Posted to News on 11th May 2009, 00:00
Exhausting problem for diesel makers
TFC Europe recently came to aid of a leading diesel engine manufacturer to provide a solution to the problems now faced by the industry to supply engines with reduced emissions. Traditionally, because of failures due to cracking, exhaust manifolds on large diesel engines need to be cast as two parts and connected via a sliding joint. The dimensional tolerances of the engine assembly and thermal expansion caused by temperature made the use of rigid bolted joints with a gasket, highly complex and far more expensive.
Historically machined cast iron piston rings in the sliding manifold joint had been used to overcome the problem. The rings worked well both at engine start-up and even after hundreds of hours because the old emission standards did not require the engines to run as hot. Now the standards are more demanding and cast iron rings are failing.
Smalley laminar sealing rings are produced in a variety of metals, offering high performance in high temperature environments. The laminar sealing ring is a metallic labyrinth seal consisting of multiple rings in a groove. The ability to provide laminar rings in materials able to withstand corrosive and high temperature environments has enabled the laminar ring products to be used in a wide range of applications, including compensators in exhaust pipe systems of internal combustion engines, exhaust gas recirculation systems and turbochargers.
