Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Ford Motor Company Limited

Arup Kumar Gangopadhyay

Larry Dean Elie

Clifford E Maki

James Maurice Boileau

Timothy George Beyer

Hamed Ghaednia

Michael Alan Tamor

William C Vassell

Pierre A Willermet

Roland Paul Stark

Khizer Tufail

Thomas Reddyhoff

Sorin-Cristian Vladescu

David Karl Bidner

Richard L Allor

Gary Mark Crosbie

Margherita Zanini-Fisher

Kevin Richard John Ellwood

Phillip Bonkoski

Mathew John Fast

David Skipp

Gary C Barber

Hiroko Ohtani

Han Zhao

Douglas George Mcwatt

An automotive axle includes a housing including gears and a bath lubricating the gears, the bath including gear oil and about 0.1 to 5 wt. % secondary alcohol ethoxylate based on total weight of the bath such that during automotive operation at temperatures less than a threshold, reverse micelles form to trap air bubbles in the bath, emulsifying the bath, and at temperatures greater than the threshold, the reverse micelles dissipate.

Vehicular gear system friction reduction

Methods and systems are provided for a bore. In one example, a system includes a bore portion for receiving a reciprocating piston, the bore portion having first and second ends between which the piston travels in an axial direction. The bore portion comprises a plurality of recesses, axially spaced apart, and formed in a piston facing surface of the bore portion at a plurality of axial positions, with at least one recess being provided at each axial position. Widths of the plurality of recesses decrease in the axial direction away from a mid-stroke position toward the first and second ends, and depths of the plurality of recesses increase in the axial direction away from the mid-stroke position toward the first and second ends.

Bore portion for receiving a reciprocating piston

A bearing assembly comprising a first component and a second component, the first and second components being slidably disposed with respect to each other, wherein the first component slides relative to the second component in a first direction,

Bearing assembly

Methods and systems are provided for filling surface pores of a cylinder inner surface coating with one or more fill materials to provide desired material and performance properties. In one example, a cylinder for an engine includes an inner surface including a coating having a plurality of surface pores, at least a portion of the plurality of surface pores filled with one or more fill materials, the one or more fill materials configured to decrease friction, increase tribofilm formation, adjust heat transfer, decrease material deposit, and/or decrease run-in duration.

Systems and methods for a cylinder bore coating fill material

Engine blocks and methods of forming the same are disclosed. The engine block may comprise a body including at least one cylindrical engine bore wall having a longitudinal axis and including a coating extending along the longitudinal axis and having a coating thickness. The coating may have a middle region and first and second end regions, and a plurality of pores may be dispersed within the coating thickness. The middle region may have a different average porosity than one or both of the end regions. The method may include spraying a first porosity coating in a middle longitudinal region of the bore and spraying a second porosity coating in one or more end regions of the bore. The first porosity may be greater than the second porosity and the first and second porosities may be formed during the spraying steps. The pores may act as wells for lubricant.

Cylinder bore having variable coating

Engine blocks and methods of forming the same are disclosed. The engine block may comprise a body including at least one cylindrical engine bore wall having a longitudinal axis and including a coating extending along the longitudinal axis and having a coating thickness. The coating may have a middle region and first and second end regions, and a plurality of pores may be dispersed within the coating thickness. The middle region may have a different average porosity than one or both of the end regions. The method may include spraying a first porosity coating in a middle longitudinal region of the bore and spraying a second porosity coating in one or more end regions of the bore. The first porosity may be greater than the second porosity and the first and second porosities may be formed during the spraying steps. The pores may act wells for lubricant.

Methods of honing a surface are disclosed. The method may include spraying a coating having an initial average bulk porosity onto an engine bore wall and honing the coating to create an intermediate honed surface. The method may then include cleaning the intermediate honed surface and honing the intermediate honed surface with a cutting force of, for example, 110-130 kgf after the cleaning step. This may create a honed surface having an average porosity greater than the initial average bulk porosity. The methods may create a honed surface having a porosity that is more porous than the initially sprayed coating. The increased porosity of the honed surface may allow for increased oil retention in, for example, engine bores.

Method of honing high-porosity cylinder liners

A method of reducing cutting tool wear in a lubricated metal cutting operation has been developed. An electrical cutting cell is provided having an anodic conductive cutting tool and a cathodic conductive work-piece connected to a DC current supply; the lubricant contains platable wear reducing agents. The lubricant is located to bathe the contacting interface between the cutting tool and work-piece to constitute an electrolyte. Next, the electrical current flow through the contacting interface is controlled to be in the range of 25-500 milli-amps. Lastly, the cutting tool is moved into and along cutting contact with the work-piece while current flows there-between to electro-chemically deposit the wear reducing agents on at least the contacting interface to reduce cutting tool wear and improve ease of mass removal.

Method of reducing wear in lubricated metal cutting operation

Method of surface finishing covalent-ionic ceramics comprising: (a) repeatedly rubbing a finishing medium against an exposed surface of the ceramic, the medium being constituted of an ionic bonded oxide having grains harder than the grains of the covalent-ionic bonded ceramic; (b) interrupting the rubbing at frequent intervals to dress the medium by a single point diamond tool; and (c) continuing the repeated rubbing and dressing interruptions of steps (a) and (b) until a surface roughness of about 0.04 micrometer Ra has been achieved on the ceramic and the exposed surface of the ceramic retains an ionic residue of the finishing medium. Also, a method of effecting reduced friction between lubricated rubbing surfaces, comprising: (a) forming one of the rubbing surfaces of silicon nitride based ceramics having a polished surface roughness about 0.04 micrometer Ra with an ionic residue thereon resulting from finishing with an ionic-bonded oxide having grains harder than the grains of the silicon nitride ceramic; and (b) operating the silicon nitride rubbing surface against the other rubbing surface while lubricating the interface between such rubbing surfaces with oil in a mixed hydrodynamic regime, whereby the ionic residue is effective to react with additives in said lubricant oil to form a transfer film on said silicon nitride ceramic that reduces contact friction.

Surface finishing covalent-ionic ceramics

A powertrain component (10) for use in an internal combustion engine, the powertrain component comprising a coating system including an amorphous or nanocrystalline ceramic film (30). The powertrain component (10) also includes an interlayer (42) formed between the film and the component. The interlayer (42) accommodates stresses engendered by formation of the film (30), and thereby improves adherence of the film (30) to the substrate (10). To enable engineering of desired surface properties, the film (30), the interlayer (42), or both may be provided with a graded composition profile.

Powertrain component with adherent amorphous or nanocrystalline ceramic

A powertrain component (10) for use in an internal combustion engine, the powertrain component comprising a coating system including a film (30) selected from the group consisting of amorphous hydrogenated carbon, silicon-doped amorphous hydrogenated carbon, boron-, nitrogen-, boron nitride-, or metal-doped amorphous hydrogenated carbon, and mixtures thereof. The film (30) is formed on the powertrain component (10), and imparts the characteristics of low friction and wear resistance to the component. The powertrain component (10) also includes an interlayer (42) formed between the film and the component. The interlayer (42) accommodates stresses engendered by formation of the film (30), and thereby improves adherence of the film (30) to the substrate (10). To enable engineering of desired surface properties, the film (30), the interlayer (42), or both may be provided with a graded composition.

Powertrain component with adherent film having a graded composition

A powertrain component such as a valve lifter (10) for use in an internal combustion engine (12), the valve lifter (10) being positioned between a cam (14) and a valve stem (16). An amorphous hydrogenated carbon film (28) is formed on the component, the film (28) imparting the characteristics of low friction and wear resistance. Also disclosed is an interlayer which improves adherence by imparting the properties of improved absorption of mechanical stresses and chemical compatibility between the film (28) and the substrate (10). Methods for forming the film (28) and interlayer are also disclosed.

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Novi, MI, United States of America

Arup Kumar Gangopadhyay