Influence of engine load on piston ring pack operation of an automotive IC engine

Abstract

A piston-rings-cylinder (PRC) assembly determines the blowby, engine oil consumption, and friction and wear processes accompanying the system's operation. Thus, it is crucial for the whole IC engine efficiency and lifetime. A lot of research effort is put into increasing the performance of this complex and highly dynamic system. Advanced, comprehensive models play an important role in understanding and improving the PRC system. In the presented work, the effect of load on the operation of the ring pack of an automotive gasoline engine is analyzed. A comprehensive model that covers the gas flow through the crevices of the PRC system, ring displacements in the groove, and ring lubrication was used for this analysis. The results of the simulations show that the local thickness of the oil film, especially near the piston top dead center is compared to the height of the combined surface roughness of a cylinder liner and piston rings, and friction-related asperity contact strongly increases as the engine load increases. The simulations also show that the engine load affects the axial displacements of the rings in the grooves but practically does not affect the thickness of the oil film left by the ring pack on the cylinder liner.