[ PISTON RING]

Rajarambapu Institute of Technology

Rajaramnagar, Sakharale, (415414)

SEMINAR ON: “PISTON RING”

SUBMITTED BY: VIDYASAGR CHAVAN

ROLL NO: 4721

BE MECHANICAL

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ABSTRACT

Advances in modern engine development are becoming more and more

challenging. Piston ring frictionl losses account for approximately 20% of the total
mechanical losess in modern internal combustion engine.A reduction in piston ring
friction would there fore result in nither efficiency,lower fule consumption and reduce
emission.the goal of this study is to develop low friction piston ring design to improve
engine efficiency , without affecting oil consumption,blowby,wear,cost.
To understand the fundamentals of piston ring behavior and in this way the
effects on blow-by and oil consumption, an in this work are the basic functions of the
piston rings, how piston ring manufacture, the design and the materials of the
components, mechanical and thermal loads on the rings, the contact pressure between
ring and liner, the sealing action and type of piston ring.

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INDEX

CHAPTER NO TITLE PAGE NO

1 Introduction 4

2 Function of piston ring 6

3 Ring terminology 9

4 Type of piston ring 14

5 Piston ring material 15

6 High Alloy Steel vs. Ductile Iron 18

7 piston ring forces and moments 19

8 piston ring design 21

9 friction reduction statergies 24

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

In the early steam engines no piston rings were used. The temperatures and the
steam .pressures were not as high as the corresponding parameters in today’s internal
combustion engines, and the need for considering thermal expansions and clearances
was smaller. Increasing power demands required higher temperatures, which caused
stronger heat expansion of the piston material. This made it necessary to use a sealant
between the piston and the cylinder liner to allow a decrease in the clearance in cold
conditions, i.e. when the clearances were at their maximum. Keeping the clearance
between the piston and liner wall at a minimum considerably reduces the combustion
gas flow from the combustion chamber past the piston.
The first piston rings used in an engine had the sole task of sealing off the
combustion chamber, thus preventing the combustion gases from trailing down into
the crankcase. This development increased the effective pressure on the piston.
Ramsbottom and Miller were among the pioneers to investigate the behavior of the
piston rings in steam engines. Ramsbottom, in 1854, constructed a single-piece,
metallic piston ring. The free diameter of the ring was 10 per cent larger than the
diameter of the cylinder bore. When
fitted in a groove in a piston, the ring was pressed against the cylinder bore by its own
elasticity. Previous piston rings had consisted of multiple pieces and with springs to
provide an adequate sealing force against the cylinder bore. Miller, in 1862,
introduced a modification to the Ramsbottom ring. This modification consisted of
allowing the steam pressure to act on the backside of the ring, hence providing a
higher sealing force.

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This new solution enabled the use of more flexible rings, which conformed better to
the cylinder bore (Priest and Taylor, 2000). In the early days, the ring pack was
lubricated solely by splash lubrication; i.e. lubrication by the splashing of the rotating
crankshaft into the crankcase oil surface. Subsequently, when the combustion
conditions became even more demanding, i.e. with higher temperatures, pressures and
piston speeds, oil control rings were introduced. A proper lubricant film on the piston,
piston rings and liner wall was required in order to prevent damage. The oil control
rings were, and are, especially designed to appropriately distribute the oil on the
cylinder liner and to scrape off surplus oil to be returned to the crankcase.

But mechanical losses due to friction account for between 4and 15% of the
total energy consumed in modern internal combustion engine 40-50% of those total
mechanical losses occur in the power cylinder and half of the power cylinder friction
losses come from friction generated by the piston ring ,as a result a reduction in piston
ring friction has the potential to improve engine efficiency . lower fuel consumption
and reduction emission these are important objective for today’s engine
manufacturing .who are striving to improve engine performance while trying to meet
increasingly stringent emission standards.

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CHAPTER 2

FUNCTION OF PISTON RING

The selection of piston rings for an engine is fundamentally related to the engine
application. Various vehicles have varying requirements to satisfy which determine
the ring materials and designs. Street engines, competitive racing engines, sport
engines, and specifically fueled engines such as alcohols and nitrous oxides or even
compressed natural gases all may require specific differences in materials and design.
Piston rings serve more than one purpose: to contain and maintain cylinder and
combustion pressure, to prevent oil from getting into the combustion chamber with
the help of the valve guides and seals, and to aid in the control of thermal changes in
the engine.

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Top Ring
The top ring or fire ring is known as the compression ring and is expected to
seal against pressure losses from the combustion process. The compression ring
is also expected to maintain a high build up of pressure as the piston arrives at
the top of the stroke when at a predetermined location the combustible mixture
is ignited building up pressure to force the piston downward. The ability of the
piston ring to maintain this pressure is contingent on a couple of important
items. The ring gap is critical to this event and obviously burning gases do flow
through this gap. The ring gap is also critical to the function of the top ring as it
is related to its stability. In addition to this the fire ring is a barrier and transfers
a large portion of the heat through its contact with the cylinder wall.

Conventional Second Ring or Secondary Compression Ring

The second ring is probably the most misunderstood ring application of all the
rings used on a piston. With a conventional piston ring the ring design is similar
to the top ring. It also has a ring gap which allows hot gases to further penetrate
down the cylinder wall into the crankcase oil. This is known as blow-by and has
deleterious effects on the engine. Blow-by getting into the oil contaminates the oil
with carbon particles from the combustion process, raises the acid level, heats up the
oil and speeds up the oxidation process. This effectively begins the process of slowly
diminishing the lubrication ability of the oil and allows the carbon particles to wear
out all the parts which it is expected to lubricate. The second ring also serves as an oil
scraper ring to help minimize the oil above the second ring and as such compliments
both the compression ring and the oil ring.

Oil Control Rings

Oil control rings are designed along with the piston to effectively permit lubrication
of the rings, pistons, wrist pins and cylinder walls without oil migrating into the

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combustion process. Oil Rings also assist the thermal control of the piston by
directing oil into the inside of the piston to help cool the piston dome. Total Seal
provides several types of oil rings as may be required including the popular three
piece ring consisting of an expander and two rails. The expander provides the tension
for the rails and are sold in more than one tension depending on the application. When
installing an expander, the expander joint is to be 90 degrees to the wrist pin and the
rails should be 1" apart centered on each side of the wrist pin end.

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CHAPTER 3
Ring Terminology

(A) Ring Land: The part of the piston between the ring grooves and above the top
ring that confines and supports the piston rings.

(B) Heat Dam: A narrow groove in the top land used in some pistons to help control
heat getting to the top ring. It actually fills with carbon in normal operation and limits
heat flow to the ring.

(C) Compression Height: The distance from the pin centerline to the top of the
piston.

(D) Ring Belt: The area on the piston between the top of the pin bore and the top of
the piston where the ring grooves are machined.
(E) Piston Head: The top area of the piston where combustion gas pressure is

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exerted.

(F) Piston Pin: Either press-fit or floating, the pin connects the rod to the piston with
bearing surface.

(G) Skirt: The part of the piston below the ring belt.

(H) Major Thrust Face: The side of the piston carrying the greatest thrust load.

(I) Minor Thrust Face: The side of the piston opposite the major thrust face.

(J) Piston Pin Bushing: If used, the bushing between the piston pin bore and the pin.

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(N) Scuff Band: One or more raised bands of piston material used in some piston
designs to reduce scuffing.

(O) Groove Depth: The distance between the back of the ring groove and the
cylinder wall with the piston centered.

(P) Groove Root Diameter: Piston diameter measured at the back of the groove.
May vary on the same piston between ring grooves.

(Q) Land Diameter: Diameter of a given land .Can sometimes vary by design from
top to bottom.

(R) Land clearance: The difference in diameter between the cylinder bore and the
land diameter. "R" is 1/2 the total.
(S) Skirt Clearance: The difference in diameter between the cylinder bore and skirt
diameter. "S" is 1/2 the total.

(T) Skirt Groove: A ring groove cut below the pin bore to carry an oil ring.

(U) Pin Bore Offset: The distance the pin bore is offset from center.

(V) Groove Spacer: Used on re-grooved pistons to return a ring groove to specs or in
some performance applications to facilitate the use of narrower ring sets than the
grooves were originally cut for.

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Ring Terms And Measurements

(A) Free gap: The ring end clearance when the ring is uncompressed.
(B) Compressed gap: Also known as ring gap, it is the end gap measured when the
ring is installed.
(C) Radial Wall Thickness: the distance between the inside and outside faces of the
ring wall
(D) Ring Diameter: Measured with the ring installed.

(E) Inside Diameter: Measured with the ring installed.

(F) Ring Sides: The top and bottom surfaces of the ring.
(G) Ring Face: The part of the ring in contact with the cylinder wall.
(H) Side Clearance: Clearance between the ring groove and the ring.
(J) Torsion Twist: A built-in imbalance between the way the upper and lower sides
compress that causes a twist in the ring when compressed. Used to sea both the ring in

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the groove and the ring to the cylinder wall.

(K) Back Clearance: Distance between the inside diameter of the ring and the
bottom of the ring groove with the ring installed

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CHAPTER 4

TYPE OF PISTON RING

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CHAPTER 5

PISTON RING MATERIALS

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Piston ring materials and coatings

A piston ring material is chosen to meet the demands set by the running
conditions.
Furthermore, the material should be resistant against damage even in emergency
conditions. Elasticity and corrosion resistance of the ring material is required. The
ring coating, if applied, needs to work well together with both the ring and the liner
materials, as well as with the lubricant. As one task of the rings is to conduct heat to
the liner wall, good thermal conductivity is required. Grey cast iron is used as the
main material for piston rings (Federal Mogul, 1998). From a tribological point of

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view, the 14 grey cast iron is beneficial, as a dry lubrication effect of the graphite
phase of the material can occur under conditions of oil starvation. Furthermore, the
graphite phase

can act as an oil reservoir that supplies oil at dry starts or similar conditions of oil
starvation (Glaeser, 1992). Coatings for rings are widely used. One example of such a
coating is chromium, which is used in abrasive and corrosive conditions where
running conditions are severe. Hard chrome plating is particularly relevant for the
compression ring. Piston ring surfaces are, in addition to chromium plating, thermally
(plasma) sprayed with molybdenum, metal composites, metal-ceramic composites or
ceramic composites, as a uniform coating or an inlay coating material (Mollenhauer,
1997).

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Experimental work with new powder compositions for thermal spraying has included
molybdenum-nickel-chromium alloys, chromium oxide (Cr2O3) with metallic
chromium binder, alumina-titania (Al2O3-TiO2), tungsten carbide (WC) with
metallic cobalt binder, MoSi2, CrC-NiCr (Dufrane, 1989, Radil, 2001). Hard
chromium layers can be improved by plasma spraying chromium ceramic on the ring
face, thus increasing the thermal load capacity. A dense chromium carbide coating,
produced by HVOF coating was found promising for piston ring applications in the
work by Rastegar and Richardson (Rastegar and Richardson, 1997).
Thin, hard coatings produced by PVD or CVD include coating compositions like
titanium nitride (TiN), chromium nitride (CrN); however coatings of this type are
currently used exclusively for small series production for competition engines and
selected production engines (Federal Mogul, 1998, Broszeit et al., 1999). Multilayer
Ti- TiN coatings have been experimentally deposited onto cast-iron piston rings, and
the coating is claimed to be more wear resistant than a chromium plated or phosphate
surface, particularly when the number of layers is high (Zhuo et al., 2000).
Haselkorn and Kelley have investigated coatings for use in low-heat rejection
engines. They conclude that high carbon iron-molybdenum blend and chrome-silica
composite applied by plasma spray, and further chrome nitride applied by low-
temperature arc vapour are coatings with properties that meet the demands in low-
heat rejection engines (Haselkorn and Kelley, 1992).
Surface coatings/treatments for the entire piston ring surface are based on phosphorus,
nitrides, ferro-oxides, copper and tin.

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CHAPTER 6
Alloy steel compression rings provide strength that last

Piston rings made of ductile or gray cast iron have been the material of choice
for years. Today, more engine builders than ever prefer steel over cast iron
compression rings. The reason is MAHLE Original steel ring technology.
Pioneered for heavy duty applications by the former Perfect Circle group, steel
compression rings now have a proven record of success in all types of vehicle
engines. Today’s engines put greater demand on piston rings than ever before:
operating temperatures, compression, stress and restrictive emission standards are
higher. All these factors created the need for a ring that is stronger, harder, seals better
and resists breakage and wear under load. The answer is steel - SAE-9254 high alloy
steel. It’s another evolution in engine design and rebuilding.

High Alloy Steel vs. Ductile Iron

 Physical Advantages:
„ Higher Tensile Strength
„ Higher Yield Strength
„ Greater Fatigue Resistance
„ Greater Hardness
„ Lower Ring Mass

 Performance Benefits:
„ Better Stress Resistance
„ Reduced Groove Poundout
„ Less Side Wear
„ Superior Oil Economy
„ Superior Blow-by Control
„ Lower Friction
„ Longer Service Life
„ Better cylinder wall conformability

The use of steel in the design of a piston ring allows a reduction in the radial wall
thickness which will provide several benefits: First, the lighter ring will seal against
the bottom of the ring groove more effectively. Secondly, the smaller cross section,
permitted by the greater strength, improves the ability of the ring to conform better to
less than perfect cylinders. Both features mean that oil consumption is reduced.

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CHAPTER 7

Piston ring forces and moments

The piston ring secondary motions can be divided into piston ring motion in
the transverse direction, piston ring rotation, ring lift, and ring twist. These types of
motion result from different loads acting on the ring. Loads of this kind are inertia
loads arising from the piston acceleration and deceleration, oil film damping loads,
loads owing to the pressure difference across the ring, and friction loads from the
sliding contact between the ring and cylinder liner. The gas pressure above, below
and behind the ring produces resultant forces on the ring section . The inertia forces
acting on the piston rings, as well as those acting on the other reciprocating crank
mechanism components, change proportionally to the square of the engine speed .
The side loading of the piston against the cylinder wall is a result of the articulated
joint of the connecting rod . The effect of the clearance between the cylinder liner and
the piston on the piston and piston ring motion and to the ring forces is presented in
Section 5.1,. The shearing of the lubricating film, the sliding friction forces and the
contact pressure between the ring and the liner cause normal and tangential forces on
the ring face. The elastic distortion of the piston and liner can affect the effective
geometry of the ring face and cylinder liner contact, which causes a non-uniform
distribution of the contact pressure between the cylinder liner and the piston ring face
and can thus lead to increased blow-by and oil consumption .

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The piston pin is often offset from the piston centreline. This arrangement is
applied in order to avoid piston-generated noise or to reduce the thermal load on the
ring grooves . Haddad and Tjan have used a computer program to investigate the
influence of the offset of a piston pin, centre of gravity, and crank offset from the bore
centreline, on the mechanical efficiency and engine noise. The results presented
predict that, generally, the kinetic energy loss decreases when the piston pin offset is
set to the thrust side of the piston and the mechanical efficiency increases when the
piston pin offset is set to the minor thrust side of the piston. In the conclusions of their
work, the authors state that the piston pin offset is the most sensitive parameter
producing considerable variations in kinetic energy loss and mechanical efficiency.
Furthermore, the kinetic energy loss can be reduced, and the mechanical efficiency
can be increased by setting the piston pin offset to the thrust side of the piston centre .
Chittenden and Priest have presented the same kind of results. According to their
predictions, the contact situation will be worse and the friction losses will increase if
the piston pin offset is positioned towards the minor thrust side of the piston .

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CHAPTER 8
piston ring design

Number of piston ring:

There are no strict rules for deciding the number
of compression ring .the number of compression rings in automobile and aircraft
engines usually between 3to 4. In stationary diesel engine , 5to 7compresion ring are
used .in that number of oil ring 1 to 3.

Dimension of cross section : compression ring have rectangular cross

section as show in fig .

The radial width of the ring is give by

√
b=D
where,
b=radial width of ring (mm)

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Pw=allowable radial pressure on cylinder wall(N/mm2)

t=permissible tensile stress for ring material (N/mm2)

Note
 The radial wall pressure is usually taken from 0.025to 0.042 Mpa.
 The permissible tensile stress for cast iron ring is taken from 85 to 110 N/mm2
The axial thickness of piston ring is given by,
h= (0.7*b) to b
where
h is axial thickness of the piston ring in (mm)
there is a limit on the minimum axial thickness .
it is given by
h min = (D/10z)
z=number of ring
it is preferred to provided more number of thin piston ring than a small number of
thick ring . it has the following advantage:
a) Thin ring s reduce frictional loss and wear of the surface .
b) More number of thin ring have better scaling action than a few thick ring .
c) Thin ring occupy less piston length.
d) More number of thin ring provide better heat transfer from the piston top to
the cylinder .
Gap between free ends : the diameter of a piston ring is slightly more than the
cylinder bore (d). a part of the ring is slightly cut diagonally as shown in fig.
during the assembly , the ring is compression diagonally and pass into the line
The gap G between the free ends of the ring is as following.
G= 3.5 b to 4b (before assembly )
G= 0.002dD to 0.004 D (after assembly in cylinder )

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Width of top land and ring land .:

The distance from the top of the piston to the first ring groove (h1) is called
top land . it is given by ,
h1= (th) to(1.2 th)
the distance between two consecutive ring grooves (h2) is called the width of
the ring groove and is given by.
h2=0.75h to h.

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CHAPTER 9
FRICTION REDUCTION STATEGIES

High pressure generated by a top ring along the liner in the region near TDC
of compression , the pressure term typical exceeds ring load due to tension by
at least an order of magnitude. therefore , design to reduce friction should be
focus on reduction contribution from the pressure difference acting on the
lower part of the top ring .since the pressure difference is controlled by
compression and combustion process. but most effective way to reduce top
ring friction in this region is by reducing the area exposed to high pressure
difference (B2).
At this point ,it should be noted that this design strategy is develop by
assuming there is no oil in the dry region .
Skewed barrel profile
The top ring can be manufactured in such a way that the physical
length of the region below the minimum point is reduces .this is generally
referred to as a skewed barrel profile design. Such a design clearly reduction
the area over which the high pressure difference act , which reduces the
friction generated between the top ring and the liner in this region .

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Top ring groove upward tilt

The high pressure generated in the cylinder due to compression and
combustion force the top ring to conform well to the lower groove flank
around TDC of compression , as the result , if upward groove tilt angle were
introduce in top ring groove , the point on the ring that is the closest to the
linear (minimum point ) would move down along the profile if the top ring
were conform to the upward tilt groove around TDC of compression .as would
be a case of skewed barrel profile design , this design would result in
reduction of area over which the high radial pressure act and reduction in
friction.

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Reduce top ring high :

One other method to reduce area over which the high radial pressure
difference act around the TDC compression would be to reduce the over all
axial height of top ring . this reduce the both B1&B2 and since the high

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pressure difference act over B2 , the friction could be reduced using this
design

Adverse effect of reduced friction designs

1. Reduce ring life .
2. Increase top ring groove wear :when the cylinder pressure rise sufficiently to
push the top ring downward to conform to groove , concentrated contact is fist
made at the outer diameter corner of the lower groove flak because of the
upward tilt angle .
3. Increase oil consumption .

SUMMARY :

The piston ring is the largest single contribution to friction power loss in modern
internal combustion engine .in this study reduce friction forces , design of piston
ring ,material for piston ring and function of piston ring .

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Conclusion;

 The primary role Piston ring pack is to maintain an effective gas seal between
the combustion chamber and the crankcase. The rings of the piston ring pack,
which together effectively form a labyrinth seal, achieve this by closely
conforming to their grooves in the piston and to the cylinder wall.

 But mechanical losses due to friction account for between 4and 15% of the
total energy consumed in modern internal combustion engine 40-50% of those
total mechanical losses occur in the power cylinder and half of the power
cylinder friction losses come from friction generated by the piston ring ,

 most effective way to reduce top ring friction in this region is by reducing the
area exposed to high pressure difference

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REFERENCES:

1.DESIGN OF MACHINE ELEMENTS BY V B BHANDARI (DESIGN OF IC ENGINE

COMPONENT)

2 .http://ezinearticles.com/?Piston-Ring-Failure---Causes-and-Prevention& id=2217996.

3.ISSN 1455–0865 (URL: http://www.inf.vtt.fi/pdf/)

4. www.vtt.fi/inf/pdf/tiedotteet/2002/T2178.pdf

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