Discover how Vikrant Rayate, a powertrain design release engineer, is driving sustainability in the U.S. automobile industry. From reducing oil consumption in heavy-duty engines to designing eco-friendly components, his innovative work is cutting emissions, enhancing performance, and saving millions annually.
Modern drivers expect vehicles that can do it all: towing heavy loads, cruising at highway speeds, and handling city traffic smoothly. But as sustainability becomes a bigger trend, more and more drivers are expecting their vehicles to do all this while using less fuel and producing fewer emissions.
Tackling this increasingly important issue are experts like Vikrant Rayate, a powertrain design release engineer at a multinational automotive corporation. To him, achieving this balance means designing engines that deliver power and efficiency while cutting waste and lowering costs — a challenge he라이브 바카라 built his career around solving.
Learn how his designs are making engines cleaner, tougher, and more cost-effective for manufacturers and drivers alike.
Vikrant attributes much of his success to his time at Clemson University, where he earned a master라이브 바카라 in mechanical engineering. During his graduate studies, a key project would set the stage for his career: He was tasked with designing products that were not only efficient to manufacture but also considerate of their “end-of-life” impact — basically, creating components that could be recycled, reused, or safely disposed of once they were no longer in use.
“I learned that building high-performing engines is only part of the puzzle,” Vikrant explains. “Designing sustainably is just as important. It라이브 바카라 not just about speed or power but about creating something that lasts and leaves a smaller footprint when it needs to be replaced.”
Since then, Vikrant has spent over a decade designing and improving powertrain systems (the parts that make a car move, like the engine and transmission) for major automotive manufacturers. This means sketching out designs for critical engine components, testing prototypes, and working closely with manufacturers and suppliers to ensure the final product meets high standards for performance and sustainability.
He now works at a global company responsible for manufacturing some of the well-known cars in the U.S. There, he라이브 바카라 tackling some of the most complex challenges in powertrain engineering.
Vikrant라이브 바카라 employer was facing a significant issue with its 6.4L heavy-duty engine, which is used in vehicles built for towing, hauling, and other demanding jobs. Drivers reported high oil consumption, especially during stop-and-go urban driving, which hurt efficiency and didn’t meet industry standards. Oil consumption during city cycles had reached a concerning 5,000 to 6,000 miles per quart, falling significantly short of the company라이브 바카라 performance targets.
To address this, Vikrant led a root cause analysis to uncover the underlying factors responsible for the high oil consumption.
“We found that bore distortion and specific operating modes like cylinder deactivation were key contributors,” Vikrant explains.
Bore distortion, which is when an engine라이브 바카라 cylinder walls lose their shape under heat and pressure, causes piston rings to leak oil. Cylinder deactivation, a fuel-saving feature that shuts off certain cylinders during low-demand driving, made the problem worse by unevenly distributing heat and pressure.
To tackle this problem, Vikrant and his team used a Design for Six Sigma approach — a hands-on process used to create new products or improve existing ones to make sure they meet high standards for performance, efficiency, and reliability.
The result of this methodology was a reshaping of the piston rings to improve oil flow within the cylinders. His team also optimized ring tensions to enhance overall engine efficiency. The result was a 50% reduction in oil consumption, better performance, and a step forward in making engines more reliable and environmentally friendly.
In another project, Vikrant tackled a problem called “pin tick.” This is an annoying tapping noise caused by excessive wear in the rod and pin assembly — the parts that connect the pistons to the crankshaft and transfer power to the wheels.
“The wear created too much play between components, making the noise more noticeable in vehicles used for heavy-duty tasks,” Vikrant explains.
Previous attempts to fix the issue, like adjusting the roundness of certain parts, weren’t enough. Through detailed noise, vibration, and harshness testing, Vikrant and his team identified poor lubrication as the main cause.
“We came up with a chevron-grooved bushing — a part with a specific pattern of grooves that helped oil move more smoothly across the surface,” he says. “This better lubrication reduced friction and wear between the parts, making them last longer.”
After rigorous testing that included extensive durability trials, the new design proved to be a success. “The fix used a steel-bronze material — steel for strength and bronze to reduce friction,” Vikrant explains. “I also developed a non-DLC piston pin, which is a simpler, cheaper option without the typical diamond-like carbon coating.”
These changes solved the noise issue, made the components last longer, and saved the automotive company $0.7 million a year.
Finally, Vikrant also led a project to develop a 4-cylinder 1.6L engine for a compact SUV, designing and building key engine components like pistons, rings, pins, and connecting rods.
But another major aspect of this project was the sourcing of materials from local suppliers. Vikrant worked to get materials locally within the United States, Mexico, and Canada, leading technical reviews to ensure that each supplier met the program's technical requirements and demonstrated the necessary capabilities. His efforts did more than just keep his supplies local – they helped streamline the supply chain, cut down on costs, and strengthened community support for domestic manufacturing.
Beyond his day-to-day work, Vikrant works to advance engineering through research and mentorship.
As a peer reviewer for journals like Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures, he promotes quality and innovation in automotive research. He also served as a judge for the SMASIS 2024 Best Student Paper Award, supporting and inspiring the next generation of engineers.
Mentorship is also a key part of building a sustainable engineering future, and Vikrant takes pride in guiding young engineers as they tackle their first design challenges. As he puts it, “Engineering isn’t just about solving problems; it라이브 바카라 about learning to love the process of figuring them out."
Through his work, has proven that engines can cut fuel use and reduce waste without sacrificing performance or reliability — while saving his employers nearly a million dollars a year.