SWING nanoCoating

Reducing heat loss in the combustion chamber plays an important role in reducing fuel consumption.
Scientific research has shown that increasing the average temperature of the combustion chamber walls by insulation: air gap, low thermal conductivity steel and/or ceramic engine components, has proven to be ineffective.
Hot walls increase the temperature of the air/fuel system during intake, resulting in poor volumetric efficiency. The high temperature and low air/fuel ratio result in high emissions of exhaust gases and particulate, with reduction of efficiency.

To prevent the heating of the intake air, the temperature of the walls must follow the temperature of the air/fuel system during the combustion cycle, remaining at a low temperature during gas exchange.
This can theoretically be achieved with a thin thermal barrier coating (TBC) on the walls of the combustion chamber. A TBC coating of this type is called SWING and should have low effusivity, i.e. low thermal conductivity and low volumetric heat capacity.

At the TEC STAR Srl laboratory, a SWING nanoCoating with low surface energy has been developed. The coating has two functionality: a thin thermal barrier with low effusivity and, at the same time, low surface energy, in order to reduce the adhesion of carbon residues, due to unburned gases, on the piston head and cylinder walls, thus reducing polluting emissions and surface deterioration.

Initial tests on a Pit Bike engine have highlighted, after 20 hours of operation, poor adhesion of the carbon residue on the piston head and the absence of residues and wear on the cylinder walls, something that normally on an untreated engine, is evident after just a few hours.