract the dynamic properties of polymer structures such as PE or polypropylene (PP).
Senior Researcher Bae said, “The air duct developed by the joint research team complements the shortcomings of the existing French-made air ducts and is expected to enable localization and commercialization. It is anticipated that the complete vehicle industry will be able to apply it to various vehicle models in the future.”
Meanwhile, this research was conducted with support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology’s ‘Automotive Industry Technology Development (Green Car)’ project.
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