Federal-Mogul's Breakthrough Diesel Piston Design Removes Barrier to Downsized Engines with Higher Output

Federal-Mogul's Breakthrough Diesel Piston Design Removes Barrier to Downsized
Engines with Higher Output
DuraBowl® substantially improves piston durability in severe conditions

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- To reduce CO2 emissions
and improve fuel economy, vehicle manufacturers are demanding higher and
higher power output from smaller and smaller engines. Federal-Mogul
Corporation (Nasdaq: FDML) has developed an innovative aluminum piston design
that can reliably withstand the mechanical and thermal loads produced by
heavily boosted engines, thereby enhancing diesel engine performance. Called
DuraBowl®, Federal-Mogul's design strengthens the crown of a piston by locally
re-melting the alloy around the bowl, significantly improving the fatigue
strength of the aluminum where it is most needed. The result is an extension
of engine life to between four and seven times that achieved with a
conventional cast piston.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091103/DE04191 )

During the last decade, typical performance outputs for automotive diesel
engines rose from 50kW/litre (67bhp/litre) to around 70kW/litre (94bhp/litre).
According to Rainer Jueckstock, Federal-Mogul senior vice president of
Powertrain Energy, with increasingly pressing legislative targets for CO2
reduction in most major global markets, the trend is likely to accelerate.
"Rising specific outputs place higher mechanical and thermal loads on many of
the components where Federal-Mogul has considerable expertise," he said. "The
DuraBowl piston process is an example of how we are succeeding in delivering
specialized process technologies that help our customers successfully address
these challenges across a range of growing market sectors."

The combustion in a diesel engine takes place in a hollow bowl in the top of
the piston, where temperatures can reach over 400 degrees Celsius (750 degrees
Fahrenheit) and pressures over 200 Bar (200 x atmospheric pressure). Under
these increasingly difficult combustion conditions, the rim of the piston bowl
has an increased failure factor. Following extensive analysis,
Federal-Mogul's engineers have identified that both thermal and mechanical
failures of the piston bowl can be traced to the presence of free primary
silicon particles distributed throughout the aluminum matrix. Aluminum
expands eight times as much as silicon, therefore stresses are set up within
the piston every time the temperature fluctuates. Furthermore, repeated
mechanical loads, each time the cylinder fires, could result in fatigue
failure from the corners of the silicon particles. Silicon is a necessary
constituent of the aluminum alloy, offering favorable properties such as low
expansion and good castability, so it cannot be eliminated.

The only potential solutions to this problem, until now, have been
fiber-reinforced pistons. "Fiber-reinforced pistons increase manufacturing
complexity as the molten alloy has to infiltrate the fibers during casting,"
said Frank Doernenburg, Federal-Mogul director of technology, pistons and
pins. "Furthermore, there is not yet a reliable, non-destructive way to test
the integrity of the finished part whereas, with our DuraBowl process, we can
do an Eddy Current test to ensure the quality."

Federal-Mogul's solution is to pre-machine the cast piston and then re-melt
the alloy around the rim of the bowl. "The strength and efficiency of our
solution is that the process is physically simple," said Doernenburg. "The
sophistication is in the control of key parameters, which ensure consistent
quality. The result is a technologically advanced, high-performing and very
cost-competitive product when compared to both fiber-reinforced and steel
pistons."

The re-melted alloy cools a thousand times faster than it did when originally
cast, which leads to much smaller silicon particles; only one tenth of the
previous size. Metallurgists refer to this as refinement of the
microstructure; a technique known to increase the strength and durability of
metal alloys.

The technological and cost benefits have been validated during extensive
engine testing, both by Federal-Mogul and its customers. Doernenburg
concluded, "The re-melting process certainly increases piston life and
performance substantially, while at the same time, serving as a contributor to
improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2. A conservative estimate would be a
fourfold improvement in the life of any cast piston which suffers from bowl
rim failures." The first application of the DuraBowl process is on a
high-performance diesel engine recently launched for a leading global vehicle
manufacturer.

The metallurgy of DuraBowl®
Federal-Mogul's unique re-melting process for the aluminum-silicon alloy,
combined with a rapid cooling process, significantly changes the alloy's
microstructure by reducing the size of hardening phases such as silicon
particles and intermetallics. The result is a piston bowl rim whose first few
millimeters provide significantly improved aluminum strength, further enabling
engine manufacturer's efforts to downsize or turbo-boost engines for greater
specific output.

About Federal-Mogul
Federal-Mogul Corporation is an innovative and diversified $6.9 billion global
supplier of quality products, trusted brands and creative solutions to
manufacturers of automotive, light commercial, heavy-duty and off-highway
vehicles, as well as to the power generation, aerospace, marine, rail and
industrial sectors. It is recognised as a premier global innovator in the
areas of powertrain, sealing, safety and protection and a leading source of
advanced technologies that help increase vehicle performance, improve fuel
efficiency and reduce engine emissions for a cleaner world. Federal-Mogul
employs nearly 39,000 people located in 36 countries. More information can be
found at www.federalmogul.com

CONTACT: Steve Gaut - 248-354-7826

SOURCE Federal-Mogul Corporation

Steve Gaut, +1-248-354-7826