Characterization and modeling of the fundamental aspects of oil transport in the piston ring pack of internal combustion engines

Engine oil consumption is one of the primary interests for the automotive industry in controlling emissions and reducing service cost. Due to a lack of understanding of the mechanisms of oil transport along the piston, reducing oil consumption from the ring pack of internal combustion engines has been extremely challenging for engine manufacturers and suppliers. This work addressed the fundamental aspects of oil transport in the piston ring pack through experiments and modeling. A two-dimensional multiple-dye Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) visualization system was successfully implemented in a diesel and a spark-ignition engine. Real time high resolution images of the ring pack oil distribution were acquired and analyzed for the entire range of operating conditions typically encountered by passenger car engines. Based on experimental observations, major oil flow patterns in the piston ring pack were identified and characterized. Physically based models were proposed to describe each individual oil transport process, such as, oil flows on the piston lands in both axial and circumferential directions and oil flows through the ring grooves and gaps. Modeling results showed good agreement with the experimental data.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2001

Author dc:creator

• Thirouard, Benoist (Benoist Pierre), 1972-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Douglas P. Hart.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/8890

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/8890