Valve material - Hydrogen ICE 2

[turbomotor]

I've done a bit of web searching for wear data for hydrogen fueled ICE poppet valve and valve seat inserts. I am primarily interested in various material combinations. Most of what I have found has been anecdotal. I suspect that quantified wear data is closely guarded, but I'd like to ask the question anyone. Does anyone have sharable data regarding valve and valve seat insert wear for hydrogen fueled spark ignition ICE considering various valve and VSI material combinations?

 

[Lou Scannon]

You might try searching SAE publications (sae.org) to see if BMW or HCI (Hydrogen Consultants Inc.) have published anything relevant. Also search under Frank Lynch (president of HCI).

 

[BrianPetersen]

Why would one expect the situation to be any different from fueling the engine with any other gaseous fuel? Or why would the situation be any different from a direct-injection engine where the intake valve sees only air?

As far as I know, engines running on propane or natural gas don't have any unusual valve wear circumstances. If anything, the lessened carbon fouling is a change in a favourable direction.

 

[malbeare]

BrianPetersen
The valves on engines that I have seen that run only on LPG
go quite rusty.


A tidy mind not intelligent as it ignors the random opportunities of total chaos. Thats my excuse anyway
Malbeare

http://www.sixstroke.com

 

[turbomotor]

To date, we have been looking at the materials used for heavy duty gaseous fueled engines, and that is where we will probably go.

However, we have heard anecdotal info that suggests that carbon residue from the combustion of LPG and CNG, minimal as it may be, still provides some lubricity that benefits the valve and seat interface with respect to wear.

The work that we are doing is testing with hydrogen fuel a port injected engine designed to burn gasoline, and we are experiencing excessive valve recession over time. With original valve ans seat materials, valve clearance set originally to nominal is below minimum limit after only 300 hours of operation on a dyno (this engine has no hydraulic lash adjustment).

 

[tbuelna]

turbomotor,

Stainless alloys should be fine, unless you're running high levels of boost. Then I'd recommend Inconel on the exhaust.

Typical stainless intake valve alloys would be martensitic alloys such as 422. Stainless exhaust valve alloys are typically iron based such as 21-4N. Inconel exhaust alloys are usually Nickle based such as Inconel 751 or Nimonic 80/90.

For valve seats, you can't beat Stellite. I think you can get Stellite seats through Martin-Wells:

http://www.martinwellsco.com

Good Luck!