UNIT V

PISTON, PISTON RINGS & PISTON PIN

PISTON
Functions
1. Transmits the force of explosion to the crankshaft via connecting rod
2. Acts as a seal between the combustion chamber and the crankcase and thereby not to allow
products of combustion
3. Guide the connecting rod small end

Guide for CR

Transmission of
Seal b/n CC
Force of
& Crankcase

explosion CR

Piston
Functions

Desirable Characteristics of Piston {1C 2L 3S 1K}

1. Corrosion resistant
2. Lighter in weight
3. Longer life Silent
4. Shorter in length operation
5. No seizure ( free movement)
Corrosion
6. Silent in operation Light wt.
resistance
7. High thermal conductivity

Desirable
Free Characteristics
Short
movement

Long Life K↑

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Constructional Features
1. Piston head
  Also called as crown 
 May be flat or dished out depending upon the
 design 
 May be raised to have a dome like head for
 higher compression ratio 
 Valve relief may be provided at the top when
 piston at TDC is close to the valves 
 Combustion chamber may be partially there in
 the piston 
  Compression ratio to be controlled carefully 
 May result in larger heat loss 


2. Ring Section
 Ring grooves are provided to assemble piston rings. They support the ring and guide for
flexing of rings in & out radially. 

 Compression ring grooves, hold compression rings which seals the combustion chamber.
Due to high pressures of combustion, no. of compression rings are more than two and
accordingly there are 2 or more grooves. 

 Compression ring grooves are followed by oil ring groove. It accommodates oil ring, Oil
ring lubricates the cylinder wall during upward movement and scrapes the oil during
downward movement. Accordingly oil ring groove have oil drain holes provided to take
away the scraped oil to the crank case. 

 The top band before the first ring groove is called as the top land. Successive bands
between the grooves are simply called as lands. These lands support the rings against the
gas pressure and guide the rings free-flexing in radial direction. 

 Webs / ribs may be provided to support the crown and transmit the gas force coming on
the crown to the piston pin boss. 

3. Skirt
  Portion of the piston below the ring section is called as skirt. 
  It guides the vertical movement of the piston and absorbs the side thrust. 
  Inside portion of the skirt contains the piston pin boss to support the piston pin. 
  Skirt should be of sufficient length to prevent tilting 
 It has to fit closely to the liner wall separated by a thing oil film. 

 Heat is transferred from the crown to the skirt and to be designed for the expansion
related problems. 

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4. Piston Pin Boss
  Piston pin is assembled on the boss 
 It comes with a bearing surface for rocking motion of the connecting rod. 

 Heat is transferred from the crown to the boss through the webs / ribs and requires
cooling through the oil flow. 

5. Compression Height
  Height between the crown and the piston pin axis 
  Determines the compression ratio 
 Smaller the height lesser is the compression ratio. 

Piston Material

  Cast Iron 
  First material to be used for piston 
  Has good wear resistance, strength 
  Aluminium Alloy 
 Alloyed with Si [to reduce the thermal expansion] 

 Maximum % of Si is restricted to 12% . Si (<12%) – Y alloy, above 12% strength &
 toughness decreases. Si (=12%) – eutectic, Si (>12%) – hypereutectic alloys. 
  Aluminium as a piston material in comparison to cast iron. 
  is lighter in weight, thereby has lower inertia 
  higher thermal conductivity 
  Lower strength & hence thicker sections are to be uised 
  faster wearing out 
 Unequal expansion resulting in piston slap. 

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Piston Temperature

Observations
1. Cast iron pistons have higher temperature compared to aluminum pistons
2. Diesel engine pistons have relatively higher temperature
3. Centre of the crown has more temperature compared to the crown edge
4. Crown has more temperature and it decreases down to the skirt

Lower temperature for aluminum pistons

  Results in cleaner oil in the sump 

  No carbonized oil underneath the crown 
 Lesser or no overheating and distortion of the piston. 

Temperature variation along the piston length or from centre to periphery

 Thermal stresses resulting in distortion 

Effects of temperature & thermal expansion are minimized by providing clearance.

 Right fit of the piston (when it is cold) results in scuffing due to the expansion when piston is
hot. 

 Therefore provide clearance. When the piston is cold, it is loose and on expansion it fits well.
Piston does not slap when it runs hot. Piston slaps when it runs cold (initially for some time) as it
 is a loose fit. The clearance provided is called as cold clearance. 
  The clearance piston has with the liner when it’s hot is called as operating or running clearance. 
 If cold clearance is too small then there is no running clearance. This results in friction & werar. 

 Running clearance should be as small as possible for better sealing of combustion chamber and
superior performance. 

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 Clearance at various location depends upon
o Operating temperature 

o Coefficient of thermal expansion
 o Cylinder bore and piston size 
o Running clearance to be provided 

 Ring portion may be made tapered while the skirt may be kept cylindrical as ring section is
 subjected to higher temperature. 
  Clearance on cast iron piston may be smaller compared Aluminium alloy pistons 
 As engines get used, wear increases the clearance that results in 
o increased knock & slapping,
o increased corner loading,
o excessive ring wear &
o oil loss

Piston Slap

 Piston shifts from one side of the

cylinder to the other side of the
cylinder at the end of compression
stroke. This shifting is with sufficient
 force and a distinct noise – slap 
 When slap occurs in all cylinders, it
 results in engine rattle. 
 Piston Skirt slapping against the bore
while sliding is due to larger
 clearance b/n piston & bore. 
 Mainly at the inclined position of the
connecting rod 


  Distinct features of the slap
  Cold engines slap more 
  Worn cylinder & piston results in slap 
  New piston pin in old piston slaps 
  Collapsed skirts result in slap 
  Longer piston has lesser slap intensity 
Reducing Piston Slap 

1. Reducing the cold clearance between thrust faces of the piston skirt and the cylinder
wall
2. Reduce the thermal expansion of the piston perpendicular to the piston pin bosses
during normal operation

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3. Offsetting the piston pin axis towards the major thrust side.

 These pistons move satisfactorily within the limits of clearances at TDC 


 With offsetting, corner loading at the top land and the bottom of the skirt increases.
 This may result in wear and cracking. 
  Prevention of the above problems 
  Make the piston skirt stiffer 
  Increase the weight, this may result in scuffing of the skirt 
 Design the skirt profile properly 

Pistons may be designed to keep the heat away from the skirt and thereby
preventing the slap

Various piston designs

Cut horizontal slot on major & minor thrust Cut circumferential slot in the oil ring groove
sides o Oil flow in the slot absorbs heat
o Prevents the downward flow of heat

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Vertical Slot T Slot
o Skirt expands but slot prevents o It is the combination of horizontal & vertical
increase of outer diameter slots. Hence it minimises the heat flow to the
skirt and skirt expansion if any is
accommodated in the vertical slot thereby not
increasing outer diameter.

Taper Piston Heat Dam

o In the Ring section, crown is subjected o Heat dam is the peripheral groove cut in the
to higher heat and it decreases down top land. It reduces the path available for heat
towards the oil ring groove. transfer to the skirt. Crown is cooled from the
Accordingly expansion too follows the bottom side by oil jets.
same pattern. o Skirt runs cooler
o Ring section is tapered from bottom to
the top.
o Skirt is subjected to minimum or no
heat and may be kept cylindrical

Cam Ground Piston Use of Special Alloy

 Ovality depends on the skirt length  Low expansion alloy
 Max at the pin level & reduced o Si - 12 – 15%
towards bottom of the skirt o Ni – 1.5 – 3%
 Used in combination with taper piston o Mg – 1%
o Cu – 1%
 Low thermal expansion
 No splits
 costly

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Wire Wound Piston Autothermic Pistons
 Steel wire is wound on the outer  Used in cam ground oval pistons Has bimetallic
surface of the piston b/n the oil ring low expansion insert anchored to the skirt
and piston pin along the minor axis
 Used on split skirt  Whenever hot, it expands outwards. Expansion
is along the minor axis

Insert b/n ring part & skirt

 Steel insert on thrust & non thrust
sides of the skirt with a small
clearance.
 Clearance restricts the heat flow
 Reduces expansion
 Strengthens the skirt

Bimetal Piston
 Skirt is of both Steel & Al
o Steel – outer
o Al – inner
 Low expansion of steel prevents Al
from expanding

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Piston Failure

Scuffing

Damage
– boss, Piston Burnt
circlip Failure piston
groove

Ring
land
damage

1. Scuffing
Piston expands from excessive heat and thereby forming a tight fit with the liner squeezing out
the lubrication. This results in metal to metal contact and failure of the piston & liner.
It may also result from
a. Insufficient lubrication of cylinder walls b. Coolant leakage
c. Overloading of the engine d. Too tight piston pin making it difficult for
e. Detonation resulting from high expansion / contraction as the
temperature temperature changes. This results in
f. Inefficient cooling system o No shape recovery
o
o Scuffing in skirt area 45 from the
piston pin boss

2. Burnt Piston
 Burnt piston is due to the detonation.
 It occurs at the farthest end from the spark plug & near centre of the piston head.

3. Ring Land Damage

 It happens due to 
o Excessive ring groove clearance
o Detonation
o Ring is not compressed while installing
o Leakage of water in to the cylinder.

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4. Damage to the Piston Pin Boss & Circlip Groove
 It results from 
o Rocking motion of the connecting rod due to the bend. This wears out the circlip groove.
o Tapered crank pin
o Too much of end play of big end of connecting rod on the crank pin.

PISTON RINGS
Piston of an engine is made smaller than the bore diameter to
accommodate the piston expansion and also to permit the
presence of lubricating oil film.
Function of Piston Rings
 To maintain a good seal between piston & cylinder wall 
 Pressure seal to prevent blowby of burnt gases 
 Heat transfer to the cylinder wall from the piston 

 Controlled oil flow to the rings, skirt at the same time
preventing the oil from reaching the combustion chamber. 

 Outer diameter of the ring is larger than the piston diameter 
 They are compressed & installed 

Material
 Fine grain alloy cast iron 
o Has good heat & wear resistance
o Good elasticity for the radial expansion and compression

Compression ring: seals the charge as it is compressed. It also

seals products of combustion when mixture burns.
 2-3 rings at the top 
  More the rings more is the compression ratio 
  Last compression ring is taper faced & provided to 
 Improve oil sealing 
  To prevent ring sticking in high output engines 
 Not to be used in top groove 

Why two or more compression rings?

One ring is not able to bear the combustion pressure, which is of
the order of 70 bar. Load on the single ring is reduced, thereby
reducing the pressure against the cylinder wall.

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Sealing action by the compression rings

Oil control ring: scrape off the excessive oil from the
cylinder wall and return it to the oil pan.
 Has series of slots to transfer excess oil
through oil drain holes in the piston to the
 sump. 
 Give more radial pressure than the
 compression rings 
 Excess oil is splashed by the connecting rod that is to be removed. If not removed, 
o Goes to the combustion chamber and burns that results in pollution and excess oil
consumption.
o Fouling of the spark plug
o Increases the possibility of knocking that in turn hampers the functioning of the
compression ring.

  Why one oil ring? 

o One ring is capable of oil control
o Lesser pressure to be dealt and
o Results in shorter piston, shorter engine

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Rings are split to insert it in the ring groove of the
piston. Usually they are of butt gap type.

 Lapped gap 





 Beveled gap 





 Butted gap 

Removing and fitting of rings

Use special tool or brass strips

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PISTON PIN

  Also called as wrist pin or gudgeon pin 

  Generally hollow / tubular 
  Connects the small end of connecting rod and the piston. 
  Passed through piston pin bosses & small end of the connecting rod 
  Made of carbon steel with alloying elements C- 0.15%, Si – 0.30%, & Mn – 0.50 % 
  heat treated for wear resistance 
o
a. Carburized at 900 C
o
b. Hardened by quenching at 780 C &
o
c. Tempered at 150 C
d. Lapped for fine surface finish of about 0.1 µm
 Operating clearances are about 7.5 µm (more clearance will increase the noise & reduce the life. 

Three methods of piston pin holding

Semi-floating type -I Semi-floating type -II Fully floating type

Fastened to the piston Piston pin is fastened to the Piston pin floats both in piston pin
pin boss by set screw, connecting rod by means of a bolt. bosses & connecting rod small end.
connecting rod small Pin along with connecting rod End movement is prevented by
end floats on the pin floats in the boss circlip.

**********

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