Optimising piston ring contact face chamfer for high performance engines

Abstract

Internal combustion engine components have been a main research interest over many decades [1]. While bulk material and surface engineering developments have improved the resistance to fatigue, reduced the amount of wear and friction during operation, small improvements in race applications designs can increase the engine performance and give a competitive edge to racing engines. Piston rings are designed to create a seal which means that they will suffer large levels of material loss due to wear during operation. The compression ring is the top or closest ring to combustion gases and is exposed to the highest operating temperature. In this paper, the authors propose a design modification to the compression ring coated chamfer which can reduce stress concentration and material loss during operation.