Federal-Mogul goes greener for heavy-duty diesel engines 14 November 2014

Federal-Mogul's Powertrain Division has expanded its range of high-performance materials for valve guides, seats and turbocharger bushings to support greener, more efficient heavy-duty diesel engines.

Frank Zwein, Federal-Mogul's global application engineering director for valve seats and guides, says OEMs can expect superior wear resistance at elevated temperatures from the use of proven PM (powder metal) technology, as well as greater corrosion resistance and mechanical strength.

"Increasing restrictions on exhaust emissions have led to downsized, heavily turbocharged engines with high levels of aftertreatment [systems] that run hotter than their predecessors," comments Zwein.

"This has pushed peak cylinder pressures up from around 180 bar to 230 bar and beyond, while temperatures at the valves and turbocharger can exceed 750°C," he continues.

"The geometric issues can be as challenging as the tribology, because of increased distortion around the cylinder head in combination with valve brake systems introducing side loads onto the valve stems, or higher turbo temperatures affecting press fits through differential expansion."

To overcome these challenges, Federal-Mogul has added the FM-G15 family to its range of advanced valve guide materials, and two new turbocharger bushing materials, FM-T90A and FM-T82A.

"The FM-G15 family has been designed to meet the requirements of heavy-duty, highly complex engine designs in the marketplace today, and those in development for tomorrow," states Denis Christopherson, Federal-Mogul's global R&D director for valve seats and guides.

FM-G15A is an alloy developed for high temperature wear resistance and reduced valve stem scuffing through a combination of solid lubricants within a high carbon steel matrix. The solid lubricant package, combined with vacuum oil impregnation, delays valve stem scuffing in high temperature, heavily side-loaded applications.

Meanwhile, M-T90A is a cobalt-based, fully dense sintered alloy designed for extreme applications up to 1,050°C in corrosive or oxidizing conditions. Federal-Mogul says it is superior to ferrous alloys in harsh conditions because it offers the advantages of powder metal technology, such as complex composite microstructures, not attainable by melt and cast techniques.

FM-T82A is a ferrous-based, fully dense composite material with reduced nickel content to provide a cost-effective solution with high temperature properties in aggressive turbocharger bushing applications. This material comprises a microstructure of austenite, alloy carbides and friction-reducing solid lubricant particles, again for operating temperatures high as 1,050°C.

It is a derivative of Federal-Mogul's proven 8100 material, and again offers improved high-temperature strength compared to ferritic alloys, yet maintains oxidation resistance and thermal expansion to match common turbocharger housing materials.

"Customers in the heavy-duty sector are finding that traditional cast materials are no longer adequate for the increasingly aggressive conditions encountered in the latest high-efficiency engines," states Olaf Weidlich, director and general manager, valve seats and guides.

"Our experience with powder metal technology has enabled us to prepare for this with proven solutions. By working with Federal-Mogul, engine manufacturers can meet future challenges with a variety of solutions."

Author
BrianTinham

Related Companies
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