Green Car Congress: SKF BeyondZero portfolio for automotive and ...

SKF BeyondZero portfolio for automotive and industrial; solutions for e-powertrains at EVS26

Bearings, seals, and mechatronics company SKF introduced its BeyondZero portfolio of products to help its customers reduce their own environmental impacts. Environmental improvements provided by solutions within the SKF BeyondZero portfolio are validated through a life cycle assessment methodology developed by SKF sustainability engineers. Results will be reviewed yearly by KPMG.

Mechatronics is the synergistic combination of precision mechanical engineering, electronic control and systems thinking in the design of products and manufacturing processes. For the automotive industry, the BeyondZero products include:

• Bus Door Actuator. With a reduced energy consumption of 80-90%, city buses using SKF actuators for operating the doors instead of pneumatic actuators saves 1.9 tonnes CO₂/year.

• Low Weight Hub Bearing Unit reduces 0.25 g CO₂ per km in a light commercial vehicle with four SKF Low Weight Hub Bearing Units. When based on an annual mileage of 14,500 km, the saving is 3.6 kg CO₂ per year. Put another way, if one million cars used this solution the yearly reduction of CO₂ would be 3,600 tonnes.

• Rotor Positioning Bearing is an integral component of Stop-Start systems for micro-hybrid vehicles. In dense urban traffic, Stop-Start can reduce fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions up to 15%. Based on an annual mileage of 14,500 km, this solution saves 75 kg CO₂ per year.

• Low Friction Engine Seal reduces friction by up to 55%. When installed in a gasoline fueled engine it provides a CO₂ savings of more than 1 g per kilometer. Based on an annual mileage of 14,500 km, this equates to a reduction of 14.5 kg/CO₂ per year. If one million cars were equipped with the SKF solution the reduction would be 14,500 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

• StopGo for two-wheelers reduces CO₂ emissions by 5g per kilometer. With an annual mileage of 7875 km, this equates to a reduction of 36 kg/CO₂e per year. If one million motorcycles were equipped with the SKF solution the reduction would be 36,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

E-powertrain solutions. At EVS26, SKF is highlighting some of its solutions targeted for e-powertrains. These include:

• eDrive Ball Bearing.T his SKF new bearing family for the E-powertrain market is an enabler for higher electric motor power density. The main benefits are EV/HEV vehicle mileage increase, electric motor efficiency and robustness improvement.

  An ultra-robust low-friction and high-speed ball bearing enables higher electric motor efficiency and power density. The units feature an optimized internal geometry and new patented high-speed polymer cage. SKF says that the bearings can reduce frictional loss by up to 30%. (To determine this, they set up a standard motor and an equivalent motor with eDrive Ball Bearings, spin them both up, then cut the power and count the rotations until they each stop.)

  On a typical EV application, an improvement of 1% of the car electric range can be expected when using a set of optimized SKF bearing and sealing solutions in the e-powertrain, according to SKF.

• Bearing retainer. The custom, pre-assembled unit locates the bearing in axial direction, providing a rigid linkage between the nearing and the gearbox housing. This reduces any axial clearance between the bearing and the housing, enabling a more compact gearbox design with higher efficiency and optimized noise, vibration and harshness behavior.

• INSOCOAT and hybrid bearings. An INSOCOAT bearing from SKF is a standard, all-steel bearing that is plasma-sprayed with a ceramic coating. The coating is sealed to protect against the conductive effects of water and moisture. SKF can apply the coating in a range of thicknesses to the inner or outer ring, depending on the application. Resistance ranges from 50 to 150 MW at a breakdown voltage between 1000 and 3000 V DC. INSOCOAT provides superior electric insulation, extending service life by reducing reducing the risk of damage due to electrical arcing.

  Hybrid bearings features standard bearing grade steel rings and silicon nitride rolling elements. Silicon nitride, an engineered ceramic material, is an extremely hard, non-conductive material.

  As an insulator, a hybrid bearing provides protection relative to the size of the rolling elements. The smallest sealed SKF ball bearing in the electric motor range is estimated to have a resistance of more than 10 GW at a minimum breakdown voltage of 2.5 kV DC.

  An SKF hybrid bearing can also accommodate higher speeds, run better under poor lubrication conditions, and resist contamination, to last significantly longer than an all-steel bearing.

  An SKF hybrid bearing has the same boundary dimensions as an all-steel bearing and does not require special handling.

• Automotive sensor-bearings. These utilize precise bearing geometry and magnetic technology to help achieve efficient and robust electric motor drive.

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