Engineering news
A world first in piston cooling technology for diesel engines has been developed by Federal-Mogul Powertrain.
The technology, called EnviroKool, allows pistons to run safely at crown temperatures in excess of 100°C higher than today’s limits, working where appropriate in conjunction with high oxidation resistant steel alloys and protective crown coatings.
Gian Maria Olivetti, chief technology officer at Federal-Mogul Powertrain, said" “Future diesel engines with more efficient combustion and greater specific power will have to run hotter combustion chambers, but engine manufacturers are constrained by piston crown temperature limits. EnviroKool enables higher temperatures without compromising the strength or durability of the piston.”
The technology involves an integral cooling gallery which is created within a steel piston using friction-welded construction and then filled during the manufacturing process with a high temperature oil and an inert gas, before being permanently sealed with a welded plug. It has enabled Federal-Mogul Powertrain to overcome the temperature limitations of conventional open galleries that have to use engine lubricating oil as the heat transfer medium.
Keri Westbrooke, director engineering & technology, Federal Mogul Powertrain, added: “The prolonged exposure of engine oil to higher temperatures in the piston oil cooling gallery leads to degradation and carbon build-up, reducing the cooling efficiency and leading to overheating.“The superior high temperature properties of the EnviroKool gallery coolant allow it to handle increased gallery temperatures reliably, with the heat subsequently removed from the undercrown – where temperatures are lower – by a standard cooling oil jet.”
With no build-up of carbon in the cooling gallery, heat dissipation remains unhindered for the life of the piston. The new technology is so effective that the oil cooling flow to the spray jets can be cut by 50%, reducing work for the oil pump, lessening parasitic losses and improving engine efficiency. The heat removed from the piston as a result of the spray jets is additional to that which is conducted away through the pin, piston skirt and ring pack.
Federal-Mogul Powertrain has already accumulated more than 1,400 hours of testing on heavy-duty engines fitted with EnviroKool Monosteel pistons. Development programmes are under way with several customers on engines scheduled for production launch within the next five years.