Research on the influence of key structural parameters on piston secondary motion

Piston secondary motion not only influences the side knocking of piston and frictional loss, but also influence the in-cylinder oil consumption and gas blow-by. An inline four-cylinder common rail diesel engine was chosen as the research object. Dynamic simulation model of piston assembly was built based on the piston and cylinder liner temperature field test. The impacts of pinhole offset, liner clearance and piston skirt ovality on piston secondary motion were researched. Based on the surface response method, the influence of multiple factors on friction power loss and slapping energy is estimated. The results indicate that: in-cylinder stress condition of piston will change with its structural parameters, then the secondary motion of piston will be affected as a result. Pinhole offset, liner clearance, piston skirt ovality and the interaction of the latter two all have significant effects on the friction power loss, while the slapping energy is significantly affected by liner clearance. Therefore, the parameters can be designed based on the significance level to optimize the secondary motion characteristics of the piston.

Effects of a Cylinder Liner Microstructure on Lubrication Condition of a Twin-Land Oil Control Ring and a Piston Skirt of an Internal Combustion Engine

It is hypothesized that the sliding surface structures improve the lubrication condition by forming an oil sump on the sliding surface, redistributing the oil, and trapping wear debris. For these reasons, the sliding surface structures have been used as a friction reduction method for a long time. However, how to optimize the sliding surface structure is still controversial. In this work, effects of microstructure laid on the cylinder liner of an internal combustion engine on twin-land oil control ring (TLOCR) and piston skirt lubrication condition were investigated by comparing friction between the conventional fine-honed liner (CFL) and the microstructured liner (MSL) which was made based on the CFL. As a result of the friction measurement using a floating liner engine, it was found that the microstructure improved lubrication condition by reducing hydrodynamic friction. On the other hand, the result showed there was a possibility that the microstructure deteriorated friction depending on the engine operating conditions.

An experimental and theoretical investigation on the effects of piston clearance and oil viscosity on Cranktrain friction

In this paper, the effects of clearance between piston and cylinder and oil viscosity index on the friction of area between the piston and cylinder of an internal combustion (IC) engine were investigated experimentally and theoretically. To this end, two values of 33 and 66 µm for the piston clearance, and two types of engine oil namely SAE10W40 and SAE20W50 were considered. To carry out the experiments, the engine was run under motored condition. The experiments were implemented at different oil temperatures and engine speeds. Based on the experimental results, although reduction in the piston clearance and the use of 20W50 oil caused an increase in the friction, but the effects of these two parameters became less with an increase in oil temperature and engine speed. The experimental results showed that the effect of clearance on the friction was more noticeable for low speeds. The maximum influence of the piston clearance decrease on the friction was 16% with the use of 20W50 oil at 1000 r/min when the oil temperature was 35 °C. The minimum influence of the piston clearance on the friction was 0.5% when the oil temperature was 90 °C and the engine speed was set on 6000 r/min. The theoretical results showed that the most contribution of the friction of piston/ring/cylinder assembly belonged to the piston skirt. Moreover, the effect of the piston skirt on the friction at high speeds was more than that of the piston rings. The friction value of the piston rings was not significantly altered by changing the engine speed, but it was considerably changed by the oil temperature variation. Whereas the piston skirt friction had an increasing trend with the speed rise, the change in the engine oil temperature, especially for low temperatures, had no significant effect on the piston skirt friction.

Adaptability of piston skirt coatings on the tribological performance of heavy-duty diesel engine under low viscosity lubricant

Purpose The purpose of this paper was to improve the frictional wear resistance properties of piston skirts caused by the low viscosity lubricant by studying the tribological performance of three novel coating materials. Design/methodology/approach Comparative tribological examinations were performed in a tribological tester using the ring-block arrangement under two viscosity lubricants, the loading force was applied as 100 N, the speed was set to 60 r/min and the testing time was 180 min. Findings Under low viscosity lubricant, the friction coefficient and wear of the three coatings all increase, and the friction coefficient and wear of the PTFE coating are the largest, while the MoS2 coating has the lowest friction coefficient and wear. Under low viscosity lubricant, the friction coefficient of the MoS2 coating is 2.1%–5.4% and 20.0%–24.3% lower than that of the SiO2 and PTFE coating, respectively. The friction coefficient and wear fluctuation rate of the MoS2 coating is the smallest when the lubricant viscosity decreases, which indicates that the MoS2 coating has excellent stability and adaptability under low viscosity lubricant. Originality/value To reduce the piston skirt wear caused by low viscosity lubricant in heavy-duty diesel engines, the friction and wear adaptability of three novel composite coating materials for piston skirts were compared under 0 W-20 low viscosity lubricant, which could provide a guidance for the application of wear-resistant materials for heavy-duty diesel engine piston skirt.

COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF THE CREEP OF PISTON ALUMINUM ALLOYS

The paper deals with the issues of reliability of piston materials in the process of increasing engine power. It is precisely the increase in the liter power of engines while ensuring environmental and economic requirements that is today one of the main areas of work in engine manufacturing. Studies have shown that material creep has significantly affects on the reliability of internal combustion engine parts. The most thermally loaded engine element is a piston. The main critical areas for it can be identified: the edge of the combustion chamber, the area of the piston rings and the piston skirt. The appearance of seizures on the piston skirt is sometimes observed even during the engine initial tests at the engine power increasing. Thus, we can speak about the relevance of the problem of identifying the reasons for reaching the critical state of the piston material. Based on these data, it becomes possible to develop measures to ensure the reliable operation of the piston. Among the most common materials for the manufacture of pistons are aluminum alloys AL25 and AK4. The chemical composition of these alloys varies considerably. The study obtained coefficients for calculating the creep rate for these materials. The identification of the calculation of the creep deformation of aluminum alloys at different stress levels, for different temperatures is carried out. The upper boundary of the region of model adequacy in terms of temperatures and stresses is determined. The creep rate of aluminum alloys is analyzed at different temperatures. In the conclusions, a comparison of the piston materials is made and the advantages of the AK4 alloy in comparison with the AL25 alloy, which are coming out when the engine power is increased, are indicated. The direction of further research is also indicated, which is associated with the analysis of the deformation of the considered materials at the first stage of creep.