Federal-Mogul's Magnum Monosteel piston revealed

Unique design

The key differentiator for the Magnum, however, is its unique ‘double-band’ piston skirt design — a first for modern diesel pistons. The double-band skirt helps to reduce frictional drag and reduces the overall piston skirt area by 40 percent, making this innovative design feature the primary contributor to the Magnum’s overall friction and mass reduction. Extensive engine testing has shown piston friction reduction of up to 17 percent, compared to conventional steel piston designs.

The Magnum’s double-band skirt also enables better hydrodynamic lubrication compared to conventional piston skirt designs. The improved lubrication allows greater piston stability as well as optimal ring pack performance and durability.

Federal-Mogul developed the Magnum piston at its Powertrain Energy technical centre in Plymouth, Michigan, one of the company’s 18 globally-networked technical centres.

“With the Magnum piston, Federal-Mogul is again bringing a significant piston architecture innovation to the heavy-duty market through an enhancement to our proven Monosteel design,” said Rainer Jueckstock, Federal-Mogul senior vice-president of Powertrain Energy.

“Like our industry-leading Monosteel piston, the Magnum with its fuel economy benefits is another game-changing technology that provides heavy-duty customers with a more effective solution to the emissions challenges they face,” added Jueckstock. “In addition to on-highway applications, the Magnum is well suited to industrial and marine applications as well. This new leading technology will strongly contribute to our strategy for sustainable global profitable growth.”

Caption for pix: New Magnum Monosteel piston design reduces mass by up to seven percent and includes design features that reduce friction for improved fuel economy and lower emissions.