EVALUATION OF A LOW FRICTION - HIGH EFFICIENCY ROLLER BEARING ENGINE
This Low Friction (High Efficiency Roller Bearing) Engine (LFE) report presents the work done by The Timken Company to conduct a technology demonstration of the benefits of replacing hydrodynamic bearings with roller bearings in the crankshaft and camshaft assemblies of an internal combustion engine for the purpose of collecting data sufficient to prove merit. The engines in the present study have been more extensively converted to roller bearings than any previous studies (40 needle roller bearings per engine) to gain understanding of the full potential of application of bearing technology. The project plan called for comparative testing of a production vehicle which was already respected for having demonstrated low engine friction levels with a rollerized version of that engine. Testing was to include industry standard tests for friction, emissions and fuel efficiency conducted on instrumented dynamometers. Additional tests for fuel efficiency, cold start resistance and other measures of performance were to be made in the actual vehicle. Comparative measurements of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH), were planned, although any work to mitigate the suspected higher NVH level in the rollerized engine was beyond the scope of this project. Timken selected the Toyota Avalon with a 3.5L V-6 engine as the test vehicle. In an attempt to minimize cost and fabrication time, a ‘made-from’ approach was proposed in which as many parts as possible would be used or modified from production parts to create the rollerized engine. Timken commissioned its test partner, FEV Engine Technology, to do a feasibility study in which they confirmed that using such an approach was possible to meet the required dimensional restrictions and tolerances. In designing the roller bearing systems for the crank and cam trains, Timken utilized as many production engine parts as possible. The crankshafts were produced from production line forgings, which use Timken steel, modified with special machining and heat treatment. Timken designed and manufactured all of the roller bearing related components such as the thrust bearing package. The production connecting rods and camshafts could not be used for the roller bearing engine, so new ones were produced according to the team’s designs using Timken steel. The remaining miscellaneous components were designed and procured by FEV. Timken prepared a display version of the crankshaft portion of the production engine without connecting rods which could be driven by a motor through a cogged-belt and electrically actuated clutch arrangement. A modified version was also made in which the engine was outfitted with roller bearings on the main bearing positions. Preliminary tests showed that the rollerized engine was running with 1/3 less friction than the standard display engine. Additional friction testing and noise characterization was cut short because of shipping damage to the rollerized engine display and because of other project priorities. The team did successfully demonstrate the ability to package roller bearings satisfactorily in numerous locations in a typical automotive engine. The scope of this project did not include durability demonstration and that subject would have to be addressed in any follow-on work. In the actual test phase, the rollerized engine did show significantly less friction in motored dynamometer tests compared to its production equivalent. The 5-10% improvement measured in this study was about half that seen in other studies. However, the fired test results did not show a reduction in friction which did not match prior experience or expectations. Subsequent teardown and inspection of the rollerized engine revealed potential sources of excessive friction in the experimental application. These features would be eliminated in a design not based on modification of production parts. The team is confident (based on experience) that friction reduction would be realized with proper modifications.
- Research Organization:
- THE TIMKEN COMPANY
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE); USDOE Office of Industrial Technology Program (EE-2F)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG36-05GO85046
- OSTI ID:
- 958085
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/GO/85046; TRN: US201001%%490
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
42 ENGINEERING
02 PETROLEUM
BEARINGS
DESIGN
DYNAMOMETERS
EFFICIENCY
ENGINES
FABRICATION
FRICTION
HEAT TREATMENTS
HYDRODYNAMICS
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
MACHINING
MODIFICATIONS
MOTORS
PRODUCTION
ROLLER BEARINGS
TESTING
Needle roller bearings
internal combustion engine
crankshaft
connecting rod
camshaft
friction reduction
lubrication
fuel economy