Breakthrough in Improving Car Engine Performance through Coatings

GRARD BARBEZAT RALPH HERBER SULZER METCO The cylinder bores of combustion engines made of aluminium-silicium alloys must have wearresistance surfaces. The plasma coating solution RotaPlasma developed by Sulzer Metco offers economic and ecological advantages for this requirement. The process is being employed for the first time in the serial production of the new Volkswagen Lupo FSI.

1I The RotaPlasma system from Sulzer Metco is being used for the first time to coat the cylinder bores of automotive engines in the new Volkswagen (VW) Lupo FSI. This reduces the consumption of both fuel and oil.

Volkswagen AG (VW) has been coating engine blocks for the 4-cylinder engines of the new Lupo FSI with a serial production system from Sulzer Metco since October 2000 (Fig. 1I). This large contract is the result of goaloriented, innovative co-operation with the automobile manufacturer, on the basis of an excellent technical concept. The FSI engine of the Lupo is made of AlSi alloy for reasons of cost and weight. In view of their good operating characteristics, cast iron liners have been mostly employed in the cylinder liner area of the engine blocks, which have been manufactured from aluminium up to now. These liners need to have a specific wall thickness, which results in a relatively

large web width between the individual cylinder bores and increases the dimensions and weight of the engine. For the Lupo, VW has turned to a coating solution developed by Sulzer Metco. With RotaPlasma, it is possible to insert a plasma-coated track in an aluminium-cylinder crankcase. The surface coating powder (composite material of steel and molybdenum), which was developed in close co-operation with VW, is applied by means of a plasma jet at an approximate temperature level of 10 000 C.

COATING WITH GOOD LUBRICATION

Under boundary lubrication conditions, this coating material has a low characteristic of friction in

SULZER TECHNICAL REVIEW 2/2001

4013

comparison with the piston ring material. Further features are its low wear rate compared to cast iron liners with flake graphite, and its thermal resistance. The material can be worked well by means of diamond honing, and bonds admirably with AlSi cast alloys. On completion of the coating operation, a special honing process (Fig. 2I) is employed to create a surface topography with numerous small recesses, which serve as oil reservoirs. This leads to an improvement in hydrodynamic lubrication and reduces the piston ring stress. In comparison with the traditional cast iron process, it results in a 2030% lower friction and a weight reduction of about 1 kg per engine. Thanks to the good tribological characteristics of the plasma coating, the life-

cycle of the engine is lengthened, while emissions decrease as a result of the reduction in fuel and oil consumption.

EXCELLENT PRICEPERFORMANCE RATIO

During the coating process, care must be taken that heat transmission is kept to an absolute minimum, otherwise it can result in metallurgical changes of the microstructure on the crankcase. Furthermore, the diameter of 70 to 100 mm (Fig. 3I) necessitates a short spraying distance, and the application spectrum has to be very wide because of the diversity of AlSi-casting processes. In comparison with other processes, plasma spraying fulfils these requirements better. It distinguishes itself not only through high flexi3I The rotating, inner plasma-spray burner of the RotaPlasma-500 system coats the cylinder bore of the stationary housing from a short distance within a period of 60 seconds. Thanks to the rotating system, the engine block does not have to be turned any more.

2I Together with plasma spraying, the honing process creates a surface (Photo: left) that lessens the friction between the piston ring and the cylinder liner. Whereas edge contacts are possible with cast iron liners, the piston rings are now float-mounted.

Cast iron cylinder liner area Edge contact possible 100 m

Plasma cylinder liner area Float-mounted piston ring (hydrodynamic lubrication)

SULZER TECHNICAL REVIEW 2/2001

Price-performance ratio
high

Performance

Plasma

Composite materials or HVOF (High Velocity Oxy-Fuel)

limited

Cast iron or Electric Arc Wire Spraying

Nickel Dispersion Coatings (Galvanic Process)

low

Price

high

4I In comparison with other coating processes for cylinder bores, plasma coating is less expensive and more efficient. This is attributable to the high degree of latitude during the selection of the coating material and lower heat transfer.

bility in the casting process with which the engine blocks can be manufactured, but also with its excellent price-performance ratio (Fig. 4I). Nickel dispersion layers which are applied to cylinder friction surfaces by means of galvanic processes have been frequently employed up to now. However, they have considerable economic and ecological disadvantages in comparison with plasma spraying. On the one hand, the nickel layer contains silicon particles that are liberated by the sulphurous fuel and attack the piston rings, which increases oil consumption. On the other hand, galvanic processes are being increasingly censured by environmental regulations, because the microparticles of the health-impairing nickel can gain access to the environment through the exhaust. The two thermal spraying processes HVOF (High-

Velocity Oxy-Fuel) and Electric Arc Wire, which can also be employed for the coating of cylinder friction surfaces, are still in the experimental stage. Moreover, these processes are encumbered with a number of restrictions with regard to the selection of the coating material and the reliability of the smelting process.

MEETING THE HIGH-QUANTITY REQUIREMENT

The cylinder bore, piston ring and lubrication interact as a tribological system in the combustion engine. The engine designers, tribologists, material specialists and thermal spraying experts have to work closely together to find an equilibrium between these components, and so facilitate low-wear operation. The major challenge of an industrial solution as in the case of VW is found not only in the development of suitable coating

materials, but also in the elaboration of a process know-how, which will enable the coating solution to be integrated into a fabrication concept for engine blocks. The coating process must be able to meet the customary, high-quantity requirements of the automobile industry. VW and Sulzer Metco have been working closely together since 1993. In addition to the coating material, which fulfils the stringent wear characteristics and low sliding friction values that are required for cylinder liner surfaces, it has also led to the development of a customized coating system (Fig. 5I). The central point of this development was also the realization of a fully automatic coating plant which not only masters coating, but also feed, surface preparation, cleaning, cooling and the further transportation of the engine blocks. The focal point of the coating system is the plasma burner SM F210, which by processing metallic powder exhibits a coating efficiency of about 80%. This high efficiency and a high powder-feed rate (dependent on the cylinder diameter) facilitate short coating times and a low consumption of powder material. The plant for VW was delivered in December 1999. It has been in operation since October 2000. The coating system is already designed for a capacity increase.

10

SULZER TECHNICAL REVIEW 2/2001

GREAT POTENTIAL FOR TECHNOLOGY

Rising fuel prices, as well as the growing necessity to handle natural resources with care, are influencing the developments in the automobile industry to an increasing degree. Thanks to the coating technology of Sulzer Metco, automobile manufacturers are now able to reduce fuel consumption and emissions of their engines significantly and cost-effectively. For example, the flexibility of plasma spraying, which permits the application of most fusible materials that exist in powder form, gives the engine manufacturers an opportunity to employ cost-effective and easy-to-acquire materials. In this way, specific coating solutions can be developed for every engine. VW has recognized the great potential of the Sulzer Metco coating solution and has ordered a further, larger coating system. Other renowned automobile manufacturers are interested in the advancement of thermal coating systems with Sulzer Metco. In 1
2
Plasma system Control unit RotaPlasma 500 Plasma spray burner SM F210 Biaxial robot for sand blasting Biaxial robot for plasma spraying Cleaning station Cooling station

addition to Europe, Sulzer Metco also holds a good position in the Asian and American markets. Furthermore, Sulzer Metco is already working closely with other manufactures in the racing engine sector. Sulzer Metco also offers customized solutions for coating systems and materials for this application of engine technology.

FOR MORE DETAILS

Sulzer Metco AG Grard Barbezat Rigackerstrasse 16 CH-5610 Wohlen Switzerland Telephone +41 (0)56-618 81 79 Fax +41 (0)56-618 81 00 E-mail gerard.barbezat@sulzer.com

5I The coating system adapts itself to an integral concept for the manufacture of engine blocks. Automation, control and the employment of the plasma burner SM F210 result in an excellent quality.

5
3
4 6

3
4

5
6 7 8

SULZER TECHNICAL REVIEW 2/2001

11