EXPERIMENTAL & INVESTIGATION

ON IMPROVING LIFE OF SPARK PLUG

USING ZINC,CHROMIUM,NICKEL
COATING
•
ABSTRACT
The spark plug firing tips has many problems in engine that needs correcting. Even
though spark plugs are easily replaced, inexpensive and immediately improve
engine performance, they are often ignored until they cause serious performance
problems. Bad plugs can cause overheating, rough running, power loss and even
engine failure. So these paper discussed about the coated spark plug for physical
vapour deposition(PVD) method and to solve the performance problems.
• The development of a high performance, long life Spark plug has become essential
in response to these demands. While improve performance (high ignitability and
low required voltage), the discharge part of the Spark plug needs to be reduced in
size. But, in the past this has been difficult because of the limitations in terms of
wear. It has been difficult to achieve both smaller discharge parts and longer life. To
dramatically improve wear resistance, we researched materials that are both
resistant to oxidation and have a high melting point.
• This research resulted in our development of a various coatings. Through this
development we have been able to produce a various coating that surpasses the
conventional platinum technology. The coating is now being used in high volume
vehicle production. This paper is divided into the following three parts and
describes the development of the new generation of coating spark plug. This paper
discussed about the zinc,chromium,nickel Coating on the Spark Plug and to
evaluate the Knoop Hardness and carbon deposition properties.
 INTRODUCTION
• Today, more sophistication is being demanded of the essential requirements
of engines in terms of performance, which are "high power" and "low fuel
consumption". At the same time, a closer eye is being kept on global
environmental problems than in the past, and "lower emissions" are
becoming essential.
• To achieve these tasks, the number of engine-related components is
increasing, and the space in which such components can be loaded is
severely restricted. In response to these social and technical trends, we
expect that in the future spark plugs, which are placed in the
combustion chamber, must be able to withstand more severe conditions.
• That is, they must be able to withstand leaner combustion, higher
pressure, stronger swirling, and large quantities of EGR(exhaust gas
recirculation). This in turn will increase the required voltage and worsen
the ignitability environment.
 LITERATURE REVIEW
• H.T. Lin, M.P. Brady, R.K. Richards, D.M. Layton, Characterization of erosion and
failure processes of spark plugs after field service in natural gas engines, Wear,
Volume 259, Issues 7 – 12, July – August 2005, Pages 1063-1067, ISSN 0043-1648:
Micro structural and optical spectroscopic analyses were carried out on as-received
and used spark plugs after field service in natural gas (NG) reciprocating engines. The
objectives of this work was to examine the corrosion and erosion mechanisms of natural
gas engine spark plug as well as identify the primary life limiting processes during field
operation
• F.A. Solders, F.T. Mucklich, K. Hrastnik and T. Kaiser, “Description of the
discharge process in spark plugs and its correlation with the electrode erosion
patterns,” in IEEE Transaction on Vehicular Technology, vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 1257-
1265, July 2004:
The phases of the discharges in spark plugs were studied with a high-speed camera
and an oscilloscope. The discharges were done using samples of nickel alloys and
platinum as cathode in air at pressures ranging from 100 to 900 kPa. For low pressures
(100 kPa), a glow discharge occurs after the breakdown. For higher pressures, a
discharge follows the breakdown and changes into a glow discharge when the current
decreases.
PROCESS FLOW
 MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS
• UNCOATED SPARK PLUG
• ZINC
• CHROMIUM
• NICKEL
 EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
• CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION (CVD)
CVD IMAGE
UN COATED SPARK PLUG
ZINC POWDER
ZINC COATED SPARK PLUG
 ZINC PROPERTIES
DENSITY 7.14 g/cm³

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH 55-67MPA

TENSILE STRENGTH 2.4-4.4GPA

CHROMIUM POWDER
CHROMIUM COATED SPARK PLUG
CHROMIUM PROPERTIES
DENSITY 7.19 g/cm³

MELTING POINT 1800-1950*C

BOILING POINT 2260*C

NICKEL POWDER
NICKEL COATED SPARK PLUG
 NICKEL PROPERTIES
DENSITY 7.81 g/cm³

YOUNG'S MODULUS 279 GPa

MELTING POINT 160 GPa

BOILING POINT 0.21

PROBLEM OF SPARK PLUG
 APPLICATION OF COATING

AUTOMOBILE COMPONENTS LIKE:

• CUTTING TOOLS
• MACHINE PARTS (BEARINGS, SHAFTS,
SPRINGS, ETC.)
 TESTS ARE INVOLVING
1. CORROSION TEST
2. HARDNESS TEST
3. CARBON DEPOSITION TEST
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