The Application of Camshaft Rolling Element Bearings as a Solution for CO2 Emission Reduction on Internal Combustion Engines 2012-36-0254

As a common trend on the automotive development process, the increase in system efficiency became a major concern for design engineers nowadays. Several are the focuses at which such topic can be dealt with, including full systems upgrades, electrification and component level optimization. However, there are simpler ways to increase efficiency by only replacing construction concepts that have always been taken for granted. This is the case of replacing the sliding friction of the camshaft hydrodynamic bearings by rolling elements. The direct reduction of the power consumption, when applying rolling element bearings to the camshaft, is a straightforward method to increase the liquid torque available at the crankshaft, hence enabling downsizing. In this paper some design solutions and the structural integrity of the system will be assessed and, most of all, the reduction on the friction torque, hence the increase in system efficiency, which leads to CO₂ emission reductions.