Thermal and experimental analyses of thermal barrier coated pistons

Abstract

ABSTRACT The thermal analysis of pistons with two different thermal barrier coatings (TBC) is carried out in this research work. TBC comprising Yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ), and YSZ + Cerium oxide (CeO2) is applied to an aluminum alloy piston. The coating consists of two layers; the first is the bond coat, and the second is the top coat. Three different thicknesses of the top coat are chosen, viz., 0.3 mm, 0.6 mm, and 0.9 mm. SOLIDWORKS is used to draw the piston and different thicknesses of the layers (top coatings). ANSYS software is used for performing structural and steady-state thermal analyses on the piston surface. After the analysis, experiments are conducted on a single-cylinder, air-cooled, direct injection (DI) diesel engine fitted with TBC pistons. The performance of the engine fitted with both coated pistons is evaluated and compared with that of the uncoated piston engine operation. The brake thermal efficiency (BTE) for the JME20 fuel blend is increased by about 2.8%, and 6.5% for engines fitted with YSZ and YSZ+CeO2 coated pistons, respectively, at full load. The engine’s brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) is improved by 2.5%, and 5.3% for the YSZ and YSZ+CeO2 coated piston fitted engines, respectively, for JME20.