Piston Ring
Piston Ring
Piston Ring
Horizontal steam engine. The piston is shown at D. The three piston rings prevent steam from escaping between
chambers A and B.
Piston ring. The piston ring (PR) is a split band pressed against the wall of the cylinder by springs (S) mounted in the
inner "junk ring" (JR). The tongue (T) maintains the seal as the ring expands and splits apart.
Spring-loaded piston rings.
A piston ring is a split ring that fits into a groove on the outer diameter of a piston in a reciprocating
engine such as an internal combustion engine or steam engine.
The main functions of piston rings in reciprocating engines are:
1. Sealing the combustion chamber so that there is minimal loss of gases to the crank case.
2. Improving heat transfer from the piston to the cylinder wall.
3. Maintaining the proper quantity of the oil between the piston and the cylinder wall
4. Regulating engine oil consumption by scraping oil from the cylinder walls back to the sump.[1]
The gap in the piston ring compresses to a few thousandths of an inch when inside the cylinder bore.
Piston rings are a major factor in identifying if an engine is two stroke or four stroke. Three piston rings
suggest that it is a four stroke engine while two piston rings suggest that it is a two stroke engine. Most
piston rings are made of a very hard and somewhat brittle cast iron.
Contents
1History
2Automotive
3Wear due to ring load on the bore
4Fitting new piston rings
5See also
6References
7External links
History[edit]
The split piston ring was invented by John Ramsbottom who reported the benefits to the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers in 1854. It soon replaced the hemp packing hitherto used in steam engines.[2] The
use of piston rings at once dramatically reduced the frictional resistance, the leakage of steam, and the
mass of the piston, leading to significant increases in power and efficiency and longer maintenance
intervals.
Automotive[edit]
Piston rings have been an area of considerable focus and development for internal combustion engines.
The needs of diesel engines and small piston-ported two-stroke engines have been particularly difficult.
Piston rings may account for a considerable proportion of the total friction in the engine, as much as
24%.[3][4] This high friction is a result of the design compromises needed to achieve good sealing and long
lifetime. Sealing is achieved by multiple rings, each with their own function, using a metal-on-metal
sliding contact.
Rings are also sprung to increase this contact force and to maintain a close seal, either by the stiffness of
the ring itself or by a separate spring behind the seal ring. It is important that rings float freely in their
grooves within the piston, so that they can stay in contact with the cylinder. Rings binding in the piston,
usually due to a build-up of either combustion products or a breakdown of the lubricating oil, is a common
cause of failure, especially for diesel engines.
Lubrication of piston rings is difficult and has been a driving force to improvements in the quality of motor
oil. The oil must survive high temperatures and harsh conditions with a high-speed sliding contact.
Lubrication is particularly difficult as the rings have an oscillating motion rather than continuous rotation,
as for a bearing journal. At the limits of piston movement, the ring stops and reverses direction. This
disrupts the normal oil wedge effect of a hydrodynamic bearing, leading to pronounced wear and the
formation of a 'step' in the cylinder bore around the height of the upper ring. Noting that some sleeve
valve engines suffered far less from such wear, complex designs such as a rotating cylinder liner have been
considered, just to address this problem.[5]
Most automotive pistons have three rings: The top two, while also controlling oil, are primarily for
compression sealing (compression rings). Meanwhile, the lower ring is for controlling the supply of oil to
the liner, which lubricates the piston skirt and the compression rings (oil control rings). At least two piston
rings are found on most piston and cylinder combinations. Typical compression ring designs will have an
essentially rectangular cross section or a keystone (right angled trapezoidal) cross section. The periphery
will then have either a barrel profile (for the top compression rings) or a taper napier form (for the second
compression ring or scraper ring). There are some taper-faced top rings as well, and on some old engines
simple plain-faced rings were used.
Oil control rings typically are of three types:
See also[edit]
Obturator ring
References[edit]
1. ^ Piston Ring Handbook. Federal-Mogul Burscheid GmbH. August 2008.
2. ^ Alex Weiss (2008). Bearings. Special Interest Model Books.
3. ^ VDi-richtlinie 2840 Kohlenstoffschichten, Grundlagen, Schichttypen, Eigenschafte
4. ^ "Piston Ring Coating Reduces Gasoline Engine Friction" (PDF). Federal-Mogul.
5. ^ Dimitrios Dardalis, PhD (February 2004). "Rotating Liner Engine: A New Approach to Reduce Engine
Friction and Increase Fuel Economy in Heavy Duty Engines" (PDF). Austin, TX: RLE Technologies, Inc.
6. ^ Jump up to:a b c "Wear-Resistant Peripheral Coatings". Federalmogul.com. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
7. ^ "Wear-Resistant Peripheral Coatings". Federalmogul.com. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
8. ^ "Wear-Resistant Peripheral Coatings". Federalmogul.com. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
9. ^ "Wear-Resistant Peripheral Coatings". Federalmogul.com. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
External links[edit]
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