Low Friction Powertrains: Current Advances in Lubricants and Coatings

Improving fuel economy and reducing emissions is nowadays more important than ever. Apart from powertrain electrification, automotive manufacturers have constantly been seeking to improve the efficiency of the internal combustion engine. Downsizing and boosting have become common practice in the internal combustion engine (ICE) design. Increased power density and torque output of modern boosted engines, in combination with the introduction of automatic stop-start systems and ultralow viscosity lubricants tends to stress the engine beyond the limits foreseen in the classical design. This leads to wear problems. Each engine component comes with a unique landscape of competing manufacturing technologies, among which advanced surface finishing and coating methods play an important role. This presentation provides an overview of different industrial trends related thereto. The role of lubricant on the engine tribology is studied for different engine designs. The importance of in-design “pairing” of low-viscosity motor oils with the engine characteristics is highlighted filling the gap in the understanding of complex interactions between the crankcase lubricant and engine mechanics.