Development of high temperature aluminum alloys for automotive diesel engine applications

该项目提案旨在开发具有改进高温性能（抗蠕变、强度、延展性、抗热疲劳和铸造性）以及可接受的成本的新型铝合金，用于汽车柴油发动机应用，以减轻车辆重量和环境效益。柴油发动机是由鲁道夫·迪塞尔于1892年推出的，它通过将燃料喷射到已经在燃烧室中压缩的空气中来实现自燃。与汽油发动机相比，柴油发动机具有更高的燃烧比和更高的燃油效率。柴油车每英里二氧化碳排放量降低30%，被认为是最可行的环保汽车技术之一。自1991年以来，柴油车在欧洲的市场渗透率大幅增长，市场份额达到50%（法国为70%）；而在北美，由于过去使用旧技术和含硫燃料的经验，它的接受度较低（汽车占1%，轻型卡车占4%）。然而，自2006年以来，使用低含硫量燃料的“清洁柴油”已经上市。美国环境保护署（EPA）认为柴油是一项极具吸引力的技术，有助于达到EPA的未来标准。自2006年4月以来，美国向购买新柴油车的买家提供税收优惠（3500美元的信贷）。目前，柴油发动机和气缸盖大多是铸铁的，因为在柴油运行中会出现高压缩压力和高温。通过铝替代进一步减轻重量将带来可观的燃油经济性和环境效益。车辆重量减少10%导致6-8%的燃油经济性，这意味着（在汽车的生命周期内）每公斤车辆重量减少17-20公斤的二氧化碳排放量。柴油中只有一小部分是铝，而新型共轨涡轮增压柴油对扭矩的要求越来越高，因此需要在热疲劳条件下提高性能的新型合金。本项目将开发满足柴油技术要求的新型铝合金。

This project proposal is for the development of new aluminum alloys with improved high-temperature performance (creep resistance, strength, ductility, thermal fatigue resistance and castability) as well as acceptable cost to be used in automotive Diesel engine applications for vehicle weight reduction and environmental benefits. The Diesel engine, introduced by Rudolph Diesel in 1892, achieves self ignition via fuel injection into air which is already compressed in the combustion chamber. Compared to gasoline engines, the Diesel achieves a higher combustion ratio and higher fuel efficiency. The Diesel has 30%lower CO2 emissions per mile and is considered one of the most viable environmentally friendly technologies for vehicles. Market penetration of the Diesel in Europe shows substantial growth since 1991 reaching 50% (70% in France) market share; while in North America it sees slow acceptance (1% cars and 4% light trucks) due to past experience with older technologies and sulfur-containing fuel usage. However, "clean Diesel" using lower sulfur content fuel has become available since 2006. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers the Diesel an extremely attractive technology to help achieve EPA's future standards. Tax incentives ($3500 credit) for buyers of new Diesels are offered in the US since April 2006. Currently, the Diesel engine and cylinder head are mostly cast iron due to the high compression pressures and temperatures occurring in Diesel operation. Further weight reduction via Al substitution would result in substantial fuel economy and increased environmental benefits. 10% saving in vehicle weight leads to 6-8% fuel economy which translates (during the life time of a car) to 17-20 kg reduced emissions of CO2, per kg of vehicle weight reduced. Only a small portion of the diesel is aluminum and the increasing torque requirements in newer common rail turbo diesels necessitate new alloys with improved performance under thermal fatigue conditions. In this project novel aluminum alloys will be developed to meet the requirements of the Diesel technology.