Nikasil e Alusil
Nikasil e Alusil
Nikasil ®
and Alusil
A primer on some of the more common specialty coatings
and cylinder materials found in small displacement engines
BY JOHN GOODMAN
This issue of Engine Professional is Background What Nikasil® and other similar
dedicated to specialty engines and niche Any shop considering a cylinder repair coatings are not remains the center of
marketing opportunities. Part of that that has been coated with Nikasil® confusion. Alusil’s like Lokasil®,
market involves small displacement should be aware of a few material Mercasil® and other high silica substrates
engines of all types and configurations. properties and some of the confusion are not coatings at all but rather
Past experience with these small bore surrounding them. It will not be the aluminum metal alloys. These alloys have
engines has demonstrated a need to purpose of this article to cover many also been referred to as hypereutectic
understand materials and coating in a manufacturing details but developing aluminum due to the percent of silica
way quite different from the run-of-the- particles contained in the alloy. It is a
application and machining do’s and don’ts
mill gasoline engine. Motorcycle, water subtle distinction but Alusil alloys do not
will be fundamental.
sport, snow mobile, off-road, stationary contain silica carbide like nickel plating
Let’s begin by covering what Nikasil®
does. Instead of silica carbide, Alusil
power plant and other specialty engines is. Nikasil® or NiCom® (1967 Mahle
employs glass-like silica particles similar
offer a machine shop many high profit trademark) is electrodeposited oleophilic
to sand. Beside silica particles, other hard
opportunities. What has generally kept nickel silicium carbide coating. Simply particle formations are built into the alloy
shops from exploiting these niche markets put, it is a nickel plated silica carbide through smelting. These other hard
is a lack of knowledge on how to coating often applied to aluminum particles can be regulated in size and
approach it, a clear understanding of cylinder bore IDs but can be used for shape depending upon perceived need.
what is required by way of equipment many applications where tight tolerances Nikasil® is also not to be confused
and an understanding of materials and and superior wear surfaces are indicated. with plasma spray cast iron or carbon
coatings used in the manufacture of these The oleophilic feature of Nikasil® gives it coatings. Spray cast iron has been used on
engines. a natural tendency to absorb oil, which in aluminum cylinder bore ID’s as a cost-
We will attempt to give the reader a turn helps the oil retention of the coating. effective and efficient wear surface. But
primer on some of the more common Although there are several proprietary spray cast iron is much softer than
coatings and cylinder materials that can formulations of nickel plated silica Nikasil® and subject to greater wear. A
be found in these specialty engines as well carbide, application parameters remain quick glance at Nikasil® and spray cast
as many automotive engine applications. the same for all of them. iron does not reveal many differences
Figure 2:
Photomicrograph
of Electrosil plated
cylinder bore
because both have a grey look to the for sliding seal components such as silicon levels below 12% are known as
surface so further investigation is pistons and rings. hypoeutectic (the silicon is dissolved into
necessary to determine what coating you the aluminum matrix). Aluminum with
are working with. Carbon coatings are Alusil silicon levels above 12% are known as
much easier to identify as they are much Although not a coating, some hypereutec- hypereutectic (aluminum with 16%
darker (almost black). Generally, carbon tic aluminum alloys suggest by name that silicon has 12% dissolved silicon and 4%
coatings are not found in cylinder bore they possess Nikasil® properties. shows up as primary silicon crystals).).
ID’s but have been used successfully in Lokasil®, Mercosil® and Silumal® are A hypereutectic aluminum-silicon
that application. but three such alloys and often confused alloy produced by a powder metallurgy
with nickel silicon carbide composites. technique comprises 12 to 50% by weight
Physical Properties For a more detailed look at this alloy, I of silicon, 1.0 to 5.0% by weight of
would refer you to the April-June 2008 copper and 0.01 to 0.05% by weight of
Nikasil® issue, pages 20-26 of Engine Professional phosphorus, the content of calcium (Ca)
As has been mentioned, many variations magazine and read Tim Meara’s article. as an impurity being controlled to be
of Nikasil® like Elnisil®, Kanisil®, Tim is Sunnen Products Senior Honing 0.03% by weight or less. Hypereutectic
Electrosil® and SCEM or Suzuki Technician and explains in detail all dis- aluminum-silicon alloy exhibits excellent
Composite Electro-chemical Material are creet features of Alusil. It is vital that mechanical strength and is therefore used
available from a variety of manufacturers shops do not mix coatings and alloys for manufacturing pistons and other
but generally, these nickel silicon carbide together when determining best course of engine components.
composites use about 14% silicon carbide action to take with a repair or machining A hypereutectic aluminum-silicon
with the rest in nickel and other additives operation. I often hear machinists speak casting alloy used in cylinder blocks for
as binders. This would be similar to about preparing a hypereutectic alloy as marine engines is composed by weight of
conventional vitrified abrasive material though it were Nikasil®. This can lead to 16% to 19% of silicon, 0.4% to 0.7%
where ceramic binders are used to hold disastrous results and ultimately blame magnesium, up to 0.37% copper and the
abrasive crystals in place. Figures 1 and 2 the alloy or coating for a failure. So let’s balance in aluminum. With the stated
are representations of one type of nickel take a closer look at these hypereutectic silicon content, this alloy has good
silicon carbide composite provided by alloys often referred to as Alusil. fluidity and the precipitated silicon
Electrosil Performance Cylinder KB Pistons describes hypereutectic crystals provide excellent wear resistance.
Technology in Melbourne, Australia. aluminum alloy like this: Silicon additions In addition, the alloy has a narrow
By drawing a comparison to vitrified to aluminum are very similar to adding solidification range of less than 150° F.,
abrasives, one might conclude that sugar to iced tea. Silicon can be added thereby providing the alloy with excellent
Nikasil® is an abrasive and by some and dissolved into aluminum so it too castability. The copper content is
definitions, it could be. The reason it is becomes inseparable from the aluminum. maintained at a minimum so that the
not stems largely from low crystal density If these additions continue, the aluminum alloy has improved resistance to salt
and the nickel binder covering all but the will eventually become saturated with water corrosion.
microscopic peaks of those crystals. These silicon. Silicon added above this These expressed features of Alusil
silicon carbide micro peaks are often saturation point will precipitate out in the have gained popularity as a structural
smaller than oil molecules which reside form of hard, primary silicon particles material and less so as a sliding seal wear
between crystals and allow pistons and similar to the excess sugar in the iced tea. surface. But many engine manufacturers
rings to slide easily along the cylinder This point of saturation in aluminum of all sizes and types use Alusil as a wear
surface. I suspect this is one of the reasons is known as eutectic and occurs when the surface too and should be treated
Nikasil® exhibits greatly reduced friction silicon level reaches 12%. Aluminum with accordingly. (continued on next page)
Original Equipment
Direct Injected Coated
Piston for General
Motors 2009 2.0L
Ecotec Turbo Engine.
Machining and Preparation specializes in re-coating with nickel silicon at both ends of an edge and reduce
Most of the confusion surrounding carbide. potential separation or flaking. Engine
Nikasil® and Alusil exists because they Mahle recommends honing no more manufacturers can do this because they
are both used as cylinder ID surfaces for than .001” from Nikasil® coated bores mask off coating just inside the head
exactly the same application. Even their and only to restore cylindricity to any gasket sealing ring area of the cylinder.
name suggests they are the same so it is wear areas. If wear is greater than .001”, Decking will eliminate this edge feature
easy to mix them up and treat them it is advisable to have the coating stripped and may leave the coating unsecured.
identically when machining. So how do (in many cases this is a simple electro
we machinists and assemblers treat these chemical process and does not require Pistons, Rings and Coatings
boring) and fresh nickel silicon carbide Years ago, GM used a hypereutectic alloy
two distinctly different processes?
applied. Check with the supplier of in their Vega four cylinder engine. That
Let’s start with Nikasil®. Nickel
coating material for correct honing stones engine had its own problems but
silicon carbide composites are applied as a
for this process. Please note that piston to rebuilders were left in the dark as to how
thin coating of about .002”-.006” thick.
wall clearance for Nikasil® coated liners rebuilding should take place. Given the
We are told that anything thicker than and hypereutectic pistons can be as close relatively high tech nature of materials
.006” and the coating may lose some of as .0008” so careful attention to detail is and machining vital to restoring wear
its elasticity and become brittle. So, advised. surfaces in these cylinders, rebuilders
depending on how much thickness you Alusil is a different material and how experienced failures when employing tried
have to work with, careful honing is a this substrate is honed leaves little room and true methods used for cast iron
viable process to restore a factory surface for error. So as not to be redundant, I blocks. Even when correct surface
finish. If you cannot determine coating would refer you once again to Tim generation processes were employed,
thickness, assume it is thin and treat it as Meara’s article on honing Alusil. failures continued. The fix then was to
thought it were no more than .002” thick. One final note on machining Nikasil® sleeve with cast iron liners and install
Due to the thin nature of this coating, coated cylinders; if decking has to be standard aluminum pistons and garden
boring the cylinder to the next oversize done, this may but not always require a variety cast rings.
will remove the coating entirely. Under re-plate of the bore ID. Many cylinder So what was missing in this exercise?
these circumstances, the block or coaters bring Nikasil® over and around What eventually became clear was that
cylinders should be sent to a facility that liner edges. This is done to tie the coating piston skirts had to be coated and ring
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Applications
This list is far from complete but should give you
an idea of how many engines use or have used
Nikasil® and/or Alusil for cylinder bores:
www.aera.org
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