A ceramic engine is an

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...

made from specially engineered ceramic materials. Ceramic engines allow for the compression and expansion of gases at extremely high temperatures without loss of heat or engine damage. Proof-of-concept ceramic engines were popularized by successful studies in the early 1980s and 1990s. Under controlled laboratory conditions, ceramic engines outperformed traditional metal engines in terms of weight,

efficiency Efficiency is the often measurable ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in doing something or in producing a desired result. In a more general sense, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without ...

, and performance. All-ceramic engines were seen as the next advancement in future engine technology, but have not yet entered the automobile market because of manufacturing and economic problems.

History

Research into more efficient

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

s occurred after the

1970s energy crisis The 1970s energy crisis occurred when the Western world, particularly the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, faced substantial petroleum shortages as well as elevated prices. The two worst crises of this period wer ...

, resulting in a new market for fuel-efficient vehicles. A newly developed gas turbine engine design promised high thermal efficiency, but needed a material that could withstand temperatures. The high heat did not allow for readily available materials like

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

superalloy A superalloy, or high-performance alloy, is an alloy with the ability to operate at a high fraction of its melting point. Several key characteristics of a superalloy are excellent mechanical strength, resistance to thermal creep deformation, g ...

s, and carbon composites to be used. As a result, government-funded research facilities in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

experimented with substituting metal for ceramics. Ceramics' high resistance to heat helped pave the way towards the first commercial use of gas turbine engines, the successes of which led to the idea of an all-ceramic engine. Between 1985 and 1989,

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

, in collaboration with

NGK is a public company established in 1936 and based in Nagoya, Japan. NGK SPARK PLUG manufactures and sells spark plugs and related products for internal combustion engines, as well as sensors and ceramics for a wide range of applications. NGK stan ...

, produced the world's first ceramic

turbocharger In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

, later debuting this on the 1985 Fairlady Z 200ZR. Isuzu developed a diesel ceramic engine that used ceramic for the pistons, piston rings, and turbocharger wheels. Isuzu also developed an engine that used cylinder liners made of ceramic materials such as silicon nitride. Isuzu also used ceramics for the intake and exhaust valves, exhaust manifold, turbocharger housing, camshafts, heat insulation, and rocker arms. Predictions for an adiabatic turbo-compound engine (a theoretical heat-efficient engine) were seen as plausible with the use of technical ceramic material. A 1987 technical paper by Roy Kamo predicted the mass production of such engines to occur in the year 2000. However, these predictions were made with the belief that ceramics would overcome "the design methodology, manufacturing process, machining cost, and mass production quality control needed for high volume production." Currently, ceramic engines are not viable for mass production. Large parts, like the engine block, can be challenging to manufacture out of ceramics due to their brittleness and stiffness.

Applications

In 1982, Isuzu tested a car with an all-ceramic engine near the

Kinko Bay also known as Kinkō Bay, is a deep inlet of the East China Sea on the coast of Japan.''Merriam Webster's Geographical Dictionary, Third Edition'', p. 562. Kagoshima Bay is on the south coast of the island of Kyūshū. The port city of Kag ...

. In 1988,

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

introduced a ceramic engine into its Crown,''Popular Science'', April 1985, page 77 as well as its GTV (Gas Turbine Vehicle)

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

Notes

Engines Ceramics {{engineering-stub