Energy-Efficient Engine Wins Inventors 2009 National Inventor Of The Year Award
Inventors of a new Ford-patented technology received the 2009 Inventor of the Year Award from the Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation. The award-winning Plasma Transferred Wire Arc (PTWA) technology, developed through a collaboration between Ford and Flame-Spray Industries, is used to apply coatings on engine cylinder bores. PTWA's thermal spray coating process applied to aluminum engine blocks replaces heavy cast iron liners with a low friction, wear-resistant coating. The result reduces aluminum engine weight and friction between the piston rings and cylinder bore, and increases engine performance (through improved heat management), fuel efficiency and oil economy. The coating can reduce the weight of a V-6 engine by approximately six pounds.
The coating process can also aid in the refurbishment of worn engine blocks, requiring 50--80% less energy compared to newly manufactured engine blocks. The development of new spray torch technology allowed the thermal spray coating process, used for years in the aerospace industry, to be applied to cylinder bores of engine blocks.
Ford plans to introduce PTWA technology on its North American powertrain lineup within the next year.
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