Air compressor housing for air compressor of commercial vehicle, method for producing such compressor and use of hypereutectic aluminum alloy

By using eutectic aluminum alloy and honing treatment in the cylinder housing part of the air compressor housing, the problem of insufficient wear resistance in the prior art is solved, and higher wear resistance and hardness are achieved, and it is suitable for air compressors in commercial vehicles.

CN120077200APending Publication Date: 2025-05-30ZF COMMERCIAL VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEMS INDIA LIMITED
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202380068196.5
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2022-10-07
Filing Date
2023-09-21
Publication Date
2025-05-30

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Abstract

The invention relates to an air compressor housing (1) for an air compressor of a commercial vehicle, where the air compressor is configured to supply pressurized air to a pneumatic system of the vehicle, the air compressor housing (1) comprising a crankshaft portion (5) configured to support a crankshaft and a cylinder housing portion (3) configured to support the crankshaft, the crankshaft is configured to rotate around a crankshaft axis, the cylinder shell part (3) is provided with an inner wall (19), and the inner wall (19) is configured to slidably support a piston head to move up and down along the inner wall (19) of the cylinder shell part (3) in the direction of a stroke axis (S). Wherein the inner wall (19) comprises or consists of a hypereutectic aluminum alloy. It is proposed that the hypereutectic aluminum alloy contains one or two of the following alloy components: 1.0 wt% or less of copper (Cu) and 1.5 wt% or more of magnesium (Mg).
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an air compressor housing for an air compressor of a commercial vehicle, wherein the air compressor is configured to supply pressurized air to a pneumatic system of the vehicle, the housing comprising a crankshaft portion and a cylinder housing portion, wherein the crankshaft portion is configured to support a crankshaft, the crankshaft being configured to rotate about a crankshaft axis, wherein the cylinder housing portion has an inner wall, the inner wall being configured to slidably support a piston head to move up and down along the inner wall of the cylinder housing portion in a direction of a stroke axis, wherein the inner wall comprises a hypereutectic aluminum alloy or consists of a hypereutectic aluminum alloy. Background Art

[0002] Generally in the automotive industry, especially in commercial vehicles, there is an increasing demand to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in vehicle fleets. In this regard, an established approach is to strive to reduce weight throughout the vehicle, which may result in lower fuel consumption and thus reduced emissions. Manufacturers have followed this route by using light alloys whenever possible. In particular, manufacturers have tried to replace cast iron materials with aluminum or other non-ferrous metal alloys.

[0003] In the field of air compressors, it is known from DE 10 2014 013 442 A1 to manufacture air compressor housings from aluminum alloys. DE 10 2014 013 442 A1 proposes using a variety of aluminum alloys, namely Al Si9 Cu3 (F2), Al Si12 Cu NiMg or the hypereutectic aluminum alloy Al Si17 Cu4 Mg.

[0004] Although it has been found that the above-mentioned known alloys generally work well for their specific use as materials for air compressor housings, further improvements are still desired. In particular, it is desired to improve the wear resistance of the air compressor housing, especially in the region of the cylinder housing portion. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve an air compressor housing of the above type, especially with respect to wear resistance.

[0006] The present invention achieves this object by proposing to use a hypereutectic aluminum alloy for an air compressor housing of the initially mentioned type, the hypereutectic aluminum alloy containing at least one, preferably two, of the following alloy components: copper below 1.0% by weight, magnesium above 1.5% by weight, nickel above 0.5% by weight.

[0007] It should be understood that in the above list and in the lists to follow, aluminum and inevitable impurities make up the remainder of the alloy composition to reach 100% by weight.

[0008] It has been found that the use of the above amounts of alloy components, either alone or in combination, has a positive effect on the hardness and wear resistance of the material. The increased hardness is the result of an improved structure of silicon deposition within the material, the formation of which is influenced by the alloy components, as compared to prior art aluminum alloys used for air compressor housings.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment, the hypereutectic aluminum alloy preferably contains more than 0.5 wt% nickel (Ni) in addition to the copper specifically noted above. Combining nickel with the above alloy components, especially at least with copper, provides increased strength at elevated temperatures.

[0010] In another preferred embodiment, the copper content of the hypereutectic aluminum alloy ranges from 0.85 wt% to 1.0 wt%, preferably from 0.9 wt% to 1.0 wt%.

[0011] In another preferred embodiment, the magnesium content is between 1.5 wt% and 2.0 wt%, preferably between 1.75 wt% and 1.95 wt%.

[0012] In another preferred embodiment, the nickel content is between 0.5 wt% and 1.0 wt%, preferably between 0.6 wt% and 0.8 wt%, more preferably in the range between 0.65 wt% and 0.75 wt%, and particularly preferably 0.712 wt%.

[0013] In another preferred embodiment, the hypereutectic aluminum alloy contains less than 17 wt%, preferably in the range of 15.9 wt% to 16.1 wt%, more preferably in the range of 16.0 wt% to 16.05 wt% of silicon.

[0014] In another preferred embodiment, the hypereutectic aluminum alloy contains less than 1.0 wt%, preferably less than 0.25 wt%, more preferably between 0.15 wt% and 0.2 wt% of iron.

[0015] In another preferred embodiment, the hypereutectic aluminum alloy contains traces of one, more or all of the following components: titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zn), tin (Sn), lead (Pb), preferably each less than 0.1 wt%, more preferably less than 0.05 wt%.

[0016] In another preferred embodiment, the hypereutectic aluminum alloy contains more than 0.3 wt%, preferably in the range of 0.4 - 0.75 wt% of manganese as an alloy component.

[0017] In another preferred embodiment, the inner wall of the cylinder housing portion includes a honed surface having one, more or all of the following surface characteristics: - Core roughness (R KIn the range of 1.0 μm to 2.0 μm, preferably in the range of 1.6 μm to 1.8 μm, - the reduced peak height (R pk is 0.8 μm or less, - the reduced valley depth (R vk is in the range of 0.4 μm to 4.0 μm, preferably in the range of 0.9 μm to 1.2 μm, - at the upper limit of the roughness core area, the minimum material ratio (M r1 is in the range of 12% or less, preferably in the range of 6% to 10%, - at the lower limit of the roughness core area, the maximum material ratio (M r2 is in the range of 55% to 88%, preferably in the range of 85% to 87%, - the honing angle (α) is in the range of 20° to 30°, preferably in the range of 24° to 26°.

[0018] In this context, the terms used above for the surface characteristics and the underlying measurement methods should be understood as being implemented in accordance with ISO 13565-2.

[0019] It has been found that by honing the surface of the inner wall to the above surface characteristics, in particular in combination with the hypereutectic aluminum alloy of the preferred embodiment further described above, the surface obtains a beneficial isolated surface structure containing Si particles, wherein the shape, size and concentration of the Si particles result in improved wear resistance compared to the prior art aluminum alloys discussed in, for example, DE 10 2014 013 442 A1.

[0020] In another preferred embodiment, the crankshaft part and the cylinder housing part are integrally formed, preferably cast as one piece. After the casting material has solidified, it has been found that the alloy according to the invention has developed a beneficial hardness and still allows surface machining, such as honing as described in the preferred embodiments above. In a preferred embodiment, if the aluminum alloy is subjected to a heat treatment, a further increase in hardness can be achieved. In particular, the aluminum alloy is preferably subjected to a multiphase heat treatment.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment, the aluminum alloy is subjected to a quenching procedure in a first stage, which includes solutionizing the alloy at a temperature of 525 °C + / - 5 °C for a period of 5 to 7 hours, preferably 6 hours, and then quenching the alloy preferably in water or an aqueous medium.

[0022] Further preferably, the aluminum alloy is then subjected to age hardening, i.e., precipitation hardening, in a second phase, which includes heating the alloy to 160 °C + / - 10 °C for 5 to 7 hours, preferably for 6 hours, and then cooling the alloy preferably by air cooling.

[0023] In another preferred embodiment, the cylinder housing portion includes a first plurality of outwardly projecting ribs extending circumferentially around the housing portion, and a second plurality of outwardly projecting ribs extending longitudinally along the housing portion, the second plurality of outwardly projecting ribs being at least substantially parallel to the stroke axis defined by the cylinder housing portion. In the case of being substantially parallel, according to the present invention, a deviation of 0° + / - 2° with respect to the stroke axis, that is, alternatively, a deviation of 1° + / - 1° should be understood to be within the range of parallelism.

[0024] In another preferred embodiment, the crankshaft portion includes a plurality of outwardly projecting ribs extending longitudinally along the crankshaft portion, at least substantially parallel to the crankshaft axis defined by the crankshaft portion.

[0025] The ribs for the cylinder housing portion and the crankshaft portion described above beneficially serve a dual function, namely, on the one hand, serving as cooling ribs and, at the same time, also serving as additional strengthening structures to minimize the undesired deformation of the air compressor housing under load and temperature.

[0026] In another preferred embodiment, the cylinder housing portion includes: a distal end relative to the crankshaft portion, in other words, the distal end is the end of the cylinder housing portion that is farthest from the crankshaft portion; and a total length extending from the crankshaft axis to the distal end in the direction of the stroke axis, wherein the distal end includes a flange, and the flange thickness of the flange in the longitudinal direction of the stroke axis is in the range of 11% to 15% of the total length, preferably 13%.

[0027] The present invention has been described above with respect to the air compressor housing itself in a first aspect. In a second aspect, the present invention also relates to a method of manufacturing an air compressor housing, particularly an air compressor housing according to any one of the preferred embodiments described above herein.

[0028] The method of the second aspect achieves the initially stated object by including the following steps: casting a molten hypereutectic aluminum alloy into, for example, a mold; and curing the cast hypereutectic aluminum alloy in, for example, the mold, wherein the hypereutectic aluminum alloy contains at least one, and preferably two, of the following alloy components: - Copper (Cu) of 1.0 wt% or less, - Magnesium (Mg) of 1.5 wt% or more.

[0029] The benefits achieved by the air compressor housing of the first aspect are also the benefits of the method of the second aspect. The preferred embodiments of the air compressor housing of the first aspect are also the preferred embodiments of the method of the second aspect, and vice versa, which is why reference is made to the above description to avoid unnecessary repetition.

[0030] In particular, the hypereutectic aluminum alloy used in the method of the second aspect has the characteristics regarding the first aspect as described above.

[0031] In a preferred embodiment, the housing includes a cylinder housing portion, wherein the cylinder housing portion has an inner wall configured to slidably support a piston head, and the method includes the step of honing the surface of the inner wall such that the surface obtains one, more, or all of the following characteristics: - The core roughness (R K ) is in the range of 1.0 μm to 2.0 μm, preferably in the range of 1.6 μm to 1.8 μm, - The reduced peak height (R pk ) is below 0.8 μm, - The reduced valley depth (R vk ) is in the range of 0.4 μm to 4.0 μm, preferably in the range of 0.9 μm to 1.2 μm, - At the upper limit of the roughness core area, the minimum material ratio (M r1 ) is in the range of below 12%, preferably in the range of 6% to 10%, - At the lower limit of the roughness core area, the maximum material ratio (M r2 ) is in the range of 55% to 88%, preferably in the range of 85% to 87%, - The honing angle (α) is in the range of 20° to 30°, preferably in the range of 24° to 26°.

[0032] Preferably, honing is performed using a flexible honing tool and by using a set of operating parameters, the tool particularly including a silicon carbide head, wherein the operating parameters include one, more, or all of the following: - The honing tool grit size (G) is in the range of 120 to 240, preferably 180, - The rotational speed (s r ) is in the range of 800 rpm to 1200 rpm, preferably 1000 rpm, - The preferably vertical stroke feed (f s ) is in the range of 20 mm / s to 40 mm / s, preferably 25 mm / s.

[0033] In another aspect, the present invention also relates to the use of a hypereutectic aluminum alloy containing at least one, preferably two, of the following alloy components: - Copper (Cu) of 1.0 wt% or less, - Magnesium (Mg) of 1.5 wt% or more, for producing an air compressor housing for a commercial vehicle air compressor, particularly an air compressor housing of any of the preferred embodiments described above regarding the first aspect.

[0034] This use is preferably implemented within the method as described above for the second aspect.

[0035] The use according to the third aspect shares the benefits and preferred embodiments of the first and second aspects and vice versa, which is why the above description is referred to again to avoid unnecessary repetition.

[0036] A particularly preferred hypereutectic aluminum alloy for each of the above three aspects contains the following alloy components: - Copper (Cu) of 1.0 wt% or less, preferably in the range between 0.9 wt% and 1.0 wt%. - Magnesium (Mg) of more than 1.0 wt%, preferably in the range between 1.75 wt% and 1.95 wt%, and - Nickel (Ni) of more than 0.5 wt%, preferably in the range between 0.6 wt% and 0.8 wt%.

[0037] It should be understood that aluminum and trace amounts of other components, such as inevitable impurities and other components mentioned by way of example but not limited to the above, form the remainder of the composition to reach 100 wt%. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] The present invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to preferred embodiments and according to the drawings, wherein:

[0039] Figure 1 shows a schematic three-dimensional view of an air compressor housing according to a preferred embodiment, and

[0040] Figure 2 shows a schematic overview of a method for producing Figure 1 the air compressor housing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] Figure 1 Shows an air compressor housing 1 for an air compressor, which is configured for use in a commercial vehicle (not shown). The air compressor housing 1 (also referred to as the housing hereinafter) includes a crankshaft portion 3 and a cylinder housing portion 5. The crankshaft portion 3 and the cylinder housing portion 5 are integrally formed as a one-piece design. The crankshaft portion defines a rotational axis R of a crankshaft (not shown), and the cylinder housing portion defines a longitudinal stroke axis S of the moving direction of a reciprocating piston head (not shown).

[0042] The stroke axis S is orthogonal to the rotational axis R. Measured from the rotational axis R, the cylinder housing portion extends until a total length L in the direction of the stroke axis S total。The cylinder housing part 5 includes a distal end 7 which defines the end of the cylinder housing part 5 that is farthest from the crankshaft part 3 in the direction of the stroke axis S. The distal end 7 includes a flange 9 having a thickness t. The thickness t is defined as a ratio of 13% of the total length L total The flange 9 includes a plurality of preferably threaded holes 11 for mounting the cylinder head to the cylinder housing part 5 of the air compressor housing 1.

[0043] On the periphery of the distal end 7, the flange 9 includes at least one and preferably a plurality of inwardly extending recesses 12 which are configured to reduce the weight of the air compressor housing 1. Below and above the recesses 12, material ribs extending from the edge to the edge of the distal end 7 are preferably provided to strengthen the flange 9 of the cylinder housing part 5.

[0044] Below the distal end, the cylinder housing part 5 includes a cylindrical outer wall 17 and a first plurality of circumferentially extending ribs 13 protruding therefrom. Additionally, the cylinder housing part 5 includes a second plurality of ribs 15 which extend substantially parallel to the stroke axis S and are circumferentially distributed along the outer wall 17. The first plurality of ribs 13 and the second plurality of ribs 15 preferably intersect each other to form a web of ribs. The ribs 13, 15 in the cylinder housing part preferably have a dual function, namely on the one hand serving as a cooling element by strengthening the total surface area of the cylinder housing part and on the other hand serving as a strengthening element to limit the radial expansion and other deformations of the cylinder housing part under mechanical and temperature loads.

[0045] Since the cylindrical housing part 5 is configured to slidably support the piston head therein, it includes an inner wall 19 having a surface 20 against which the piston slides when installed.

[0046] The crankshaft part 3 preferably includes mounting interfaces 21 for receiving crankshaft caps (not shown) on opposite end sides.

[0047] A plurality of ribs 25 extend outwardly on the crankshaft part 3 substantially parallel to the rotational axis R as shown here. The ribs 25 preferably have a dual function as described above for the plurality of ribs 13, 15, namely serving as a strengthening element against deformation and serving as a cooling element.

[0048] The crankshaft part 3 includes a plurality of preferably threaded holes 27 for mounting the crankshaft cap thereto.

[0049] Figure 1 The overall structure of the air compressor housing 1 shown is optimized for casting the air compressor housing as one piece. Alternatively, the cylinder housing part 5 and the crankshaft part 3 can also be cast separately and then joined, for example by welding.

[0050] According to one aspect of the present invention, casting is the preferred way to produce the air compressor housing, in particular, the AlSi16 alloy which will be further discussed below will be used.

[0051] As Figure 2 exemplarily shown in Figure 1 the air compressor housing 1 can be produced by casting the hypereutectic aluminum alloy into a mold in step 101.

[0052] In step 103, the aluminum alloy is solidified to obtain a green body of the air compressor housing 1.

[0053] In step 105, the surface 20 of the inner wall 19 of the cylinder housing part 5 is subjected to honing, preferably flexible honing. Advantageously, a silicon carbide tool head is used for this purpose.

[0054] Preferably, honing is carried out by using a tool grit G of 180, a rotational speed s of 1000 rpm r and a stroke feed f of 25 mm / s s for honing.

[0055] Preferably, the hypereutectic aluminum alloy used for casting has the following components: Si: 16% by weight, Cu: 1.0% by weight, Mg: 1.9% by weight, Fe: 0.2% by weight, Ni: 0.7% by weight, where aluminum and inevitable impurities form the remainder of the composition to reach 100% by weight.

[0056] By using this specific alloy and the operating parameters for the above honing, the surface 20 of the inner wall 19 in the cylinder housing part 15 with the following surface characteristics is obtained: R k 1.7 µm, R pk 0.6 µm, R vk 1.0 µm, M r1 8.0%, M r2 86.0%, The honing angle α is preferably selected to be 25.0°.

[0057] The hardness test of the above aluminum alloy is carried out under DIN EN ISO 6506-1:2015. A test force of 750 kg is applied using a ball probe with a diameter of 5 mm. The observed hardness is in the range of 131 - 135 BHN. It has been found that the wear resistance on the surface 20 of the inner wall 19 of the cylinder housing part 5 is greatly improved compared to other hypereutectic aluminum alloys (e.g., especially AlSi17 Cu4Mg).

[0058] The prior art AlSi17Cu4Mg alloy has the following composition as specified in EN1706: Si: 16 - 18 wt%, Cu: 4 - 5 wt%, Mn: max. 0.5 wt%, Mg: 0.25 - 0.65 wt%, Fe: max. 1.3 wt%, Ni: max. 0.3 wt%, Sn: max. 0.15 wt%, Ti: max. 0.25 wt%, Zn: max. 1.5 wt%, with the balance being aluminum and inevitable impurities. The Brinell hardness observed using the same method as for the alloy of the present invention is in the range of 120 BHN.

[0059] As described above, the present invention provides an air compressor housing and a method for producing the same, which achieves a significant weight reduction of more than 50% compared to cast iron with a similar structure.

[0060] At the same time, the present invention allows for an increase in hardness, making the material properties of the air compressor housing closer to those of a cast iron housing, which has hitherto suffered from a higher material hardness at the cost of a higher weight.

[0061] List of reference numerals (part of the specification)

[0062] 1 Air compressor housing

[0063] 3 Cylinder housing part

[0064] 5 Crankshaft part

[0065] 7 Distal end

[0066] 9 Flange

[0067] 11 Hole in the flange

[0068] 12 Recess

[0069] 13 Circumferential rib

[0070] 15 Longitudinal rib of the cylinder housing part

[0071] 17 Outer wall of the cylinder housing part

[0072] 19 Inner wall

[0073] 20 Surface of the inner wall

[0074] 21 Crankshaft hole

[0075] 25 Rib of the crankshaft part

[0076] 27 Mounting hole for the crankshaft cover

[0077] L total Length

[0078] t Thickness

[0079] Rotational axis of the R crankshaft section

[0080] Stroke axis of the S cylinder housing section

[0081] P Operating parameter

[0082] G Tool grain size

[0083] s r Rotational speed

[0084] f s Stroke feed

[0085] R k Core roughness

[0086] R pk Reduced peak height

[0087] R vk Reduced valley depth

[0088] M r1 Minimum material ratio

[0089] M r2 Maximum material ratio

[0090] α Honing angle.

Claims

1. An air compressor housing (1) for an air compressor of a commercial vehicle, wherein, the air compressor is configured to supply pressurized air to a pneumatic system of the vehicle, and the air compressor housing (1) includes: a crankshaft portion (5), wherein the crankshaft portion (5) is configured to support a crankshaft, and the crankshaft is configured to rotate about a crankshaft axis, and a cylinder housing portion (3), wherein the cylinder housing portion (3) has an inner wall (19), and the inner wall (19) is configured to slidably support a piston head to move up and down along the inner wall (19) of the cylinder housing portion (3) in a direction of a stroke axis (S), wherein the inner wall (19) comprises a hypereutectic aluminum alloy or consists of a hypereutectic aluminum alloy, characterized in that the hypereutectic aluminum alloy contains at least one, preferably two, of the following alloy components: - Copper (Cu) of 1.0 wt% or less, - Magnesium (Mg) of 1.5 wt% or more.

2. The air compressor housing according to claim 1, characterized in that, the hypereutectic aluminum alloy preferably further contains, in addition to copper: - Nickel (Ni) of 0.5 wt% or more.

3. The air compressor housing (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that, the copper content is between 0.85 wt% and 1.0 wt%, preferably between 0.9 wt% and 1.0 wt%.

4. The air compressor housing (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, the magnesium content is between 1.5 wt% and 2.0 wt%, preferably between 1.75 wt% and 1.95 wt%.

5. The air compressor housing (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, the nickel content is between 0.5 wt% and 1.0 wt%, preferably between 0.6 wt% and 0.8 wt%, and more preferably in the range between 0.65 wt% and 0.75 wt%.

6. The air compressor housing (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, the hypereutectic aluminum alloy contains less than 17 wt%, preferably in the range of 15.9 wt% to 16.1 wt%, and more preferably in the range of 16.0 wt% to 16.05 wt% of silicon (Si).

7. The air compressor housing (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, the hypereutectic aluminum alloy contains 1.0 wt% or less, preferably 0.25 wt% or less, and more preferably between 0.15 wt% and 0.2 wt% of iron (Fe).

8. The air compressor housing according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, the hypereutectic alloy contains traces of one, more or all of the following components: - Titanium (Ti), - Zirconium (Zn), - Tin (Sn), - Lead (Pb), preferably each less than 0.1 wt%, and more preferably less than 0.05 wt%.

9. The air compressor housing (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The hypereutectic aluminum alloy contains manganese (Mn) as an alloy component in an amount greater than 0.3% by weight, preferably in the range of 0.4 to 0.75% by weight.

10. An air compressor housing (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inner wall (19) includes a surface (20), and the surface (20) has one, more or all of the following surface characteristics: - The core roughness (R K ) is in the range of 1.0 μm to 2.0 μm, preferably in the range of 1.6 μm to 1.8 μm, - Reduced peak height (R pk ) is 0.8 μm or less, - Reduced valley depth (R vk ) is in the range of 0.4 μm to 4.0 μm, preferably in the range of 0.9 μm to 1.2 μm, - At the upper limit of the roughness core area, the minimum material ratio (M r1 ) is in the range of 12% or less, preferably in the range of 6% to 10%, - At the lower limit of the roughness core area, the maximum material ratio (M r2 ) is in the range of 55% to 88%, preferably in the range of 85% to 87%, - The honing angle (α) is in the range of 20° to 30°, preferably in the range of 24° to 26°.

11. An air compressor housing (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the crankshaft portion (5) and the cylinder housing portion (3) are integrally formed, preferably cast as one piece.

12. An air compressor housing (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cylinder housing portion (3) includes a first plurality of outwardly projecting ribs (13) and a second plurality of outwardly projecting ribs (15), wherein the first plurality of outwardly projecting ribs (13) extend circumferentially around the cylinder housing portion (3), and the second plurality of outwardly projecting ribs (15) extend longitudinally along the cylinder housing portion (3), at least substantially parallel to the stroke axis (S) defined by the cylinder housing portion (3).

13. An air compressor housing (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the crankshaft portion (5) includes a plurality of outwardly projecting ribs (25), and the plurality of outwardly projecting ribs extend longitudinally along the crankshaft portion (5), at least substantially parallel to the crankshaft axis defined by the crankshaft portion (5).

14. An air compressor housing (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The cylinder housing part (3) includes a distal end (7) relative to the crankshaft part (5), and a total length (L total ) that extends from the rotational axis (R) to the distal end in the direction of the stroke axis (S) wherein the distal end includes a flange, and the flange thickness (t) of the flange in the longitudinal direction of the stroke axis (S) is in the range of 11% to 15% of the total length, preferably 13%.

15. A method for producing an air compressor housing (1), in particular for producing an air compressor housing (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, the method comprising the steps of casting (101) and curing (103) a hypereutectic aluminum alloy, characterized in that the hypereutectic aluminum alloy contains at least one, preferably two, of the following alloy components: - Copper (Cu) of 1.0% by weight or less, - Magnesium (Mg) of 1.5% by weight or more.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the air compressor housing (1) includes a cylinder housing portion (3), wherein the cylinder housing portion (3) has an inner wall (19), and the inner wall (19) is configured to slidably support a piston head, and the method includes the following steps: honing (105) the surface (20) of the inner wall (19) such that the surface (20) obtains one, more or all of the following characteristics: - The core roughness (R K ) is in the range of 1.0 μm to 2.0 μm, preferably in the range of 1.6 μm to 1.8 μm, - Reduced peak height (R pk ) is 0.8 μm or less, - Reduced valley depth (R vk ) is in the range of 0.4 μm to 4.0 μm, preferably in the range of 0.9 μm to 1.2 μm, - At the upper limit of the roughness core area, the minimum material ratio (M r1 ) is in the range of 12% or less, preferably in the range of 6% to 10%, - At the lower limit of the roughness core area, the maximum material ratio (M r2 ) is in the range of 55% to 88%, preferably in the range of 85% to 87%, - The honing angle (α) is in the range of 20° to 30°, preferably in the range of 24° to 26°.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein Preferably, the honing (105) is performed by using a flexible honing tool including a silicon carbide head with a set of operating parameters (P), wherein the operating parameters (P) include one, more or all of the following: - The honing tool grit size (G) ranges from 120 to 240, preferably 180, - Rotation speed (s r ) is in the range of 800 rpm to 1200 rpm, preferably 1000 rpm, - Preferably, the vertical stroke feed (f s ) is in the range of 20 mm / s to 40 mm / s, preferably 25 mm / s.

18. Use of a hypereutectic aluminum alloy containing one or two of the following alloy components: - Copper (Cu) below 1.0% by weight, - Magnesium (Mg) above 1.0% by weight, for producing an air compressor housing (1) for an air compressor of a commercial vehicle, in particular for producing an air compressor housing (1) according to any one of the preceding claims.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • air compressor made of a light alloy

    DE102014013442A1