PLYMOUTH, Mich. — Freudenberg-NOK has been awarded a U.S. patent for an innovative sealing system that uses new materials and a unique shape to improve the performance and reliability of direct injection fuel injectors in advanced technology gasoline and diesel engines.
"A revolution is occurring under the hood,” said Matthew Chapman, market segment manager at Freudenberg-NOK. “An entirely new level of seal performance is required to manage the heat and pressures advanced engines produce, especially in turbo applications. In these engines, small leaks that develop around conventional seals lead very quickly to total seal failure. The seals literally burn up."
Freudenberg-NOK said its new seal, which is an extension of the company’s Quantum PTFE line, departs from conventional design in several ways:
• The seal is made from a proprietary blend of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and carbon fillers for more than 40 percent increased thermal conductivity and more than 10 percent less thermal expansion compared with PTFE seals blended with glass fiber;
• A unique self-energizing body design allows controlled expansion and deformation;
• An innovative "flip seal" design uses less material and improves ease of installation, saving critical assembly time; and
• The design is compatible with all conventional liquid automotive fuels, as well as with two- and four-stroke engines.
"The new Quantum PTFE material and design improves the seal’s ability to function under extreme conditions of temperature and pressure," said Freudenberg-NOK’s Greg Daniel, product manager and co-inventor of the new product. "Our design actually provides progressively better sealing as pressures increase."
Added co-inventor Raymond Szparagowski, director of technology for Freudenberg-NOK’s Fluid Power Division, "We were able to leverage our experience as the market leader in PTFE sealing to develop a cost-effective and durable solution that will help automakers push the limits of combustion technology with significantly better reliability."
Freudenberg-NOK believes this innovation is well timed, as growth in the market for advanced technology engines is accelerating due to fuel economy and emissions legislation.
According to Jeff Jowett of forecasting firm CSM Worldwide, 6.8 million engines, or almost one-third of all engines built in North America, will have direct injection by 2016 — an increase of more than 300 percent compared with 2010. Gas turbo direct injection engines will grow by more than 225 percent over the same period, reaching almost 2.5 million units of volume.
"The rapid growth of direct injection and turbo direct injection is driving a wide range of improvements to engines, drivelines and fuel systems to deliver the best possible balance of performance, fuel economy, emissions and durability," he said.
