Abstract—The European cooperative research project 3D-LightTrans addresses the need for affordable lightweight components in the automotive sector by establishing a manufacturing chain for the industrial production of glass/thermoplastic composite parts with deep draped textile reinforcement based on a novel approach. In this paper, an ad-hoc methodology is proposed to realize the impact assessment of the project. The preliminary results of the impact study are presented and discussed, justifying how the project will contribute to a significant technological progress in composites manufacturing and to a very large economic benefit, as well as to a decrease in the CO2 footprint of cars.

Index Terms—impact study, composite manufacturing, lightweight materials, automotive parts

Cite: Ana R. Almansa, "Impact Analysis in a European Cooperative Research Project: A Case Study," Journal of Advanced Management Science, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 133-140, March 2016. doi: 10.12720/joams.4.2.133-140