“Ceramic as the Future of Automotive Technology: Insights and Innovations”

2023-05-07 19:00:00

Who would’ve believed that ? Ceramic, a material known since the Neolithic era, so for thousands of years, was used for the heat shield of the American space shuttle. It was also studied in the 1980s for heat engines in mass-produced cars. Already experienced in aeronautics, ceramic has very interesting advantages. Indeed, it is extremely hard and resists very high temperatures, sometimes more than 2000°C.

At the 1985 Tokyo Motor Show, Isuzu presented this Aska Ceramic concept, whose internal walls of the diesel engine were covered with a ceramic alloy. It did not heat up, hence the absence of a cooling circuit.

Forty years ago, Japanese manufacturers were preparing to embark on a formidable technological revolution, which would take their products from simply reliable and affordable to downright desirable due to their sometimes extreme modernity. Among them, Isuzu imagined producing a ceramic engine, or more precisely with ceramic internal coatings. To understand this material, he teamed up with a company that masters it particularly well, especially for making knives, Kyocera.

An Isuzu Gemini (technically close to the Opel Kadett C) equipped with a ceramic engine was successfully tested, then the Japanese brand exhibited an Aska in 1985 (its medium sedan, cousin of the Opel Ascona), equipped with a turbo-diesel using ceramic. This block, supposed not to heat up (it is presented as adiabatic) therefore does without any water cooling circuit, in addition to presenting excellent efficiency, good performance and emitting little noise.

The engine of the Isuzu Aska Ceramic, with its ceramic walls. He also resorted to a light hybridization, from 1985…

In 1982, Toyota, less ambitious but more realistic, invented a metal/ceramic fiber alloy, to use it in the grooves where the segments fit around the piston. Mazda is also carrying out research, and will coat the tips of the engine rotors of the 787B victorious at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with ceramic.

The tips of the engine rotors of the Mazda 787B, in 1991, were covered with ceramic.

In reality, ceramic is so difficult to machine that it can only be used in relatively small and simple applications. Isuzu will not follow up on its adiabatic engine, although other manufacturers have considered using this material in similar applications. But the eruption of the electric sounded the death knell for this research.

However, ceramic has penetrated the automotive world, particularly in glow plugs, brake discs, combined with carbon or, more simply, as a protective element in paintwork.

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