New Case-Hardening Process Under Development at German University
11/23/2015 - Engineers at Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology are working on a new steel-hardening process that they claim holds promise for the development of smaller car engines, reports The Engineer magazine.
According to the U.K. publication, the team is working on a low-process carbonitration process that uses ammonia as a nitrogen donor and carbon donor, such as acetylene or propane.
The publication said the process could have applications in new vehicle engines, which, these days, are becoming smaller, but are being asked to provide the same amounts of power, if not more, on account of lightweight efforts.
But there’s a price to pay for smaller cylinder capacity -- greater mechanical and thermal loads on critical engine parts.
The new case-hardening process may be able to help engines withstand that those increased stresses, the publication said.
The publication said the process could have applications in new vehicle engines, which, these days, are becoming smaller, but are being asked to provide the same amounts of power, if not more, on account of lightweight efforts.
But there’s a price to pay for smaller cylinder capacity -- greater mechanical and thermal loads on critical engine parts.
The new case-hardening process may be able to help engines withstand that those increased stresses, the publication said.
