Introduction
I take this chance to present to you this new improvement that I have introduced in my company. A normalized steel muffler. The muffler is one of the important parts in the car's exhaust systems. It is located on the rare part of the system. In present days, many materials are used to manufacture it. They include steel, iron and fiber carbon. Depending on the aim of the designer, the choice of these materials offers different levels of performance.
Jeep Grand Cherokee is a family car that accommodates five passengers. It came into the market in 1992. Exactly five years after Chrysler bought AMC. It is the first jeep produced by the Chrysler. Over the years, it has been remodeled and improved to better its efficiency. The latest development is the Normalized steel muffler.The main work of the muffler
The muffler receives shot exhaust gases from the engine. Its main business is to reduce the noise that the engine makes while running. This sound comes from pulses that are created when exhaust valve open and gases under high pressure suddenly gushes out. The high pressure molecules meet other molecules in the pipe at a relatively low pressure. This cause allow pressure region and the sound wave moves down the pipe faster than the actual gases. This wave it headed to muffler. Inside a muffler, there is a chamber called the resonator. The resonator has a volume of air and calculated length to produce a sound wave to cancel out some of the frequencies. Next to the resonator chamber the pipe is reversed in that there is an inlet with tubes to release the gases and an outlet facing the opposite direction with tubes too to take the gases out. These tubes are designed to produce a sound wave that cancels out each other.
A good muffler increases the efficiency of the engine. In this system exhaust gases flow out smoothly. They increased in diameter of the out let pipe can also increase its efficiency.
This explains why you can hardly hear some vehicles approach. They have a well-designed muffler that ensures the sound wave from the engine block cancels out. When they reach the muffler the sound waves are combined with other sound waves of equal amplitude but travelling in the opposite direction produced by the tubes.
Strengths of the normalized steel Muffler.
The location of the muffler subjects it to high temperature from the exhausted gases. Operation at high makes the material of the muffler vulnerable to corrosion. In addition to this, it is also prone to change in structure. Durable cars need to have durable parts. The working environment of the muffler put it to the risk of having a short lifespan especially when the material is not wisely chosen.
The Jeep grand Cherokee 2014 model has its muffler made of normalized steel. While the company tries to achieve a car which is efficient, it is also making sure that the car remains cost effective. From there search carried out at the labs, it was found out that normalization was the best heat treatment that would produce a high efficient muffler.
The process needs a low temperature of 550C. In addition to this, the process is simple compared to methods in other heat treatments for instance annealing which needs strict temperature control. The steel produced from the process has a relatively high strength and ductility.
Compared to other heat treatment processes normalization is the best if the material has to rein the same. Annealing soften steel especially when cooled slowly. The Jeep grand Cherokee need hard muffle this is not an option. Water quenching and polymer quenching produces hardened steel the set back of these two methods is that it does not refine its structure making steel vulnerable to structural interference if operated in high temperatures. Normalization produces what we want. Strength with a refined structure.
Performance of the Rockwell HRC hardness test, the normalized still produced an average of 18.6 compared to 19.44 from annealing.46.78 from the polymer quenching, 81.92 from water quenching and 62.96 from tempering. This shows that normalizing produced the hardest material since it had the least penetration. The test was carried out by major load of 150kgF and 1200diamondcones.
The significance of advocating for a hard muffle is to ensure that it remains resistant is case of scratches or grounding. This is very popular off road. The normalized silencer will enjoy longevity without fear of getting punctured.
The company did impact test too to the steel and the figure were as follows. Annealing had an average of 45.Polymer quenching had an average of 55. Water quenching had an average of 18. Tempering had an average of 50 and finally normalization had an average of 67.75. From this result, it is evident that normalizing produces the best steel that will tolerate the effect. The muffler receives high pressure gasses that come with high result with this level of tolerance normalized steel will work efficiently.The normalization process
Normalization starts by heating the steel to 55 0 C above the upper critical temperature. The heated metal is left for one hot at that temperature. It is them followed by cooling in air at room temperature. If the pressure is run in a furnace, then 0ne pressure bar is recommended. This process is both thermal and micro-structural. Thermal exposure allows austenite to form them it is cooled. In the microstructure sense, 0.080% is pearlite while areas with low carbon have an iron structure.
This process improves the machinability. Processes like drilling holes to allow reverse flow of exhaust gases. Secondly it improves dimensional stability. Thirdly it modifies and refines the grain structure. This makes it resistant to heat. Fourthly it produces a uniform microstructure. Fifthly it reduces banding. Sixth it improves banding and finally it provides a more consistent response when hardening the case.Key features of the muffler
It is my strongest recommendation that this new product is adopted because of the advantages that I have listed above. It will favor both the buyer and the manufacturer. Normalization is cost efficient and its products are excellent. This will eliminate the need for other less durable options like carbon fiber. The aesthetic value and lustre of steel is an additional point of attraction to customer. Given the good response the market has received the Jeep grand Cherokee sales and the consistency in improving it. This key development will enable it be a leading car family and superior to other brands. It is also going to motivate other manufacturers to opt to use normalized steel over other material.
