Thermally Sprayed Coatings
Advantages of thermally sprayed coatings
With the use of thermally sprayed coatings in the past, various manufacturers have managed to achieve weight reductions of more than 4 kg per engine with different coating processes. Furthermore, thanks to the micropores in the thermally sprayed coating, improved tribological properties are obtained, resulting in lower friction values and greater resistance to wear. This has a positive e¥ ect on fuel and oil consumption and therefore allows for lower emissions from the vehicles of tomorrow.
Motivation
With the aim of achieving European and international climate targets, the upper limits for emissions in the passenger car sector have been further reduced. This is resulting in a drive for innovation in engine development and manufacture, aimed at efficient design in internal combustion engines and enhancing their efficiency levels. To achieve these objectives, all of the available potentials for improvement must be exploited, from weight savings throughout the vehicle and reducing friction in the drive train through to more efficient combustion. Even reducing the weight of the vehicle by just 100 kg results in an 8.5 g/km CO2 reduction in emissions, corresponding to around 0.3 litres of petrol per 100 km. Assuming the life cycle of the vehicle to cover a distance of 150,000 km, this then amounts to 450 litres. In pursuit of more efficient combustion, in recent years the trend has been towards highly-supercharged engines of low cubic capacity and fewer cylinders – frequently referred to as ‚downsizing‘. The concomitant requirements imposed on the internal combustion engine like an increased combustion pressure combined with generally higher temperatures call for new construction materials. With – as pointed out above – weight savings being called for at the same time, greater use is being made of aluminium materials. At the same time, component design is being optimised for minimum material volume and minimum piston bore spacing, with the thickness of the material between the individual cylinders representing an important factor here.
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