Ultrasound for the non-invasive measurement of internal combustion engine piston ring oil films

Increasingly stringent legislation controlling vehicular emissions is motivating research to maximise engine efficiency. The frictional power loss associated with the ring pack–cylinder interface is one such focus. In addition to this, increased reliance on simulation to predict the lubrication characteristics requires that numerical codes model the physical situation accurately and reliably. Experimental validation provides the crucial role of assessing performance and lubricant film thickness provides a key comparable parameter. This paper outlines oil film thickness results obtained from the compression ring–cylinder interface of a fired, single-cylinder gasoline engine using a method based on ultrasonic reflection. The magnitudes of the film are discussed and compared with work published by other experimental investigators using alternative techniques.

[1]  D. E. Richardson,et al.  Review of Power Cylinder Friction for Diesel Engines , 2000 .

[2]  Walter Bryzik,et al.  Modeling and Measurement of Tribological Parameters Between Piston Rings-Liner in Turbocharged Diesel Engine , 2006 .

[3]  G. M. Hamilton,et al.  The Piston Ring at Top Dead Centre , 1980 .

[4]  R. S. Dwyer-Joyce,et al.  A Method for the Measurement of Hydrodynamic Oil Films Using Ultrasonic Reflection , 2004 .

[5]  Ian Sherrington,et al.  Experimental methods for measuring the oil-film thickness between the piston-rings and cylinder-wall of internal combustion engines , 1985 .

[6]  G. Merker,et al.  Functional properties of microstructured cylinder liner surfaces for internal combustion engines , 2005 .

[7]  Keiichiro Shin,et al.  Measurement of Oil-Film-Thickness Between Piston Ring and Cylinder , 1983 .

[8]  H. Lindenkamp,et al.  Measurements of the Lubricant Film Thickness in the Cylinder of a Firing Diesel Engine Using LIF , 1998 .

[9]  Walter Bryzik,et al.  Modeling and Measurement of Tribological Parameters between Piston Rings and Liner in Turbocharged Diesel Engine , 2007 .

[10]  M. Takiguchi,et al.  Oil Film Thickness Measurement and Analysis of a Three Ring Pack in an Operating Diesel Engine , 2000 .

[11]  Ian Sherrington,et al.  Mapping lubricating film thickness, film extent and ring twist for the compression-ring in a firing internal combustion engine , 2014 .

[12]  Masaaki Takiguchi,et al.  A study on variation in oil film thickness of a piston ring package: variation of oil film thickness in piston sliding direction , 2000 .

[13]  Masahiko Nakada,et al.  Trends in engine technology and tribology , 1994 .

[14]  R. I. Taylor,et al.  In-situ piston measurements , 2004 .

[15]  I Sherrington.  Oil film thickness measurement: a contribution to the understanding and control of lubrication in the piston-ring packs of IC engines , 2011 .

[16]  Rob Dwyer-Joyce,et al.  Piezoelectric sensors to monitor lubricant film thickness at piston–cylinder contacts in a fired engine , 2013 .

[17]  L. L. Ting.  Development of a Laser Fluorescence Technique For Measuring Piston Ring Oil Film Thickness , 1980 .

[18]  I Sherrington,et al.  The effect of load and viscosity on the minimum operating oil film thickness of piston-rings in internal combustion engines , 2009 .

[19]  H. Tattersall.  The ultrasonic pulse-echo technique as applied to adhesion testing , 1973 .

[20]  R. S. Dwyer-Joyce,et al.  The measurement of lubricant–film thickness using ultrasound , 2003, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[21]  Duncan Dowson,et al.  Theoretical modelling of cavitation in piston ring lubrication , 2000 .

[22]  J. S. Courtney-Pratt,et al.  An Analysis of the Lubrication between the Piston Rings and Cylinder Wall of a Running Engine , 1946 .

[23]  Gary L. Borman,et al.  Using Fiber Optics and Laser Fluorescence for Measuring Thin Oil Films with Application to Engines , 1991 .

[24]  Homer Rahnejat,et al.  The Measurement of Liner - Piston Skirt Oil Film Thickness by an Ultrasonic Means , 2006 .