- Email: [email protected]
PM identified as key automotive materials technology
PM identified as key automotive materials technology POWDER metallurgy has been identified as one of six key advanced materials settors in the North American automotive industry in a recent study by leading market research company Frost and Sullivan. North In its report, American Advanced Automotive Materials, Frost and Sullivan examined the potential of PM, along with aluminium and magnesium, glass plastics, ceramics, and steel, to help meet the latest automotive industry demands. The company says these material sectors are increasingly being asked to provide solutions for automobile manufacturers responding to pressure from consumers and government agencies to produce vehicles that offer better performance and are easier to
recycle and repair, as well as being less expensive and polluting. Car manufacturers are also being asked to make their products more comfortable, durable, fuel-efficient, maintenance-free and safer. Already a number of these advanced materials sectors have found widespread commercial success. The magnesium market, for example, hit US$370 million in 1996, while the aluminium market reached $5.5 billion, with both materials benefiting from the demands for lighter, more recyclable materials. Frost and Sullivan says recycling has recently been gaining importance in the automotive industry with vehicles now regularly being designed with recycled materials. Stricter government laws and growing
Ethanol poses its own pollution problems WHILE the use of ethanol as an automobile fuel additive improves air quality by reducing hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions, it also increases the release of certain other pollutants, according to research by scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. A recent field study in Albuquerque, New Mexico, showed that use of ethanol fuels leads to increased levels of toxins called aldehydes and peroxyacyl nitrates (PAN). Aldehydes are much more reactive in the atmosphere than the alcohols they are made from. They react with other chemicals in urban atmospheres to set off chemical reactions leading to PAN. Argonne scientists have found that, once created, PAN can last for many days in the air if the conditions
10 MPR January 1998
especially temperature - are right. When it’s cold, its lifetime is longer. PAN is highly toxic to plants and is a powerful eye irritant. It has been measured in many areas of the world, indicating that it can be carried by winds throughout the globe. “Although these pollutants are not currently regulated,” says Argonne chemist Jeff Gaffney, “their potential health and environmental effects should be considered”. Albuquerque was chosen as a field study site because it is currently required by federal regulations to use ethanol-gasoline fuel blends and to ban wood-burning in order to maintain air quality during the winter months. More than 99% of the vehicles in the area use blended fuels containing 10% alcohol in the winter.
consumer concerns, however, mean that car manufacturers are still searching for more recyclable materials. To be easy to recycle, these materials must be relatively free of adhesives, coatings and paints, easy to dissorting, assemble for recyclable into other components and recyclable many times. Aluminium and steel are among the most recyclable materials because they can be recycled repeatedly without losing their properties. Frost and Sullivan says the major market trend in the advanced material market is the need for lighter vehicles due to the demand for reduced emissions and fuel consumption. New that technology trends must be manufacturers aware of are price, ease of
-
manufacture, assembly and tooling, weight reduction, and new research and development. The main competitive issue for manufacturers is the ability to supply materials that reduce vehicle weight at a lower cost than the competition. It is also necessary to provide strong, long-lasting materials to replace current materials. Advanced material manufacturers must meet automotive makers’ demands on such issues as price, weight, recycling, quietness and safety. A large number of materials and automotive manufacturers participated in the market study, including many of North America’s leading producers of metal and structural powders PM parts.
Ultra-hard, low-friction coating targets engine parts AN ultra-hard, very low friction coating developed at the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory is being tipped for wide application in automobile and engine parts. Turbocharger rotors and fuel injector components are among the target applications, as are oil-less bearings, spacecraft mechanisms, rolling and sliding gear systems and bearings for ultrahigh vacuum instruments. Team leader, Ali Erdemir, says the coating may have the lowest coeffcient of friction of any carbon-based material in the world, in addition to possessing exceptional wear resistance and durability. He says the material’s coefficient of friction is less than 0.001 when measured in a dry nitrogen atmosphere 20 times lower than the previous record holder, molybdenum disulfide.
The material is produced in a radio frequency plasma chamber which converts a proprietary gas containing carbon into a plasma. Carbon and other elements drift down from the plasma onto a substrate, usually a polished disk of sapphire or steel, where they form the coating. The material has no crystalline structure. Erdemir and his team are still researching the material’s composition and formation process. A further advantage of Argonne’s system is that, in comparison with previous methods of producing carbon coatings, the new process is quick - it takes only a few hours to apply - and can produce large amounts of the coating. The non-toxic material adheres well to many kinds of substrates, including plastics.
recycle and repair, as well as being less expensive and polluting. Car manufacturers are also being asked to make their products more comfortable, durable, fuel-efficient, maintenance-free and safer. Already a number of these advanced materials sectors have found widespread commercial success. The magnesium market, for example, hit US$370 million in 1996, while the aluminium market reached $5.5 billion, with both materials benefiting from the demands for lighter, more recyclable materials. Frost and Sullivan says recycling has recently been gaining importance in the automotive industry with vehicles now regularly being designed with recycled materials. Stricter government laws and growing
Ethanol poses its own pollution problems WHILE the use of ethanol as an automobile fuel additive improves air quality by reducing hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions, it also increases the release of certain other pollutants, according to research by scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. A recent field study in Albuquerque, New Mexico, showed that use of ethanol fuels leads to increased levels of toxins called aldehydes and peroxyacyl nitrates (PAN). Aldehydes are much more reactive in the atmosphere than the alcohols they are made from. They react with other chemicals in urban atmospheres to set off chemical reactions leading to PAN. Argonne scientists have found that, once created, PAN can last for many days in the air if the conditions
10 MPR January 1998
especially temperature - are right. When it’s cold, its lifetime is longer. PAN is highly toxic to plants and is a powerful eye irritant. It has been measured in many areas of the world, indicating that it can be carried by winds throughout the globe. “Although these pollutants are not currently regulated,” says Argonne chemist Jeff Gaffney, “their potential health and environmental effects should be considered”. Albuquerque was chosen as a field study site because it is currently required by federal regulations to use ethanol-gasoline fuel blends and to ban wood-burning in order to maintain air quality during the winter months. More than 99% of the vehicles in the area use blended fuels containing 10% alcohol in the winter.
consumer concerns, however, mean that car manufacturers are still searching for more recyclable materials. To be easy to recycle, these materials must be relatively free of adhesives, coatings and paints, easy to dissorting, assemble for recyclable into other components and recyclable many times. Aluminium and steel are among the most recyclable materials because they can be recycled repeatedly without losing their properties. Frost and Sullivan says the major market trend in the advanced material market is the need for lighter vehicles due to the demand for reduced emissions and fuel consumption. New that technology trends must be manufacturers aware of are price, ease of
-
manufacture, assembly and tooling, weight reduction, and new research and development. The main competitive issue for manufacturers is the ability to supply materials that reduce vehicle weight at a lower cost than the competition. It is also necessary to provide strong, long-lasting materials to replace current materials. Advanced material manufacturers must meet automotive makers’ demands on such issues as price, weight, recycling, quietness and safety. A large number of materials and automotive manufacturers participated in the market study, including many of North America’s leading producers of metal and structural powders PM parts.
Ultra-hard, low-friction coating targets engine parts AN ultra-hard, very low friction coating developed at the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory is being tipped for wide application in automobile and engine parts. Turbocharger rotors and fuel injector components are among the target applications, as are oil-less bearings, spacecraft mechanisms, rolling and sliding gear systems and bearings for ultrahigh vacuum instruments. Team leader, Ali Erdemir, says the coating may have the lowest coeffcient of friction of any carbon-based material in the world, in addition to possessing exceptional wear resistance and durability. He says the material’s coefficient of friction is less than 0.001 when measured in a dry nitrogen atmosphere 20 times lower than the previous record holder, molybdenum disulfide.
The material is produced in a radio frequency plasma chamber which converts a proprietary gas containing carbon into a plasma. Carbon and other elements drift down from the plasma onto a substrate, usually a polished disk of sapphire or steel, where they form the coating. The material has no crystalline structure. Erdemir and his team are still researching the material’s composition and formation process. A further advantage of Argonne’s system is that, in comparison with previous methods of producing carbon coatings, the new process is quick - it takes only a few hours to apply - and can produce large amounts of the coating. The non-toxic material adheres well to many kinds of substrates, including plastics.