Motorsport coating takes to the air
A
Poeton Industries product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Mar 1, 2005
A coating originally developed for Formula 1 and other motorsport engines is now specified for the rotary engines in most of the world's unmanned air vehicles.
Apticote Ceramic 2000, the Poeton coating developed for Formula 1 and other motorsport engines and used by the winner of the 2004 European Kart Championship, is also specified for the rotary engines in most of the world's unmanned air vehicles (UAVs).
The UK has a significant technology lead in this expanding market, which is estimated to be worth around GBP 2 billion a year, with an annual growth rate of 12.5%.
The UAV's obvious benefits include: no pilot so no risk to human life; no constraints on size or design; light weight; and continuous operation for more than one hundred hours.
Besides their military applications, UAVs are also used for civil projects such as agriculture, police surveillance, border control, and traffic and weather monitoring.
One of the world's leading suppliers of power units for these craft is UAV Engines, which manufactures a range of lightweight rotary engines covering 15 to 90kW.
Due to the unique, patented air-cooled rotor design, rotary engines have an exceptionally high power to weight ratio that makes them more compact, helps reduce mechanical friction and lowers fuel consumption.
Apticote Ceramic 2000 - a metal matrix coating system specifically developed for high performance automotive engine applications - is used to add high wear resistance and low friction properties to the trochoidal bores of the rotary engine housings.
A plasma sprayed coating of Apticote 800 is also applied to reduce wear in the engine seal tracks.
Poeton is also undertaking research and development work on coatings for other engine components.
Commenting for UAV Engines, a spokesman says the company actively uses Poeton coating expertise to improve engine operating characteristics under extreme climatic conditions, adding: "This work has successfully resulted in the introduction of a number of product enhancements with additional improvements nearing the end of the development phase".
On the choice of coating he says its engineers are convinced that Apticote Ceramic 2000 makes a significant contribution to the performance of the engines, which have successfully passed a 150-hour severe duty FAR 33-type ground durability test, setting new standards for small ultralightweight unmanned aircraft engines.
Looking to the future, Poeton R and D Director Keith Stevens says that to keep pace with future development UAV engines, guidance systems and other components will need a whole range of engineering coatings that can be applied to enhance the performance of lightweight alloys of aluminium, magnesium and titanium.
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