Study of Sealing Mechanism to Prevent Oil Leakage for the Thermoplastic Cylinder Head Cover

Most of car makers nowadays produce Cylinder Head Cover with Thermoplastic to get the benefit of weight and cost reduction. The production of Cylinder Head Cover with Thermoplastic brings a number of benefits such as enhancement in productivity, design freedom, integration with other parts and reduction in weight. However, NVH characteristics, sealing performance issues possibly caused by design of cover and gasket and loss of properties of materials when used for long-term period still remain as critical tasks to be solved. Especially in case of car OEMs strongly insist that we have to meet their severe specifications requirements so as to satisfy their customers' growing demand. Sealing performance is one of the core factors, which require continuous effort and studies to meet the OEM's specifications. The purpose of this study is to improve on sealing performance and to know the sealing mechanism for production of qualified Cylinder Head Cover and this will surely be applicable to many other covers to be developed.