“When Warner Shenglong Company was established in 1998, there were only 20,000 sets of silicone oil fan clutches used in Chinese cars per year. Now our annual production of silicone oil fan clutches has reached 800,000 sets. In the next five years, silicone oil fan clutches will be the most popular in China. The assembly rate in the commercial vehicle market is expected to reach more than 70%.” This is what Zhang Wenchang, the general manager of Warner Shenglong (Ningbo) Co., Ltd., said when the company opened its new factory recently. . China International Mold Network
What is a silicone oil fan clutch? Data shows that silicone oil clutches use silicone oil as the medium and use its high viscosity characteristics to transmit torque. When the engine temperature is low, the viscosity of the silicone oil is high, the fan clutch is separated, and the fan speed slows down; when the engine temperature is high, the viscosity of the silicone oil is low, the fan clutch is combined, and the fan and water pump work together to regulate the engine temperature. China
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■ More suitable for commercial vehicles China International Mold Network
Yao Chunde, deputy director of the State Key Laboratory of Internal Combustion Engine Combustion at Tianjin University, told reporters: “Compared with ordinary fan clutches, silicone oil fan clutches can automatically adjust the fan speed to enable the engine to work at the optimal operating temperature. It has the characteristics of fuel saving, noise reduction, Emission reduction and other advantages.” China International Mold Network
We often see some cars emitting black smoke when starting, which is a sign of insufficient combustion. This phenomenon can be avoided by using a silicone oil fan clutch.
(Jiangxi New Materials Co., Ltd.)
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Zhang Wenchang said that when the engine is cold started, the fan is often required to rotate, but the speed cannot be too fast, which cannot be satisfied by conventional fans. Silicone oil fan clutch uses the viscosity characteristics of silicone oil to meet the requirements. This advantage is more obvious in commercial vehicles. The engine displacement is small and the layout is compact. Its technical characteristics determine that when the engine is started, the motor fan does not need to rotate, and The fan used for cooling consumes less power. After using the silicone oil clutch, the effect of improving fuel economy is not very significant. However, the displacement of commercial vehicle engines is relatively large, mostly above 10 liters, and the power consumed by the fan accounts for about 6% of the total power. Using a silicone fan clutch can reduce fuel consumption by 2% to 3%, and the effect of reducing fuel consumption is very great. obvious. In addition, the fan size of commercial vehicle engines is larger and the noise generated is often larger. The advantages of silicone oil fan clutch in noise reduction are also outstanding. China International Mold Network
Therefore, currently more than 90% of commercial vehicles in Europe and the United States use silicone oil fan clutches, but it is difficult to find them in the car field. China International Mold Network
■ Reduce configuration to reduce costs China International Mold Network
BorgWarner is the world’s leader in engine cooling systems. Warner Shenglong is BorgWarner’s joint venture in China. However, the process of promoting silicone oil clutches in China is very difficult. China International Mold Network
Yao Chunde told reporters that the silicone oil fan clutch is not a very advanced product. It has been known to the Chinese automobile industry for a long time, but it is rarely used. Because the silicone oil fan clutch is mainly developed for diesel engines. The early development history of domestic diesel engines was for agricultural machinery and was rarely used in automobiles. Agricultural machinery does not have high performance requirements for engine fuel economy and other performance. In order to save costs, the silicone oil fan clutch was omitted. . China International Mold Network
Zhang Wenchang confirmed this view. He introduced that it is not only agricultural machinery, but also commercial vehicles. China’s commercial vehicles are almost the lowest priced in the world. Not only are they cheaper than commercial vehicles in developed countries such as Europe and the United States, they are also much lower than those in developing countries such as India. Low prices directly lead to low configurations, so Chinese commercial vehicles also omit some non-essential configurations, including silicone fan clutches. It is said that the engine of a Dongfeng car has reserved a place for a silicone fan clutch, but an ordinary fan is currently used instead. China International Mold Network
China International Mold Network