Engine downsizing strategies and the proliferation of turbocharging create a need for more effective and lightweight thermal management products to protect heat sensitive electronics and materials under the bonnet.
For this, Federal-Mogul has developed a new material to address difficulties related to heat shielding in vehicle engine compartments. The new material, Nimbus GII, offers high thermal effi ciency combined with high formability, which allows the formation of very complex shapes. Further, Nimbus GII also is approximately 80% lighter than typical steel sandwich heat shields.
Nimbus GII is constructed using two thin, interlocking corrugated aluminium sheets, which provide a rigid structure. It can be stretch without tearing and compressed without wrinkling or buckling. An insulating air pocket between the two layers increases the high thermal performance of the aluminium, resulting in a 15-30% improvement in thermal protection when compared to a typical sandwich-style heat shield construction. This formability allows a single sheet of material to cover areas with a complex shape, where multiple hear shields may have been used.
