The product’s internal insulation approach is patent pending and provides OEMs with a low cost, engineered alternative to more primitive, exterior “blanket” methods that can actually damage exhaust components and compromise their service life, the company says.
“Ours is the first and only internally insulated exhaust bellows,” says Win Thomas, president of Tru-Flex Metal Hose, LLC. “This consolidated, leak-free, engineered system reduces OE acquisition cost on the front end and their exposure to warranty and replacement issues on the back end.”
The design of the internally insulated, zero-leak, torsional bellows also features a no-leak de-coupler that accommodates all four motions, including torsion. Tru-Flex says these bellows are particularly well suited for engine layouts that have exhaust outlets in parallel with the crankshaft, or that demonstrate torsional outputs that create more than two percent displacement at the site of the exhaust outlet.
The new bellows deliver unparalleled performance, reducing heat loss by up to 88 percent, as compared to unlined bellows, Tru-Flex says. The dampening effect of the internal insulation provides the added benefit of a 70 percent noise reduction over non-insulated systems. The Tru-Flex system also reduces static loss by a significant factor, the company says, thereby increasing vehicle engine performance and overall fuel efficiency.
From the inside out, Tru-Flex says this engineered solution is comprised of a robust, flexible, interlocking interior liner, available in inside diameters ranging from 2.5 in. to 6 in. (63.5 mm. to 152.4 mm). The interior liner is sleeved in an insulation material that is not exposed to external elements or atmospheric conditions that plague external insulation systems, the company says. The internal insulation is said to significantly enhances the fatigue life of the exterior torsional and non-torsional bellows by reducing their exposure to superheated exhaust gases.
