Thermal stress analysis and parametric study of thermal barrier coated engine piston

Abstract

Thermal barrier coating (TBC) material belongs to a class of advanced materials. The overall properties of TBC are unique and different from any of the individual materials that go into its making. Ceramic materials are currently considered to be successful TBCs materials. An efficient TBC has poor heat conductivity, low specific weight, good wear resistance, and a high melting point. Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) is the frequently studied and demanding material for TBC because it provides excellent performance in applications like gas turbines, diesel engines, and moral less all components that deal with high temperature environments. In the present study, the Kirloskar engine is used, and YSZ-TBC is applied on the piston head of this engine in order to reduce heat loss, inherent resistance to corrosion, oxidation reduction, increased efficiency, decreased fuel consumption, etc. Here, numerical simulation techniques are used to predict the temperature distribution and associated thermal stresses in the conventional piston of a CI (compression ignition) engine. The isotherm, temperature, and thermal stress distribution have been plotted for the specified boundary condition. The study further continued to find the effect of TBC, which is applied to the head of the piston. Here, temperature, thermal distortion and thermal stress analyzes are performed on TBC coating thicknesses ranging from 0.2 to 1.0 mm.