Synergistic effect of textured piston ring and nano-lubricant on performance parameters and emissions of IC engine

Abstract

Internal combustion (IC) engine is a prime emitter of greenhouse gases. The piston ring-cylinder liner pair plays a critical role in engine performance and exhaust emissions. Moreover, it accounts for major engine losses. The texturing on the piston ring and nano-material blended engine oil (nano-lubricant) have demonstrated promising results in their respective investigations on the IC engine. So far, most of the studies have been conducted on one of these approaches. Therefore, in this study synergistic effect of textured piston ring and nano-lubricant is investigated on performance parameters (fuel consumption, brake thermal efficiency, and brake specific fuel consumption) and engine emissions. The upper top compression piston ring is textured partially, and the nano-lubricant is prepared using silicate complexes nano-material [Mg6SiO10(OH)8] of 1% by weight with multi-grade engine oil (20W-40). The laser surface texturing technique (LST) is used to produce cylindrical textures on the piston ring with 6% texture density and 7.5% aspect ratio. Experiments have been conducted on a single-cylinder, direct injection, air-cooled, naturally aspirated compression ignition engine. All tests have been performed under different loading conditions (20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% of full load). The synergistic effect of partially textured piston ring and nano-lubricant showed lower fuel consumption up to 4.58%, and nano-lubricant showed fuel reduction up to 3.23%. Furthermore, the exhaust emissions (CO, HC, and NOx) demonstrated a reduction that ranges from 0.24% to 10% compared to baseline data.