THE PISTON

DESIGN, RINGS V. N.

MANUFACTURE,

AND ASSEMBLY

OF

Shishkin

UDC 62-242.3.001.24

S m a l l - l o t and individually produced piston rings a r e m a d e f r o m l o a m - c a s t ring pots. The subsequent shaping of the rings and the n e c e s s a r y c l e a r a n c e in the f r e e state is m a d e by using the method of t h e r m a l stabiliTation on a k e y in e l e c t r i c f u r n a c e s at a t e m p e r a t u r e 580-610~ After t h e r m a l stabilization, the ring is subjected to finishing [1]. All p a r a m e t e r s including e l a s t i c i t y of the finished rings a r e thoroughly checked, If the g e o m e t r i c dimensions of the ring in the f r e e state a r e known, the e l a s t i c i t y Q in conditions of loading of the ring by d i a m e t r i c a l l y applied f o r c e s a c c o r d i n g to GOST 7295-54 is d e t e r m i n e d f r o m the equation
Q-

EbA

w h e r e E is the standard elastic modulus of the ring m a t e r i a l ; b is the height of the ring; A is the c l e a r ance of the ring in the f r e e state; D is the nominal d i a m e t e r of the ring in the working conditions; t is the r a d i a l thickness of the ring. The standard e l e c t r i c modulus of the r i n g m a t e r i a l is d e t e r m i n e d f r o m this e q u a t i o n a t a c e r t a i n e l a s ticity. At the U r a l C o m p r e s s o r Works, piston rings of the d i a m e t e r 20-270 m m a r e m a d e f r o m l o a m - c a s t ring pots of the following c h e m i c a l composition: 3.1-3.5% C, 0.6-0,8% Cfree, 1.3-1.8% Si; 0.8-1.2% Mn, 0.2-0.5% P, -< 0.11% S, up to 0.4% Cr, up to 0.6% Ni, having a c r o s s - b r e a k i n g strength (rb > 44 k g f / m m 2, a h a r d n e s s HB 207-249. The s t r u c t u r e of the ring pots is fine-flake p e a r l i t e with u n i f o r m l y distributed m e d i u m - and f i n e - f l a k e , slightly curled g r a p h i t e , f e r r i t e (up to 5%) and a phosphite eutectic in the f o r m of a fine, torn network. As was shown by n u m e r o u s m e a s u r e m e n t s [2], these rings pots have a standard e l a s tic modulus within a r a n g e 8000-10,000 k g f / m m 2. Most of the industrial branch, d e p a r t m e n t a l , and f a c t o r y standards including the s t a n d a r d of N I I k h i m m a s h NMPCh 413-53 r e c o m m e n d that in the design of piston rings a standard elastic modulus E = 10,00012,000 k g f / m m 2 be u s e d , which is c h a r a c t e r i s t i c for pig iron used in individual casting of piston rings [3, 4]. As a r e s u l t , the plants making piston r i n g s f r o m ring pots turn out a l a r g e p e r c e n t a g e of r e j e c t s b e c a u s e of the insufficient e l a s t i c i t y of the rings although the chemical composition, s t r u c t u r e , and m e c h a n i c a l p r o p e r t i e s of the pig iron c o r r e s p o n d to that r e c o m m e n d e d . In o r d e r to r e d u c e the p e r c e n t a g e of r e j e c t s b e c a u s e of the insufficient e l a s t i c i t y of the r i n g s , an a t t e m p t is made to i n c r e a s e the c l e a r a n c e of the ring in the f r e e state. However, with the i n c r e a s e in the c l e a r a n c e , the s t r e s s e s i n c r e a s e s h a r p l y during t r e a t m e n t . The s t r e s s in the ring on mounting it in the cylinder is d e t e r m i n e d f r o m the following equation [5] 2Cm~ E
g~ D

w h e r e cm is a coefficient depending on the u n i f o r m i t y of p r e s s u r e of the ring against the cylinder wall; e T r a n s l a t e d f r o m K h i m i e h e s k o e i Neftyanoe M a s h i n o s t r o e n i e , No. 1, pp. 8-9, J a n u a r y , 1972.
9 1972 Consultants Bureau, a division of Plenum Publishing Corporation, 227 West 17th Street, New York, N. Y. 10011. All rights reserved. This article cannot be reproduced for any purpose whatsoever without permission of the publisher. A copy of this article is available from the publisher for $15.00.

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bend
P'Mbend a b c

Fig. 1. On the selection of the coefficient m. a) T a n gential application of the load P, m = 1; b) application of the load at an angle 0 < T < 30 ~ In = 1.57; c) application of the bending moments (on using special clips), m=2.

is a coefficient taking into account the deviation of the shape of the c r o s s section of the ring from the r e c t angular shape. For rings with a r e c t a n g u l a r c r o s s section and uniform diagram of p r e s s u r e on the cylinder wall, = 0, cm = 2, t h e r e f o r e Eq. (1) takes the form a = 0.424
AE

'.

The machining s t r e s s is determined from the formula

t+ht

--

where At is the finishing allowance of the ring in the radial direction. Equation (3) is valid for rings which a r e not subjected to t h e r m a l stabilization; it is not suitable for t h e r m a l l y stabilized rings. This equation takes into account only the i n c r e a s e d radial thickness of the ring and does not take into account the i n c r e a s e in the clearance during t h e r m a l stabilization which is approxim a t e l y 1.25 of the c l e a r a n c e in the free state of the ring. The factor 1.25 takes into account the incomplete d e g r e e of s t r e s s stabilization which i s u p t o 10-12% [3] and 12% of the p e r m a n e n t set p e r m i t t e d by the standa r d NMPCh 413-53 and GOST 9515-61 for c o m p r e s s o r piston rings. T h e r e f o r e , it is m o r e c o r r e c t to det e r m i n e the s t r e s s during machining from Eq. (2) substituting in it the increased values of A, t, and D. This situation is fully confirmed by s t r a i n - g a g e m e a s u r e m e n t s of the s t r e s s e s in 30 and 100 m m d i a m e t e r rings. Prolonged observations and m e a s u r e m e n t s show that if ~mach determined f r o m Eq. (2) is > 28 kgf /ram 2, the d e c r e a s e in the c l e a r a n c e on the f i r s t loading of the ring in the period of machining is not 12% but up to 40% and above. A p a r t f r o m t h a t , E is initially equal to 10,000-11,000 kgff/mm 2, and as it depends, as is well known, on s t r e s s of the pig iron, it d r a s t i c a l l y d e c r e a s e s to 7500-8000 kgf/mm 2. Instead of the expected i n c r e a s e in elasticity, its d r a s t i c d e c r e a s e can be observed, and considerable c l e a r a n c e s i r r e g u l a r l y distributed between the ring and a control cylinder could be observed during the control inspection of finished rings. If the rings a r e designed for a working s t r e s s cr >20 kgf/mm 2, the elasticity of these rings should be tested by loading their ends by tangential f o r c e s using a flexible strip. When c o m p r e s s i v e f o r c e s a r e applied d i a m e t r i c a l l y , s t r e s s e s a r e produced in the back of the ring which exceed the s t r e s s e s determined from Eq. (1) [3-5] by a factor of 1.33 on average. As a result, the ring becomes o v e r s t r e s s e d and this r e duces the c l e a r a n c e and the elasticity. T h e t e s t s o f t h e r m a l l y stabilized rings with dimensions D = 55 ram, b = 2.5 rnm, t - 0+o.02 ram.9 A = 8 0 ~'-0.10_ m m , designed a c c o r d i n g to the standard NMPCh 413-53 for E = 9000 kgf/mm 2 and ~ = 23 kgf/mm ~ and having Q = 1.5-2.8 kgf, show that on m e a s u r i n g the elasticity of a ring, when the c o m p r e s s i v e f o r c e s a r e applied d i a m e t r i c a l l y to the ring, ~ = 30.5 kgf/mm 2 and the d e c r e a s e in the c l e a r a n c e and c o r r e s p o n d i n g l y the dec r e a s e in the elasticity is 20-25%. According to the r e s u l t s of tests of the s a m e rings by means of a flexible strip, the d e c r e a s e in their elasticity is 8-10%.

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For a c o r r e c t l y designed piston ring, the s t r e s s e s on mounting the ring on the piston, just as the working s t r e s s e s , should not exceed 24-26 kgf/mm 2. It is well known that these s t r e s s e s can be determined f r o m the following equation 4E (1 -\ O" - 1

A 9,426 t )

w h e r e m is a coefficient which depends on the method of applying the load when the ring is mounted on the piston (see Fig. 1). The coefficient m is frequently a s s u m e d to be equal to 1.57 in the design of rings without taking into account the application of load. The coeffi.cient m is also a s s u m e d to be equal to 1.57 in the NIIkhimmash standard for piston rings on determining the s t r e s s e s produced on mounting the r i n g s on the pistons. In p r a c t i c e , on a s s e m b l i n g and d i s m a n t l i n g ; the piston rings in c o m p r e s s o r units a r e separated by m e a n s of two loop w i r e s in the a b s e n c e of special devices. This p r o d u c e s s t r e s s e s in the rings exceeding the design s t r e s s e s by a f a c t o r of 1.57. _n n Thus, for a ring with p a r a m e t e r s D = 50 ram, b = 2.5 ram, t-~.u_0.10 ram, A = 6 . 5 mm, designed a c c o r d ing to the standard NMPCh 413-53 for E = 9000 kgf/mm 2 and ~ = 20 kgf/mm 2 and having an elasticity Q = 1.52.8 kgf, cr~ = 24.5 k g f / m m 2 in the case when m = 1.57, and ~r = 38.5 kgf/mm 2 in the case when m = 1. If it is 1 a s s u m e d that even for small d i a m e t e r rings the s t r e s s ~l exceeds ~ by 30%, ~l in this case is v e r y l a r g e and inadmissible. These rings often b r e a k when mounted on pistons. The r e s u l t of l a r g e o v e r s t r e s s e s in the rings is their i n c r e a s e d tendency to creep and r e c r y s t a l l i z a tion during operation. This leads to a loss in elasticity and to the rings becoming stuck to the piston grooves. Thus, the N I I k h i m m a s h standard for piston rings IVINPCh 413-53 and GOST 9515-16 should be s p e c i fied in g r e a t e r detail. On designing, manufacturing, and a s s e m b l i n g piston r i n g s , all f a c t o r s affecting their quality in any way should be taken into account and analyzed since the piston rings a r e the m o s t critical and heavily loaded p a r t s of any piston m e c h a n i s m .

LITERATURE
1.

CITED Engineering [in Russian], Mashgiz, Moscow (1961).

B. A. Galitskii and B. I. Belyakov,

Compressor

2. 3.
4.

5.

V. N. Shishkin, Khim. i Neft. M a s h i n o s t r . , No. 5 (1969). I. N. Bogachev and V. F. Senkevich, Structure and P r o p e r t i e s of Piston Rings [in Russian], Mashgiz, Moscow (1953}. K. English, Piston Rings [Russian translation], Vols. 1 and 2, Mashgiz, Moscow (1963). B. Ya. Gintsburg, T h e o r y and Design of Piston Rings [in Russian], Mashgiz, Moscow (1945).

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