Engineering Failure Analysis 66 (2016) 154–165

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Engineering Failure Analysis

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engfailanal

Failure and thermo-mechanical stress analysis of the exhaust

valve of diesel engine
Lucjan Witek
Rzeszow University of Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, Department of Aircraft and Aero Engines, 8 Powstańcow Warszawy Ave.,
35-959 Rzeszów, Poland

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this work the failure analysis of the exhaust valve of diesel engine was performed. Visual ex-
Received 17 December 2015 amination of damaged engine parts showed that on the fracture of exhaust valve the beach
Received in revised form 15 March 2016 marks, typical for fatigue failure were observed. Additional observations of the crack initiation
Accepted 13 April 2016
zones indicated that the crack origins were not covered by material defects or corrosion prod-
Available online 16 April 2016
ucts. In order to explain the reason of premature valve damage, the non-linear finite element
analysis was utilized. The discrete model of simplified valve system composed of the valve
Keywords: guide, the poppet valve and the seat face was defined. In numerical analysis both the mechan-
Exhaust valve
ical force arising from the valve spring and also the thermal load resulting from the non-
Fracture
uniform temperature field were defined. The results of nonlinear static analysis showed that
Piston engine
Thermo-mechanical stress in the engine without any disturbances, the maximum principal stresses in the critical zone
Finite element method of the valve have low values. The examination of another (non-defected) valve from damaged
engine head indicated that irregular carbon deposit was located on the valve face. The results
of stress analysis performed for the valve with the carbon deposit showed, that in the valve
stem a high bending stresses were occurred.
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

The piston engines are commonly used in automotive industry. Nowadays the tendency to increase the engine power is ob-
served. Simultaneously the engine capacity is often decreased in order to reduce both the fuel consumption and also the emission
of noxious compounds. The mentioned design assumptions cause achieving the high operational stresses in the parts of modern
piston engines.
A valve system is one of the main components of a diesel engine. The poppet valve opens and closes the connection between
the cylinder and the exhaust manifold during the work of the engine (Fig. 1). The exhaust valve is subjected to the complex
thermo-mechanical load. The mechanical load is caused by the valve spring when the valve is closed.
The valve has a contact with hot exhaust gases which temperature can be higher than 700 °C [1]. The thermal load is con-
cerned with the non-uniform temperature field which occurs in the exhaust valve during the work of the engine. A high working
temperature decreases the fatigue and static properties of the valve material. Due to the above reasons, the exhaust valve belongs
to the group of critical engine parts (from the fatigue point of view).
The stress and failure analysis of the valves of piston engines were described in several research works. In the work [2] the
failure analysis of a two-stroke diesel engine damaged after nine months of operation was performed. As a result, the turbocharg-
er, the piston crown, the cylinder head, the fuel injector and the exhaust valves from one cylinder were extremely damaged.

E-mail address: lwitek@prz.edu.pl.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2016.04.022
1350-6307/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 L. Witek / Engineering Failure Analysis 66 (2016) 154–165 155

Fig. 1. Exhaust valve assembled in the head of a diesel engine (cross-section of engine head in which the fracture of valve occurred).

Examinations showed that various fracture mechanisms, such as thermal cracking, intergranular fracture and high-cycle fatigue
were observed for damaged engine parts.
The results of experimental investigation of two-stroke diesel engine (with was lubricated by the oil with the use of two dif-
ferent kinds of oil additives) were presented in the work [3]. In this paper the author's attention was focused on erosion, corro-
sion and “guttering” problems of the exhaust valves. The paper [4] presents the failure analysis of a diesel engine exhaust valves
which were damaged in operation. The formation of the lamellar structure in the material of the valve head was a main reason for
the fatigue failures of investigated exhaust valves.
The failure problem of exhaust valve stem of the Waukesha P9390 GSI gasoline engine was presented in the work [5]. A sig-
nificant loss of hardness showed that the valve failed as a result of overheating.
Results of the fatigue test of valves obtained by permanent-mould cast γ-TiAl alloy were presented in the work [6]. Titanium
alloy is an alternative material used for production of engine valves because it has low density. As a result of smaller mass of the
valve, the reduction of both the inertial loads and also the stress values are observed in the valve stem.
A study of complex analysis of the valve (considering head thermal deformation) is presented in the work [7]. The authors de-
scribe the problem of exhaust valve fracture of the gasoline engine. The critical fracture zone was the valve stem in which the highest
temperature is observed. An additional result of this paper is also the stress distribution in the valve in which the mechanical, thermal
and dynamic loads occur. Authors indicate that the non-uniform deformation of the engine head (common with the seats) is the rea-
son of appearing the bending stresses in the valve stem. This phenomenon causes decrease of the fatigue life of the valves.
In the work [8] the stress and failure analysis of the engine head were presented. A non-uniform temperature field in the en-
gine head was a main reason for both the stress concentrations and the cracks appearing on the seat faces of the head.
The review of the engine valves failures is presented in paper [9]. According to the authors, the main reasons of valve failure
are: overheating, decrease the strength of material at high temperature, oxidation, fretting, galling and impact load. The authors of
work [9] indicate that the most critical zones of the valve (from the fracture point of view) are the head and the stem.
In many papers only the static loads are considered. In the work [10] the dynamics of complex valve system was investigated.
The authors performed a complex experiment in which the camshaft was powered by an electric engine. As a result of performed
analysis the dynamic forces in the valve stem were measured using strain gauges. Moreover, the acceleration of the valve head
was measured using the piezoelectric sensors. The results of another research works show that vibrations have a negative influ-
ence on the fatigue life of many parts used also in the aviation industry [11–13].
The main objective of presented investigations is the failure analysis of the exhaust valve of diesel engine. The additional re-
search goal of this work is determination of the stress state in the exhaust valve of a piston engine, subjected to complex thermo-
mechanical load.
156 L. Witek / Engineering Failure Analysis 66 (2016) 154–165

Fig. 2. The valve without defects (left) and damaged during the engine work (right).

2. Description of problem and visual examination of damaged engine parts

The failure of diesel engine was occurred in the car at kilometerage of 230,000 km. The damaged turbocharged 4-cylinders
piston engine had the capacity of 1.9 cm3 and the maximum power of 110 hp. According to the opinion of the service special-
ists, the fatigue failures of exhaust valves in this engine occurred at much larger kilometerage (600–900 thousands of km).
The engine was disassembled after the failure. In the engine head a piece of exhaust valve (part no. 1, Fig. 2) was found. The
second piece of damaged valve (part no. 2, Fig. 2) was driven into top surface of the piston (Fig. 3). High impact force caused the
plastic deformation of large zone of the piston. In consequence, all piston rings were compressed and deformed (Fig. 3b). In the
Fig. 3a the indentations created after the collision of the broken valve head with the piston are visible. The third piece of damaged
valve (head) was lost during the engine repair and for this reason it is not showed in this study.
The visual observations of damaged parts showed that the fatigue beach marks, typical for fatigue failure were observed on
the fracture of the valve stem only (section A in Fig. 2). Just this zone can be indicated as critical. After fracture of the valve in
section A, the top part of the stem (no. 1) was remained in valve guide. The bottom part of the valve (part no. 2 common with
the valve head) was moved down between the piston and the engine head. The valve head was next rotated. After first im-
pacts, the bottom part of the valve was statically ruptured in section B (Fig. 2). Next, the part no. 2 was driven into piston
(Fig. 3).

Fig. 3. Damaged piston with the piece of fractured valve (a). Zone of plastic deformation of the piston after collision with the engine head (b).
 L. Witek / Engineering Failure Analysis 66 (2016) 154–165 157

Fig. 4. Fracture of the valve obtained with the use of: scanning (a) and optical (b) microscope.

The examination of critical fracture of the valve (A section in Fig. 2) revealed the existence of a few different zones. The first
crack origin is located on the top part of the valve fracture (point C in Fig. 4). The D zone with presence of the fatigue beach
marks covers about 60% of the total cross-section area of the valve stem. When the front of the first crack was in D zone, the sec-
ond crack was initiated from point E. Next, two cracks propagated simultaneously (in D and F regions). The ruptured G zone is
located between two dashed lines (Fig. 4a).
There is visible a difference in brightness of the fatigue fracture D and F areas on photograph obtained with the use of optical
microscope (Fig. 4b). The darker color is related to the advanced corrosion process of fracture D zone. Based on this observation it
is concluded that the first crack was initiated in C point.
The critical fatigue fracture (A zone in Fig. 2) was located 23 mm above the bottom (flat) surface of the valve head.
As seen from Fig. 5a the first crack origin was not covered by corrosion products or material defects. The striations presented
in Fig. 5b showed that the failure problem of the exhaust valve was related to the fatigue of material.
The presence of the bottom (fractured) part of the valve in the cylinder caused impact of the piston into engine head. As a
result, the engine head was seriously damaged (Fig. 6a). The impact force was so large that the secondary crack was occurred
in the vicinity of the piston sleeve (Fig. 6b). In described engine the following parts were also damaged: the connecting rod,
the leading injector and the glow plug. The cost of the engine repair (after failure of the valve) can be very high.

3. Numerical thermo-mechanical stress analysis of the valve

3.1. Model of the valve, loads and boundary conditions

The parametric model of the valve segment with the seat and the guide was performed using Patran program [14]. The dis-
crete model of the valve presented in Fig. 7 consists of 15,537 nodes and 13,952 HEX-8 elements. Between adjacent surfaces of
the valve guide and the stem the contact was defined [15]. The clearance between contacted surfaces of the guide and the
stem equals 0.02 mm. In contact definition the Coulomb theory was used [15]. The second contact pair was introduced between
the seat face and the valve face (Fig. 7). The friction coefficient between all contacting surfaces was defined as 0.05. The external
surface of the seat and the valve guide was fixed (Fig. 8).

Fig. 5. The magnified view of first crack origin (a) and fatigue striations in D zone (b).
158 L. Witek / Engineering Failure Analysis 66 (2016) 154–165

Fig. 6. Damaged engine parts: the head with the inlet valve (a) and the piston with the crack arising as a result of large impact force (b).

The general equation for spring deflection λ is:

8 FZ D3 n
λ¼ ð1Þ
G  d4

where:

Fz spring force
D mean coil diameter (26.8 mm)
n number of active spring coils (n = 4)
d diameter of spring wire (3.8 mm)
G shear modulus of spring material (8 × 104 MPa).

The spring force Fz acting on the top part of the valve stem can be computed by converting Eq. (1):

λGd4
FZ ¼ : ð2Þ
8D3 n

In the valve close position the deflection of the spring is equal to 5 mm. The spring force Fz computed from Eq. (2) for λ =
5 mm equals 135.4 N.
During the work of the engine the exhaust valve has a contact with hot gases. In the valve close position the valve head is
heated from the side of the cylinder but the valve face is in contact with cooled seat. For this reason on external area of the
valve head a lower temperatures are observed. In the valve open position (Fig. 9a) the central part of the valve stem is heated
by hot exhaust gases.

Fig. 7. The numerical model of the valve with adjacent elements: the seat face and the guide.
 L. Witek / Engineering Failure Analysis 66 (2016) 154–165 159

Fig. 8. Load resulting from spring force and boundary conditions in first load case.

The top part of the stem is in contact with a cold guide. It causes that the maximum temperature zone in the valve is located
in the central part of the valve stem. Fig. 9b presents the non-uniform temperature field in the valve, defined in the second load
case. This temperature field was defined as a sum of two parabolic function specified in the cylindrical coordinate system. The
maximum value of temperature (700 °C) was taken from literature [7,14]. The maximum temperature zone is located on the
axis of symmetry, about 18 mm from the flat surface of a valve head.
The third load case considered in this work contains both the mechanical load resulting from the spring force (Fig. 8) and the
non uniform temperature field (Fig. 9b). This load case represents the complex thermo-mechanical load arising during the work
of the engine. The pressure acting on the valve head (from the side of the cylinder, in the valve close position) was neglected
because this load has no influence on the stress state in the valve stem.

3.2. Valve and guide material

The analyzed exhaust valve is made out of 214 N valve steel. The chemical composition of 214 N steel is presented in Table 1
[16]. Yield stress (YS) and the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 214 N steel measured at a high temperature are presented in
Table 2. In this work the model of material was defined as linear-elastic. In analysis of thermal stresses, the variation of Young

Fig. 9. Hot and cold sections in the engine head (a) and non-uniform temperature field defined for the exhaust valve in the second load case.
160 L. Witek / Engineering Failure Analysis 66 (2016) 154–165

Table 1
Chemical composition of 214 N valve steel [16].

Element C Si Mn Ni Cr N S P Fe

Fraction [%] 0.48–0.58 Max. 0.25 8–10 3.25–4.50 20–22 0,35–0.5 Max. 0.03 Max. 0.045 Base

modulus and thermal expansion coefficient as a function of temperature were considered (Table 3). The valve guide was made
out of silicone bronze (Young modulus: 105 GPa, UTS: 745 MPa, yield stress: 415 MPa, thermal expansion coefficient α = 1.8
× 10−5 [1/°C] (at 20–300 °C)).

3.3. Results of stress analysis

In this work, the Abaqus solver [15] was used for thermo-mechanical stress analysis of the valve. In order to solve the problem,
the nonlinear finite element analysis (Newton-Raphson method) was utilized. For all results, Megapascal (MPa) units were used
to describe the fields of stress.
The Von Mises stress distribution does not show if the material is tension or compressed. Because of this fact, in this paper the
maximum principal (σ1) stress distributions were analyzed. This stress is particularly interesting from the point of view of the
fatigue strength because just the tensile stresses contribute the most to the fatigue crack initiation and next to crack propagation.
Fig. 10 presents the maximum principal stress distribution in the valve loaded by the spring force only (without temperature).
As seen from this figure, the area of maximum stress is located in the central part of the stem. This area covers the zone of valve
where the crack appeared (Fig. 2). The maximum tension stress value (resulting from the spring force) equals 3.93 MPa (1,5% of
yield stress (YS) of steel 214 N in 700 °C). The small value of stress resulting from the static spring force can't be related to the
premature failure of the valve.
The results of investigations presented in the paper [10] show that the dynamic stress (resulting from dynamic of the valve
system) in the moment of the valve closure can be about 5 times larger than the static value. Based on results of the work
[10], the maximum stress showed in Fig. 10 (resulting from the static force of the spring) can be multiplied by 5. This correction
gives the value of 19.65 MPa as a dynamic stress. The estimated dynamic stress is relatively small (7.9% of YS of material) and
can't be the reason of early fatigue fracture of investigated valve.
In the second load case the non-uniform temperature field was defined (Fig. 9b). The results of FE calculations show that in
the valve subjected to the thermal load only, the zone of maximum principal stress (12.7 MPa) is located at the external part
of valve head (Fig. 11). In the critical fracture zone of the valve, a small value of thermal stress is observed (about 1.58 MPa).
The third load case consists of both the force resulting from the valve spring (Fig. 8) and the thermal field (Fig. 9b). The results
of calculations performed for this load case are presented in Fig. 12. As seen from this figure, after sum of the mechanical and the
thermal load, the maximum principal stress equals 12.2 MPa. The tension stress in the critical fracture area (A section in Fig. 2) is
in the range of 3.73–4.67 MPa.

3.4. Stress analysis of the valve in the engine with incomplete combustion process

The results of calculations presented in previous chapter showed that the small operational stresses are observed in the ex-
haust valve, during the work of engine without disturbances. It means that some additional phenomena caused the fatigue failure

Table 2
Ultimate tensile strength and yield stress of 214 N valve steel in high temperature.

Temperature Yield stress

[°C] YS [MPa] Ultimate tensile strength UTS [MPa]

500 350 650

550 330 600
600 300 550
650 270 500
700 250 450
750 230 370

Table 3
Thermal expansion coefficient and Young modulus for 214 N valve steel in high temperature.

Temperature Young modulus Thermal exp. coefficient

[°C] E × 105 [MPa] α × 10−5 [1/°C]

100 2.08 1.55

300 1.95 1.75
500 1.66 1.85
700 1.01 1.88
 L. Witek / Engineering Failure Analysis 66 (2016) 154–165 161

Fig. 10. Maximum principal stress (σ1) distribution resulting from the valve spring (1st load case) [MPa].

of analyzed exhaust valve. The test of hardness performed for damaged valve (using Rockwell method), showed that the small
fluctuation of HRC values (27–30 HRC) was observed along the stem of damaged valve. Thus, the overheating of the valve was
excluded from further investigations.
The careful observation of another valve, dismounted from damaged engine head (Figs. 1, 6a) showed that on the face of the
exhaust valve the carbon deposit was located (Fig. 13a). The size of the carbon particle was about 0.5 × 2.5 × 3.5 mm.
After this observation a new numerical model with an additional element (carbon deposit) was defined (Fig. 13b). Between
the carbon particle and the seat face the third contact pair was defined. In 4th load case the model was loaded by the valve spring
only. This load case occurs in the exhaust valve just after the start of a cold engine.
Fig. 14 shows that the exhaust valve with the carbon particle is subjected to bending. In preliminary step of nonlinear analysis
the contact was first activated at the top part of the valve head (in the carbon deposit vicinity). During the increase of the spring
force, the valve moves left. At the same time the valve head shifts down. As a result of complex deformation, the bending moment
occurs in the valve stem. In the last step of analysis (Fig. 14) the valve is in contact with two small areas (bottom part of the seat
and the carbon particle). In the top layer of the valve stem the tension stress occurs. The presence of 0.5 mm thick carbon deposit
caused that maximum value of tension stress in a cold valve achieves the value of 151 MPa.
After a few minutes from the start of the engine, the stable temperature field appears in the valve [17,18]. The fifth load case
consists of both the thermal load (Fig. 9b) and the spring force (Fig. 8). This load case represents the work of a hot valve with the
carbon deposit. After heating of the valve to the working temperature (500–700 °C) the Young modulus of its material is about
1,6–2 times smaller than modulus measured in the room temperature (Table 3). A low bending stiffens of hot valve stem causes
that in this case the maximum tension stress is reduced to the value of 111 MPa (Fig. 15).
In Fig. 15 the K–L segment located on the surface of the valve stem is visible. In the further part of this study, the following
parameters: maximum principal stress (σ1), local temperature and the YS of the valve material (as a function of temperature)
will be analyzed in detail along the K–L segment. The value of node position for K point is 0 mm whereas for L point: 26 mm.
The plot presented in Fig. 16a shows that the fracture valve zone (node position: 12 mm) does not overlap the maximum tem-
perature zone (node position: 20 mm). Moreover, the critical fracture zone (where the tension stress has a value of 100 MPa)
does not overlap the maximum principal stress zone (111 MPa, for node position 6 mm, Fig. 16b).

Fig. 11. Maximum principal (σ1) stress distribution resulting from non-uniform temperature field (2nd load case) [MPa].
162 L. Witek / Engineering Failure Analysis 66 (2016) 154–165

Fig. 12. Maximum principal stress (σ1) distribution resulting from non-uniform temperature field and the spring force (3rd load case), [MPa].

In order to explain the reasons of the valve failure (especially the location of the fracture zone), the additional S factor will be
introduced. This factor (3) expresses the relation between the value of local σ1 stress in the valve and the yield stress of the valve
material (which depends on temperature):

σ1
S¼ ð3Þ
YSðTÞ

where:

YS(T) Yield stress of the valve material as a function of temperature.

The S factor defined in Eq. (3) is related to the real effort of valve material. The analysis of results presented in Fig. 16 shows
that in the zone of maximum principal stress (111 MPa, node position: 6 mm) the temperature of valve material equals 600 °C.
The S factor in this zone has the value of 0.36 (Fig. 16c). In the zone of maximum temperature (700 °C, node position: 20 mm)
the stresses are much smaller (about 70 MPa). It causes that the S factor has a lower value (0.27). The S factor achieves the
highest value (0.37–0.38) for the node location in the range of 8–12 mm. It means that in the critical fracture area of the valve
stem the σ1 stress achieves about 37% of YS of material. The results of presented analysis showed that the fatigue crack was ini-
tiated in the zone of the highest effort of material, in the bending valve with the carbon deposit.

Fig. 13. Carbon deposit located on the face of second exhaust valve dismounted from the engine head of investigated engine (a). The numerical model of the valve
with the carbon deposit located between faces of the valve and the seat (b).
 L. Witek / Engineering Failure Analysis 66 (2016) 154–165 163

Fig. 14. Maximum principal (σ1) stress distribution in the cold valve with 0.5 mm thick carbon deposit, loaded by the spring force only (4th load case, cold valve)
[MPa].

4. Summary

In this study the fracture problem of the exhaust valve of diesel engine was investigated. The visual examination of damaged
valve showed that two fatigue cracks were initiated in the valve during the work of the engine. In order to explain the reason of
premature fracture of the valve, the finite element model consisting of the valve, the seat and the guide was defined. As a result of
nonlinear analysis, the maximum principal stress distributions in the exhaust valve for different load cases were obtained.

Fig. 15. Maximum principal stress distribution in the valve with 0.5 mm thick carbon deposit (5th load case — hot valve), [MPa].
164 L. Witek / Engineering Failure Analysis 66 (2016) 154–165

Fig. 16. The values of: local temperature (a), maximum principal stress (σ1) (b), and S factor (c) along the K–L segment defined on the surface of the valve stem.

Based on results of the work, the following conclusions were formulated:

1. The maximum principal stress (σ1) in the valve loaded by the spring force equals 3.93 MPa (1.5% of yield stress of the mate-
rial). The results of the work [10] show that the dynamic stresses at the moment of valve closure can be about 5 times larger
than the static value, calculated in this work.
2. The maximum value of σ1 stress resulting from non-uniform temperature field has a value of 12.7 MPa. The area of maximum ther-
mal stress is located on the valve head. The thermal stress in the fracture area of the valve (in the stem) equals 1.58 MPa only.
 L. Witek / Engineering Failure Analysis 66 (2016) 154–165 165

3. The superposition of thermal and mechanical load caused that the maximum value of σ1 stress in the valve head was reduced
to 12.2 MPa. The tension stress in the critical fracture area (in the stem) equals about 4 MPa.
4. The careful observation of the second exhaust valve (dismounted from damaged engine head) reveals the presence of irregular
carbon deposit located on the valve face. The results of the numerical calculations performed for the hot valve with 0.5 mm
thick carbon deposit showed that a large bending stress (111 MPa), is observed in the valve stem.
5. Just after cold start of the engine the bending stress in the valve with carbon deposit increases to the value of 151 MPa.
6. In the critical fracture zone of the valve with the carbon deposit the highest effort of material (related with the σ1 stress values
and the YS of hot valve material) was occurred.
7. The exhaust valve can freely rotate in the engine head. Moreover the carbon deposit can be embedded in different part of the
valve seat during the work of the engine. It can explain the initiation of second fatigue crack in the valve stem (Fig. 4).
8. The user of the car (in which the engine was damaged by broken valve) reported large fuel consumption and the problems
with a start of the engine at low temperature. There is a high probability that the bad condition of the fuel injectors caused
an incomplete combustion process in which a large amount of carbon was produced. The irregular deposition of the carbon
on the seat face of the valve (Fig. 13a) caused that in the valve stem a large bending stress occurred (Figs. 14, 15). The
large amplitude of bending stress in the valve with the carbon deposit was probably a main reason for the premature fatigue
failure of investigated valve

In the future research work, the numerical simulation of the crack growth process in the exhaust valve will be considered. In
order to solve the problem, the boundary element method (BEM) [19] or hybrid method [20] will be used for stress intensity fac-
tor determination in the valve with the crack.

Acknowledgement

The research leading to these results has received funding from the People Programme (Marie Curie International Research Staff Ex-
change) of the European Union Seventh Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013/ under REA grant agreement no. PIRSES-GA-2013-
610547.
Author would like to thank prof. G. Mrówka-Nowotnik and dr M. Wierzbińska for SEM micrographs (Figs. 4a and 5) preparation.

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Lucjan Witek, PhD, DSc. Graduated in 1997 with M.Sc. degree in mechanical engineering (specialization: aircraft, airframe), PhD degree in 2002 (discipline: mechanics),
both from the Rzeszow University of Technology, Poland. Currently is working on position of professor at Department of Aircraft and Aero Engines, Faculty of Mechan-
ical Engineering and Aeronautics, Rzeszow University of Technology. His research focuses on the nonlinear stress and fatigue analysis of mechanical structures, analysis
of stability of thin-walled structures, fracture and fatigue studies of the aero engines and aircraft components. Recently works on both the numerical and experimental
crack propagation analysis of the compressor blades subjected to resonant vibrations and also the fracture problems of the piston engines components. An author of
research papers published by Elsevier, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Springer, Trans Tech Publications (TTP) or Polish Society of Theoret-
ical and Applied Mechanics (PTMTS) publishing houses.