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| A new era in friction reduction? |
| Friday, 01 December 2006 00:00 | |||
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Lior Ben-Tsur, vice president of sales and marketing FriCSo says a new polymer could offer an alternative to traditional solutions. The need for new and more advanced solutions to minimize engine's friction losses and lower costs has never been greater. The cost of friction in the US alone, in terms of wear and energy consumption, is estimated at more than $100 billion annually, costs which mainly relate to the replacement of parts due to intensive wear and high fuel consumption.In addition, stringent new regulations to restrict environmental pollution and emission levels come into force in North America and across Europe. For instant, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Tier 4 emission standards for non-road diesel engines – to be phased-in over the period from 2008-2015 – require that current emission levels be reduced by 90%. On the other hand – market requirements call for higher engine performance (which relates to intensive wear), while OEM marketing people push for cost reduction. All of the above presents challenge to design engineers. FriCSo has tackled this challenge by developing a new technology, Surface Engineering Treatment (SET), which reduces the friction between moving parts while increasing oil retention properties, using existing mechanical in-line surface treatment. What makes this technology different is the use of a uniquely designed polymer device for lapping process, which achieves significantly enhanced performance. The performance achieved with FriCSo treatment creates an alternative to coatings at a competitive price compared to coatings. According to S. Sumithra, a research analyst of Frost & Sullivan, FriCSo's solution "could potentially replace existing non-environment friendly coatings in the field of automotive coatings." FriCSo has been recently awarded the 2006 Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation Award in the field of automotive coatings. FriCSo’s solution is not a coating but delivers coating-like performance at a fraction of the time, cost and maintenance required by traditional solutions. The Surface Engineering Treatment (SET) technology involves an innovative revolutionary process that uses a FriCSo-developed polymer device in a standard lapping process using existing super-finish machines. The Surface Engineering Treatment (SET) comprises two processes: • High performance polymer lapping as a single treatment. • Two steps treatment consisting: surface texturing using vibro-grooving and polymer lapping. The influence of the two surface treatment steps is as follows: The polymer lapping process influences the surface of the metal by improving the surface characteristics. The conventional lapping process makes use of a metal tool such as cast iron whereas FriCSo’s lapping process uses a uniquely designed patented polymer device. The surface texturing process, involves introducing recesses onto the surface of the metal. These recesses can be either grooves done by plastic deformation or laser dimples. The recesses in the surface of the metal act as oil batteries by retaining oil and making it available to the surface in periods of insufficient oil supply. This provides the necessary lubrication among the mechanical parts of the vehicle in oil starvation conditions like start of an engine. These recesses also funnel the metal debris that is created during sliding friction. During the lapping process, small torn out fragments from the polymeric lapping device with reactive polar groups abrade the oxide layer, thus stimulating a mechano-chemical reaction between the polymeric fragments. The outcome of this process is a unique protective/metallic interface, which covers the surface of the metal. The protective nanolayer is bonded to the metal substrate by strong ionic forces during the lapping process. The formation of these strong chemical bonds aids the adhesion between the polymeric molecules and the metal surface. Various tests conducted by prospective clients of FriCSo proved that the coefficient of friction achieved in the SET process is much lower than the conventional process and the hardness of the metallic nanolayer increases near the surface as against the results achieved in a conventional process. The oil film that is formed on the protective monolayer provides better lubrication with its smaller coefficient of friction. This technology meets the friction reduction needs in automotive cylinders, liners, piston pins, rocker shafts, camshafts, parts of diesel fuel injectors, and additional parts of hydraulic systems. SET answers the clear regulatory and market need for a new, advanced commercially viable friction-reducing solution, with four main results: 1. Reduces wear – The FriCSo solution reduces friction, thereby reducing wear, leading to savings on service and maintenance costs. 2. Improves efficiency – The FriCSo solution reduces friction, thereby reducing energy consumption and enabling the recovery of engine efficiency loss. New mechanisms to control emissions, such as catalytic converters, may be good for the environment, but actually reduce engine efficiency. 3. Replaces environmentally-harmful coatings – The FriCSo solution replaces environmentally-harmful coatings, using technology that produces a very smooth, durable and highly resistant surface, at a cost equal to, or lower than existing processes. Alternative non-polluting coating solutions, such as DLC and dry lubrication, have yet to prove the necessary cost-effectiveness to gain either market share or long-term reliability. 4. Saves energy – By reducing friction, the FriCSo solution saves on energy consumption.
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