Spraying virtual iron on real engines

Journal Article · Thu Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1996 · Mechanical Engineering

OSTI ID:194265

Baumgartner, H

Nearly all aluminum block engines have a cast-iron sleeve inserted within each cylinder bore because aluminum does not provide adequate wear resistance unless changes are made to the piston rings and skirt. Now William L. Oberkampf and his colleagues at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., working with General Motors Corp., Detroit, are developing a method for depositing cast iron onto aluminum automotive engine blocks using thermal-spray technology. The method could eliminate the need for manufacturing and assembling cast-iron cylinder liners as well as provide a substantial cost savings. To overcome the formidable obstacles raised by the automobile industry`s quality and cost requirements, Sandia and GM are making use of what is believed to be the first commercial application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) involving two-phase flow at supersonic speeds.

• OSTI ID: 194265
• Journal Information: Mechanical Engineering, Journal Name: Mechanical Engineering Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 118; ISSN 0025-6501; ISSN MEENAH
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ALUMINIUM
CAST IRON
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
LINERS
LINING PROCESSES
PLASMA ARC SPRAYING
PROTECTIVE COATINGS