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In order to develop the valve rocker arm material for the new type engine, we investigated various materials whose chemical compositions were selected using 30% chromium cast iron, which had shown good results in screening evaluation tests, as the basis. High chromium cast irons are well known for their abrasive wear resistance, but it has been very difficult to apply them for use as rocker arm material because their machinability is very poor, and because it is difficult for them to have a regular microstructure. In this paper, both the manufacturing method for the rocker arm which decreases the disadvantages that high chromium cast iron have and the rocker arm material best suited for this method are described.

The automobile industry currently faces many challenges which may greatly impact on its foundry operations. One of these challenges, consumers'' demand for greater fuel efficiency, can be met by reducing the weight of castings used in automobiles, and minimizing engineering tolerances. In answer to this particular demand, engine foundries have begun to either produce cylinder blocks or other castings with aluminum rather than cast iron. However, if a reduction in weight (thin wall and near-net shaping) can be realized with cast iron, there would be numerous merits from the perspective of cost and compactness and there would be much more flexibility in automotive parts design.

Since paint sludge, one of the industrial wastes, is tacky and generated in a large volume in mass production vehicle painting shops, handling and disposal are very difficult. We have this time succeeded in recycling this sludge as lightweight filler of vinyl chloride plastisol for coating underfloor (popularly called as under-body coating material) through thermal setting, crushing and pulverization after making it completely detackified and dewatered with centrifuging.

It is well understood that using lower viscosity engine oils can greatly improve fuel economy [1, 2, 3, 4]. However, it has been impossible to evaluate ultra-low viscosity engine oils (SAE 0W-12 and below) utilizing existing fuel economy test methods. As such, there is no specification for ultra-low viscosity gasoline engine oils [5]. We therefore developed firing and motored fuel economy test methods for ultra-low viscosity oils using engines from Japanese automakers [6, 7, 8]. This was done under the auspices of the JASO Next Generation Engine Oil Task Force (“TF” below), which consists mainly of Japanese automakers and entities working in the petroleum industry. Moreover, the TF used these test methods to develop the JASO GLV-1 specification for next-generation ultra-low viscosity automotive gasoline engine oils such as SAE 0W-8 and 0W-12. In developing the JASO GLV-1 specification, Japanese fuel economy tests and the ILSAC engine tests for evaluating engine reliability were used.

A high reliability and low cost temperature sensor for motor vehicle has been developed. The principle of measuring temperature is based on the NTC thermistor. And novel production techniques for sealing and electric connection are presented.

The reduction of particulate emissions is one of the most important challenges facing the development of future gasoline engines. Several studies have demonstrated the impact of fuel chemical composition on the emissions of particulate matter, more particularly, the detrimental effect of high boiling point components such as heavy aromatics. Fuel contamination is likely to become a critical issue as new regulations such as Real Driving Emissions RDE involves the use of market fuel. The objective of this study is to investigate several experimental approaches to detect the presence of Diesel contamination in Gasoline which is likely to alter pollutant emissions. To achieve this, a fuel matrix composed of 12 fuels was built presenting diesel fuel in varying concentrations from 0.1 to 2% v/v. The fuel matrix was characterized using several original techniques developed in this study.

Recently, use of aluminum engine parts has increased for fuel economy and power improvements. Aluminum cylinder heads, for example, are currently used in most engines. But, only low performance engine coolants are available for prevention of heat-transfer corrosion of aluminum cylinder heads. The authors have studied a laboratory test method that is able to accurately evaluate the performance of engine coolants for prevention of aluminum cylinder head corrosion. And we have developed the new test method by changing the test specimen temperature higher and the engine coolant temperature lower than the ASTM D4340 test. The new test has been confirmed engine bench test. We evaluated further the performance of many engine coolants of the world for prevention of aluminum cylinder head corrosion using the new test. We have known that there were a lot of poor performance engine coolants in the world.

This paper describes application of sintered silicon nitride to the swirl lower-chamber in order to improve performance of turbocharged diesel engines. Various stress analyses by finite element method and stress measurements have been applied to determine the design specifications for the component, which compromise brittleness of ceramic materials. Material development was conducted to evaluate strength, fracture toughness, and thermal properties for the sintered bodies. Ceramic injection molding has been employed to fabricate components with large quantities in the present work. Quality assurance for the components can be made by reliability evaluation methods as well as non-destructive and stress loading inspections. It is found that the engine performance with ceramic component has been increased in the power out put of 9PS as compared to that of conventional engines.

This research proposes an automatic measuring method for the impulse noise of the valve system in engine production line. This research is composed of the following two parts. (1) The most suitable method for indicating the impulse noise of the valve system - the representative characteristic values - is selected from the general measuring methods for impulse noise. As the result, the crest factor in the frequency band above 1kHz became optimal. (2) By detailed sensory characteristic analysis it was found that impulse noise can be heard better with increasing frequency and that there is little influence in the frequency band with the same frequency as the background noise. Thus the crest factor was obtained for each frequency, and the sensory test for the impulse noise of the valve system is deduced by this linear coupling. As the result of multiple reguression analysis, a high accuracy prediction equetion with a multiple correlation coefficient of 0.91 has been obtained.

Recently in the world, many modifications and improvements have been taking place in automatic transmission fluid (ATF) in order to get more excellent performance and durability of automatic transmission. The most important criterion for the improvement of ATF is a superior friction characteristic. To consider the performance of ATF, we have investigated the correlation of criteria between actual vehicle tests and bench-scale tests (e.g. SAE#2 Friction Test). And it was proved that conventional criteria and test methods for bench-scale tests were not enough to give best prediction of actual vehicle performance especially for shift quality, anti-shudder performance and static torque capacity which were regarded as of major importance for the development. Based on the findings, we have considered new criteria and test methods for the frictional characteristics, and specific requirements for ATF have been proposed from the standpoint of actual vehicle performance.

A precise control system for a molten ferrous alloy temperature above 1700 K after the completion of induction melting has been developed in order to produce high quality casting parts for automobiles. In this system, the molten ferrous alloy temperature is measured just one time by a disposable thermocouple after the melting. The system predicts the temperature transition after the measurement using an original thermal model, and adjusts the supplied electric power to the furnace automatically according to the predicted temperature. Using this thermal model, the system has attained control deviations within ±5K under the following temperature controls, and contributed to the quality control of casting parts and the energy-saving during furnace operations. Casting temperature for a cast-steel of 1813 K in a 300 kg capacity high-frequency induction furnace on the “Toyota Vacuum Casting Process”.

This paper presents the numerical simulation method to predict the deactivation process of three-way catalytic converters. Three-way catalytic converter's deactivation typically results from thermal and chemical mechanisms. The major factor of thermal deactivation is the sintering of noble metal particles, which is known to depend on the ageing temperature and the oxygen concentration in the exhaust gas. The chemical deactivation is mainly caused by the poisoning, which has two effects on the catalyst deactivation. One effect is the loss of the catalyst activity, which is expressed by reduced frequency factors of reaction rates. Another effect is the suppression of the noble metal sintering. Poison deposits prevent the noble metal particles from moving in the washcoat, assisted by the reduced thermal loading of reaction heats, which is caused by the loss of the catalyst activity. Modeling these deactivation factors, we propose the rate expression of noble metal sintering.

This paper describes a new plastic coloring and forming system. The system greatly reduces the time and amount of raw materials necessary for color changes, and eliminates the need for manual cleaning during a color change. This system is well-suited for small-lot production with frequent color changes, as well as for automated production systems. The system is being used by auto parts makers, and is practical in a variety of other fields involved with the coloring and forming of plastics.

Two effects of rich-spike duration on NOx-storing have been analyzed. The first one, that NOx-storing speed decreases as rich-spike duration increases, is explained as the influence of NOx diffusion in wash-coat layer, which is quantified by a simple mathematical expression for NOx-storing rate. The second one, a peculiar behavior of NOx-storing in appearance of the outlet NOx concentration, is clarified: Heat produced directly or indirectly (via oxygen storage in ceria) by rich-spike warms up the downstream part, which releases excess NOx at the raised temperature. Contributions of the oxygen storage and the carbonate of NOx-storage material are also discussed.

An all aluminum cylinder block with a Metal Matrix Composite (MMC) cylinder bore was developed which made it possible to re-design the base engine for high performance with a bore-to-bore distance as narrow as 5.5mm. The cylinder block is an open deck type and the MMC preform consists of alumina-silica fibers and mulite particles. A laminar flow die cast process was selected to ensure defect-free MMC bore quality. To insure good lubrication, electrochemical machining was applied to the bore surface. By use of radioisotope(RI) measurements, MMC reinforcement was optimized for wear characteristics. Particular attention was paid to use of fuels with high sulfur levels.

Detergent additives in automotive gasoline fuel are mainly designed to reduce deposit formation on intake valves and fuel injectors, but it has been reported that some additives may contribute to CCD formation. Therefore, a standardized bench engine test method for CCDs needs to be developed in response to industry demands. Cooperative research between the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ) and the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Inc. (JAMA), has led to the development of a 2.2L Honda engine dynamometer-based CCD test procedure to evaluate CCDs from fuel additives. Ten automobile manufacturers, nine petroleum companies and the Petroleum Energy Center joined the project, which underwent PAJ-JAMA round robin testing. This paper describes the CCD test development activities, which include the selection of an engine and the determination of the optimum test conditions and other test criteria.

The purposes of this paper are to develop a new laboratory oxidation stability testing method and to clarify factors relative to the viscosity increase of engine oil. Polymerized products, obtained from the oil after a JASO M333-93 engine test, were found to consist mainly of carboxyl, nitrate and nitro compounds and to increase the oil viscosity. A good similarity between the JASO M333-93 test and the laboratory simulation test was found for the polymerized products. The products were obtained not by heating oil only in air but by heating oil while supplying a synthetic blowby gas consisting of fuel pyrolysis products, NO, SO2 and air. The laboratory test has also revealed that the viscosity increase depends on oil quality, organic Fe content and hydrocarbon composition in the fuel. Moreover, it has been found that blowby gas and organic Fe accelerate ZnDTP consumption and that aromatics concentration in the fuel correlates with the viscosity increase of oil.

Automobile production technology has been transferred in the order of "automobile assembly technology", "automotive parts manufacturing technology" and "production preparation technology". Transfer of our "automobile assembly technology" has already been nearly 100% completed and, as the manufacture of local parts is promoted and our experiences to undergo model changes are widened, the transfer of "automotive parts manufacturing technology" and "production preparation technology" is making a steady progress. The most critical point that makes the technical transfer difficult is the small automobile markets in developing countries where it is impossible to acquire a sufficient production volume which permits satisfactorily low cost. Various measures to secure a sufficient production volume such as exports and complementation within regions have been taken so far, but any remarkable effect has not been achieved.

In order to further improve the performance of NOx storage-reduction catalysts (NSR catalysts), focus was placed on their high temperature performance deterioration via sulfur poisoning and heat deterioration. The reactions between the basicity or acidity of supports and the storage element, potassium, were analyzed. It was determined that the high temperature performance of NSR catalysts is enhanced by the interaction between potassium and zirconia, which is a basic metal oxide. Also, a new zirconia-titania complex metal oxides was developed to improve high temperature performance and to promote the desorption of sulfur from the supports after aging.

The authors developed a high-reliability low-cost gold-plated connector for automobiles. The connector is covered with three plated layers, nickel, palladium-nickel alloy, and gold. The three-layer plating helps to reduce the required thickness of gold. This paper describes the reasons why palladium-nickel plating was adopted and compares the corrosion resistance, oxidation resistance and wear resistance of three-layer-plated materials with those of conventional gold-plated materials. In addition, the characterisitics of three-layer-plated connectors were compared with those of conventional gold-plated connectors. It was found that the reliability of three-layer-plated connectors was as high as that of conventional gold-plated connectors.