Coatings specialist Zircotec has developed a new low cost, fit and forget ceramic coating offering surface temperature reductions of 125 °C for diesel engine applications. The new ceramic formulation, together with changes to the manufacturing process, have enabled the firm to reduce the costs by 50% for its new Performance Diesel product.
The coating provides an option for truck and bus manufacturers challenged by the higher temperatures experienced with new Euro VI emissions regulations and testing methods set to be introduced in late 2013.
Euro VI will require manufacturers to further reduce NOx and particulate matter. There are also changes to the test cycle including cold start and soak test. During running, engines are running hotter and in these conditions, improved thermal management is likely to help the manufacturers improve performance and overall engine reliability. This is particularly relevant for some after treatment systems.
From our discussions with engine manufacturers and OEMs, heat management is more crucial with Euro VI. Whether this is for SCR engines where getting the catalyst warm is key, or in general terms, the engines are running hotter with heat soak to other components under the engine bay risking poor reliability. We now have a durable, yet cost effective solution and unlike some lagging products that require reapplication, we can offer reliability throughout the vehicle’s life.
—Peter Whyman, Zircotec’s sales director
Zircotec’s new Performance Diesel coating can be applied to exhausts, turbochargers as well as on plastic heatshields to effectively manage heat, protect other components and help emissions controls systems work at their optimum.
With engine costs rising significantly due to the addition of emissions equipment to meet the regulations, Zircotec believes its Performance Diesel coating offers OEMs a method to save costs on the whole life of the vehicle.
The coating is applied using plasma spraying, in effect welding the coating to the substrate. It can be applied to most metals as well as many plastics and composites, in the latter preventing delamination. A bespoke patent pending process, created by Zircotec ensures that even plastics are unaffected by the plasma spray process.
Zircotec is already trialing the coating with OEMs and expects results of the testing to be available later this year.