Highlights of Selected Propulsion Material Programs
This appendix presents a brief summary of activities in some selected programs on propulsion materials. The presentations cited are from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Vehicle Technologies Annual Merit Review held June 7-11, 2010, in Washington, D.C. The last project noted, “High Strength Light Weight Engines for Heavy Duty Diesel Trucks,” was in a formative stage at the time of this report.
• Catalyst Characterization for Exhaust Aftertreatment (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/merit_review_2010/propulsion_materials/pm028_watkins_2010_p.pdf. Accessed April 5, 2011.)
— Objective: To develop a quantitative understanding of process/product interdependence leading to catalyst systems with improved final quality, meeting prevailing emissions requirements.
— Status: Evaluated the feasibility of the advanced tools at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for quantitative analysis of materials changes underlying the selective catalytic reduction catalyst performance degradation with age. Initiated evaluation of Ammonia Oxidation Catalyst (selected by Cummins).
— CRADA: ORNL with Cummins and Johnson Matthey; completion date: September 2012.
— DOE funding: $196,000 in 2009; $147,000 in 2010.
• Materials Issues Associated with EGR Systems (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/merit_review_2010/propulsion_materials/pm009_lance_2010_o.pdf. Accessed April 5, 2011.)
— Objective: To enable improved models and potential design improvements to reduce fouling and its impact on performance:
1. Characterize thermophysical properties of the deposit under different operating conditions on model exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler tubes.
2. Determine long-term changes in deposit properties due to thermal cycling and water/hydrocarbon (HC) condensation.
— Status: Assembled industry team; collected coolers; established experimental setup.
— CRADA: ORNL with Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, GM, John Deere, Modine, Navistar, PACCAR, and Volvo/Mack; completion date: September 2011.
— DOE funding: $300,000 in 2009; $270,000 in 2010.
• Materials for High Pressure Fuel Injection Systems (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/merit_review_2010/propulsion_materials/pm021_blau_2010_p.pdf. Accessed April 5, 2011.)
— Objective: To evaluate spray hole microstructures, nozzle residual stress states, and fatigue properties of current and future materials for high-pressure fuel injector nozzles for diesel engines.
— Status: A fatigue test plan has been used to study the effects of holes on fatigue crack initiation and propagation in current and future nozzle materials (new materials were not identified).
— CRADA: ORNL and Caterpillar; completion date: September 2011.
— DOE funding: $225,000 from 2008 through 2011.
• Durability of Diesel Engine Particulate Filters (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/merit_review_2010/propulsion_materials/pm010_watkins_2010_o.pdf. Accessed April 5, 2011.)
— Objective: To develop test methods for characterizing the properties of ceramic diesel particulate filters (DPFs) and to develop analysis and inspection methods for assessing their reliability and durability.
— Status: A procedure has been developed for rank ordering the thermal shock resistance of DPF substrates. Proposed future work would characterize
field returned DPFs and compare their properties to virgin filters, using this information to refine lifetime prediction of filters.
— CRADA: ORNL with Cummins and Corning; first phase completed September, 2010; 3-year renewal in progress.
— DOE funding: $318,000 in 2009; $238,000 in 2010.
• Low Cost Titanium—Propulsion Applications (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/merit_review_2010/propulsion_materials/pm006_lavender_2010_o.pdf. Accessed April 5, 2011.)
— Objective: To reduce the cost to manufacture titanium components for reciprocating and rotating applications.
— Status: A lower cost titanium bar made of sintered titanium powder (TiH2) appears to meet performance requirements at lower cost (perhaps as much as 50 percent lower than ingot processed forgings). Cummins has identified an engine application (not specified) for final evaluation.
— CRADA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with Cummins; completion date: October 2012.
— DOE funding: $300,000 in 2010.
• Fatigue Enhancements by Shock Peening (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/merit_review_2010/propulsion_materials/pm002_lavender_2010_o.pdf. Accessed April 5, 2011.)
— Objective: To evaluate the capability for surface modification to improve fatigue performance of steel, aluminum, and cast iron engine components to enable improved efficiencies by increasing injection pressures and the overall durability of reciprocating parts.
— Status: Fatigue life of laser shock peened 52100 steel showed approximately 50 percent increase in rolling contact fatigue life; Cummins is moving to deployment.
— CRADA: PNNL with Cummins; project completed in September 2010.
— DOE funding: $350,000 in 2008; $340,000 in 2009; $223,000 in 2010.
• Proactive Strategies for Designing Thermoelectric Materials for Power Generation (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/merit_review_2010/propulsion_materials/pm014_hendricks_2010_o.pdf. Accessed April 5, 2011.)
— Objective: Develop new high-performance n-type and p-type thermoelectric material (TE) compositions to enable: 17 percent on-highway efficiency of directly converting engine waste heat to electricity to help enable improved heavy-truck efficiencies to 50 percent by 2015.
— Status: Determined that n-type Skutterudite materials show excellent thermoelectric properties; p-type Skutterudite materials are more challenging. Future work includes characterizing TE properties and validating with third-party testing (ORNL), and determining structural properties such as Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and mechanical strength.
—PNNL with the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute, Oregon State University; project is ongoing.
• Low-Friction Hard Coatings (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/merit_review_2010/propulsion_materials/pm030_erdemir_2010_p.pdf. Accessed April 5, 2011.)
— Objective: To design, develop, and implement low-friction and superhard coatings to increase the durability and fuel economy of engine systems.
— Status: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), in cooperation with Istanbul Technical University, has developed a superhard nanocomposite coating that provides friction coefficients of between 0.02 to 0.05 (compared with steel on steel at 0.10 to 0.15), and a production-scale deposition system. Future work will attempt to validate performance under fired engine conditions.
— CRADA: ANL with Galleon International; Hauzer Techno Coating, and several engine original equipment manufacturers; completion date: September 2012.
— DOE funding: $125,000 in 2009; $200,000 in 2010.
• High Strength Light Weight Engines for Heavy Duty Diesel Trucks
— Objective: To develop durable lightweight engine components (for example, the use of aluminum in the block and head) for heavy-duty diesel engines. The project would include the development of a prototype engine.
— Status: CRADA under development between ORNL and Cummins.
— Proposed budget for 2011: $500,000.
