Solvay's PEEK Chosen for Oil Scavenger Line in Polimotor 2
The Polimotor 2 all-plastic engine project for competitive auto racing is moving right along with Solvay's materials playing a key role.
A high-performance grade of KetaSpire PEEK from Solvay Specialty Polymers, Alpharetta, Ga., is being used to fabricate an oil scavenger line for the Polimotor 2 all-plastic engine’s dry sump modular oil pump system.
Directed by Matti Holtzberg, a recognized automotive innovator and founder of Polimotor Research, Fair Lawn, N.J., the four-cylinder, double-overhead CAM Polimotor 2 engine will be installed in a Norma M-20 concept car that will compete at the 2016 racing of Lime Rock Park, Conn. Solvay is one of the primary material sponsors for this technical endeavor. Says’s Holtzberg, “Solvay’s unique broad offering of today’s highest performing polymer technologies has helped fuel our continuing success with the Polimotor 2 engine concept. For example, the high mechanical strength and chemical resistance of Solvay’s Ryton PPS and Amodel PPA offered excellent options for this part. But we selected KetaSpire PEEK for its compatibility with machining process and its high dimensional stability.”
Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Performance Plastics machined the 18-in. oil scavenger line from a stock shape available from Drake Plastics, Cypress, Texas. The shape was extruded with KetaSpire KT-820 CF30 PEEK, a 30% carbon fiber-reinforced grade that retains high modulus and best-in-class fatigue resistance at continuous-use temperatures reaching 464 F. This is comfortably above the peak oil temperatures in Polimotor 2’s dry sump design, which can reach 280 F.
Says president of Allegheny Performance Plastics Greg Shoup, “ Polimotor 2’s design for its oil scavenger line required us to machine a much longer than usual thermoplastic part from a stock shape rod. We found that Solvay’s PEEK machined very nicely in our CNC machining processes, and the finished part was within print tolerance, which allowed it to fit perfectly on the dry sump.”
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