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Technical impacts on engine oil performance by the use of waste cooking oil as bio-diesel fuel (BDF) are not well understood while the industry has made significant progress in studies on quality specifications and infrastructure. The authors, who consist of a consortium organized by Japan Lubricating Oil Society (JALOS), examined technical effects of waste cooking oil as BDF on engine oil performance such as wear and high temperature corrosion using vehicle fleets and bench tests to identify technical issues of engine oil meeting the use of BDF. The study brings fundamental information about technical impacts of BDF on engine oils.

The correlation between newly approved EN 15751 and the internal diesel injector deposits (IDID) due to fuel oxidative deterioration has not been made clear. In the present research, the Rancimat method was slightly modified to research the relationship between fuel oxidative deterioration and the deterioration products generated from the fuel. After heating fuel at 120 to 150°C for a set period, insoluble deterioration products (IDID-like substances) were generated and their weights were measured. At the same time, the shifts of the conductivity in trap water were analyzed from a new perspective, and its relationship with the deterioration products was investigated. At 120°C and 130°C, conductivity rising rates after the inflection point (this set of data represents the rate of organic acid generation in the fuel, and we named “Oxidation rate”) exhibited a strong correlation with the quantity of deterioration products.

We have developed a new test method in which temperature of cavity lip of a piston alone during engine rotation is reproduced, cavity lip strain is measured. As the results of strain measurement using the test method in a condition that simulates of conventional engines, a strain behavior was out-of-phase. And in a condition that simulates of high-load engines in future, strain behavior was clockwise-diamond cycle. It was found from the result of the test method developed that strain increased on the cavity lip. The fatigue life of the cavity lip was evaluated using the strain measured and isothermal fatigue curves which obtained by the strain controlled isothermal fatigue test. The result of engine durability test has revealed that the developed method was valid for thermal fatigue evaluation of the cavity lip.

Wear resistance is the important characteristics of cast iron materials for automobile components. Because the phenomenon of wear is a highly complicated mechanism involving many factors such as surface conditions, chemical reactions with lubricants, metals, and physics, it has not been fully explained. Therefore, it will be necessary to confirm and explain the wear mechanism to develop effective improvements. The purpose of this study was to investigate the structural change behavior and effects of alloying elements when the material top surface becomes worn, in order to improve the wear resistance of cylinder liners and other cast iron materials. For this purpose, several types of prototype materials were produced, and the relationship between components and wear resistance was investigated by using a laser microscope for quantitative observation of the degree of pearlite microstructure fineness.

An on board burner that enables DPF regeneration even when an engine is at standstill has been researched. By employing pre evaporative combustion with a wick burner, miniaturization of the burner system was successfully accomplished as well as stable ignition and combustion. Total heat necessary for DPF regeneration was reduced in comparison to the active DPF regeneration by means of engine control and an oxidation catalyst. Uneven temperature distribution in DPF and excessive temperature rise, which had been recognized as issues in the regeneration of a DPF while engine is at standstill, were solved by increase of combustion air amount and multi-step control of regeneration temperature and reliable regeneration was accomplished.