New Delhi, Sep 13
Researchers at the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), an autonomous research and development centre of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), have developed a low-cost solution that can enhance the performance of engines vehicles.
Called nanosecond laser surface texturing, it helps to increase lubrication of the moving parts within the engine and thus boosts engine performance.
Internal combustion (IC) engines represent the backbone of modern transport, but the friction and wear between moving parts pose a big challenge to their performance. It causes enormous energy loss and, as a result, low fuel economy.
Nanosecond laser surface texturing aims to address this problem, the researchers said.
“This timely approach seeks to enhance tribological performance (lubrication of the moving parts within the engine) in gray cast iron applied to a diversity of critical engine components, which include piston rings and cylinder liners,” said the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Thermal and frictional dissipation consume a significant proportion of the energy supplied to IC engines. The frictional losses for IC engines are nearly 50 per cent in the piston-cylinder system.
Of these, it has been found that 70-80 per cent occur in the piston rings: top compression ring, oil control ring, and second compression ring.