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Race Engine Technology issue 019 : DECEMBER 2006
Preparing a piston at Zircotec
FOCUS : PISTON RINGS & THE PISTON/CYLINDER BORE INTERFACE THE OC OERLIKON BALZERS COATINGS FILE Dan Davis on FORD’S NEW NITRO WARRIOR THE COMMUNICATIONS HUB OF THE RACING POWERTRAIN WORLD
PRODUCT Surface treatment, primarily PVD and PACVD coatings for friction and wear reduction RACING MARKET Worldwide. USA: NASCAR, IRL, NHRA; Japan: motor cycles, WRC, F1; UK: F1, WRC, LM, BTCC; also Italy, Germany, etc HEADQUARTERS Motorsport activities coordinated from Milton Keynes UK. Corporate HQ in Liechtenstein WEBSITE
www.oerlikon.com/coatingservices KEY PEOPLE Executive Vice President: Dr. Hans Brändle Component Coatings: Alberto Ravagni Technical Manager, Motorsport Segment: Dr Andy Bloyce SCALE OF OPERATION Total workforce of more than 2000 across 26 countries BACKGROUND
In 1974, Balzers decided to develop scratch-proof gold-coloured PVD coatings for the watch industry: it developed from there GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION Complete
THE DAYTONA WINNING EDGE? New NASCAR piston technology
INSIDE A LE MANS WINNER Secrets of a successful 24 Hour engine
CAN MARIO ILLIEN SHAKE UP MOTOGP? Ilmor’s new challenger and its rivals
DECEMBER 2006 USA $20, UK £10, EUROPE e15
www.highpowermedia.com 00 RET
DECCover.indd 1 1/12/06 10:59:20 28 28-34 Focus
Pistons.indd 28-29
ncreasing demands for higher performance from engines and the durability of components has led the motor sport industry and its suppliers to explore new boundaries in respect of material capabilities in this field. Ever changing rules in the sport and new sporting categories have all contributed to this phenomenon around the globe.
Lord of the rings I
Glen Smale looks at piston rings and the piston/bore interface
In one of the most hostile environments in any engine, the combustion chamber, the development of component durability in this area has received perhaps more attention than many other parts of the engine. A higher rev ceiling places increased demands on components through higher temperature and higher compression values, testing the durability and capabilities of componentry to the limit.
METAL TREATMENT, COATINGS AND FINISH Through a patented electrolytic process known as Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation or PEO, Keronite is able to produce a unique surface on aluminium pistons by transforming the surface of the substrate alloy into a hard, durable layer of ceramic. Anne Wilde, Director of Marketing at Keronite PLC, Great Abington, Cambridge in the UK, says, “Pistons must survive a very demanding environment of high pressures, high temperature, reciprocating loads and thermal cycling. For today’s high performance engines and/or those with a requirement for lower emissions, conventional surface treatment technologies leave a lot to be desired”. Today, aluminium is the most widely used material for automotive
pistons, although magnesium is now being frequently used for motorcycle and other engineering applications. Applied to the crown of the piston, the Keronite coating can provide an environmentally friendly solution that improves piston performance and offers protection against erosion and thermal cracking and is already being used in US open wheel racing, in drag racing and by WRC competitors. With a thermal conductivity of 1.6Wm-1K-1, Keronite is 100 times more thermally resistant than uncoated aluminium. While the performance of aluminium pistons is often limited by detonation or ‘knock’, the hard Keronite surface shows excellent resistance to detonation damage, allowing higher specific power and leaner burn. The amorphous, multi-crystalline structure can also act thermally to prevent cracking on overheated, overstressed piston crowns. The molecular bond between the substrate and the Keronite layer also means that there is no risk of the coating peeling off or cracking. Controlled Thermal Processing in Antioch, Illinois, uses a process called cryogenic processing to modify engine material or components. Virtually every engine part will respond to cryogenic processing and in general, it is best to treat the engine disassembled, but even assembled engines have been treated although CTP prefers to avoid this. Over 50% of the cars starting a NASCAR Nextel Cup race are running parts treated by Controlled Thermal Processing, Inc. This process is different from cold treatments that are often spelled out in heat treating specifications, as cryogenic temperatures are regarded as being temperatures below 120K (-244F, -153C), where cold treatments generally drop to temperatures of 178K (-140F, -96C). Cryogenic treatments have been found to offer improved performance over and above that of cold treatments by studies performed by the Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute. Cryogenic processing makes changes to the crystal structure of
THE CONTROLLED THERMAL PROCESSING FILE
PRODUCT Cryogenic Processing of materials used in racing vehicles and industry. Wear resistance engineering. Anti-wear coatings. Metallurgical Consulting RACING MARKET Everything from racing barstools on up! Mainly NASCAR - currently over 50% of the Nextel Cup starting field uses parts processed by CTP HEADQUARTERS Antioch, Illinois, USA WEBSITE
www.metal-wear.com KEY PEOPLE President and Chief Metallurgist: Frederick J. (Rick) Diekman Racing Specialist: Roger Schiradelly Cryogenic consultant: Dr. Jeffery Levine, PhD SCALE OF OPERATION Processing plants near Charlotte, NC, Boston, MA, Chicago, IL, Austin, TX BACKGROUND
Dr Jeffery Levine
Founded by race drive Jim Birks about 25 years ago. Controlled Thermal has been very active in supporting research into cryogenic processing and currently has the chairman of the ASM (American Society of Materials) sub-committee on cryogenics on its staff. The Cryogenic Society of America consults with it on questions of cryo processing GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION Ships anywhere and has associate companies in Australia, Formosa, France and India
materials, the major benefits of these changes result in enhanced abrasion resistance and fatigue resistance of materials. Extremely low temperature treatments boost the performance and service life of critical components and treating the block and piston rings helps assure better ring sealing, which raises torque and increases engine life by reducing wear on the cylinder bores. Block treating also reduces distortion of the block during machining and running. It is beneficial to treat both aluminum and cast iron blocks after all heavy machining is done and before final boring and honing. Sleeved blocks and cylinders can also be beneficially treated. Increasing the durability of components in the engine is the main reason for using cryogenic processing. Racing continually presents the engineer with the challenge of designing engine and chassis components that will survive long enough to win a race, but will not carry any excess weight as a consequence. Cryogenic processing allows an increase in durability without an increase in weight or major modifications to component design. The concept of changing metal through the use of low temperatures
is relatively new and not well understood, yet it is certain that exposure to very low temperatures does make permanent changes in virtually all metals. In practice, cryogenic processing is not a coating and affects the entire mass of the part. This means that parts can be machined after treatment without process. CTP claims that cryogenic processing is used in virtually every class
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019 contents • IN CONVERSATION:
PAOLO MARTINELLI Talking to the Ferrari Formula One engine guru
• INSIGHT:
AER V8 & I4 LE MANS ENGINES Developing the 2006 LM2 winning engine
• MOTORCYCLE: ILMOR V4 MOTO GP ENGINE The debut of the most sophisticated MotoGP engine ever
• FOCUS: PISTON RINGS &
BORE SURFACE Technology at the piston/cylinder interface
• DOSSIER: PERFECT BORE & NASCAR New technology at the heart of NASCAR engines
www.highpowermedia.com • INSIGHT: KMS ENGINE
MANAGEMENT Investigating a capable yet affordable system
• SUPPLY CHAIN: STEVE SCHMIDT RACING ENGINES The development of NHRA Pro Stock engines
• EXPO News from suppliers to race engine builders
• SHOPTALK News from race engine companies
• INTERNATIONAL RACE ENGINE DIRECTORY The 2006 MotoGP engine builders
ISSUE 019 race engine TECHNOLOGY DECEMBER 2006
PAOLO MARTINELLI, FERRARI • AER LE MANS V8 & I4 • ILMOR MOTOGP V4 • RINGS/BORE • PERFECT BORE & NASCAR • KMS EMS • STEVE SCHMIDT • IRED MOTOGPTOGP
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