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The growing demand for lowering emissions leads to an effort to enhance internal combustion engines performance through new engineering solutions. The functionalization of surfaces applied to crankshaft bearings represents one of the possible solutions to achieve this balance. In this method, a micrometric tailored texture is produced on the surface to optimize the fluid dynamics in the bearing, increase load capacity, bearing stability and lower general operational losses. The better performance allows downsizing these bearings, enabling a possible significant reduction on weight and fuel consumption. The project is a partnership between the School of Engineering of Sao Carlos (EESC-USP) and the ThyssenKrupp Company. It applies a new process developed in cooperation with the Laboratory for Advanced Process and Sustainability (LAPRAS). In the proposed methodology, the desired texture is inscribed in the crankshaft bearings during the grinding process, with same precision and quality associated with this vastly applied manufacturing process. For operational evaluation, tribological tests will be carried out and finally in an instrumented engine evaluation will be performed.

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