Federal-Mogul Powertrain has developed a new premium diesel piston aluminium alloy that, in both engine testing and TMF-HCMF testing, provides three to five times the component life of established as-cast materials in modern, highly loaded diesel engines.
Additionally, during isothermal high cycle mechanical fatigue testing at temperatures above 350°C, the improvement was reportedly even more pronounced, at over eight times the life.
DuraForm-G91 has been developed using advanced testing techniques that shorten the validation period to production readiness.
“We have employed specially designed accelerated base engine tests combined with ‘engine-like’ rig testing procedures,” said Roman Morgenstern, specialist, material development and characterization, global pistons, Federal-Mogul Powertrain. Engine-like rig testing combines thermo-mechanical fatigue (TMF) with high cycle mechanical fatigue (HCMF), which directly reflects the fatigue-critical load conditions seen by automotive diesel pistons in the engine.”
According to the company, additional engine testing has shown wear rates equal to those of the best current aluminium-silicon based piston materials. Extensive casting development trials have been carried out to deliver consistently high material integrity and optimize the casting parameters. With internal engine development testing almost complete, the first sample pistons have been released to customers for evaluation. The technology can be applied to light-duty and heavy-duty diesel pistons.
“Federal-Mogul Powertrain’s technology laboratories have developed world-class manufacturing, engine and engine-like (superimposed TMF-HCMF) bench testing procedures and resources. These facilities help us to acquire knowledge more quickly and in greater depth, leading to faster and more efficient alloy development”, added Morgenstern.