Name: KAPSO KWASSEU ARMEL

Matricule: UBA19E3060

SCHOOL: NAHPI

COURSE: AUTOMOTIVE ENGINE DESIGN

COURSE CODE: MECE 5112

TOPIC: PISTON FAILURES

I- INTRODUCTION

Piston is an important component of an internal combustion engine which has as a prime function the
transmission of motion produced by liberation of chemical energy of fuel to mechanical works. Piston
rings dynamically seal the gap between the moving piston and the cylinder liner surface in order to
prevent the escape of the combustion gases from the combustion chamber into the crankcase and the
leakage of the oil from the crankcase into the combustion chamber. All inadequacy causing the piston not
to function at the fullness of it potential is called piston failure. In this work we will discuss about piston
failures their causes and their prevention.

II- PISTON FAILUREs

1- Causes of piston failures

One of the most frequently occurring engine breakdowns is the failure of the engine pistons. Engine piston
failures occur at various mileages and are due to different causes. These failures are caused by material
defects and engineering and operational errors. Design error can be found rarely, since the engine design
has attained a very high level of perfection over the period of more than 100 years. Engineering errors
may result from the incorrect choice of clearances between the piston and the cylinder or the use of an
inappropriate material. Errors of this type most often occur in repaired engines, in which unoriginal parts
or parts not recommended by the manufacturer have been used.

The most common causes of piston failures include:

- Their insufficient cooling; leading to overheating and seizures

- Insufficient lubrication of the piston guiding part,
- Insufficient clearance
- Thermal fatigue of the piston head surface,
- Failures due to an incorrect combustion process,
- Mechanical damage
2- Examples of piston damaged
a- Overheating
b- Insufficient lubrication of the piston guiding part

c- Failures due to incorrect combustion process

The table below summarizes various causes of piston failures

3- Prevention from piston failures
The piston is one of the continuous moving parts of engine, is of pivotal importance. Piston has
high dynamic loaded speed and heavy reciprocating weight develop high inertia forces, which
are undesirable. The following factors may be considered for proper functioning of piston in IC
Engine:
- The piston should have enormous strength and heat resistance properties to withstand gas
pressure and inertia forces. They should have minimum weight to minimize the inertia forces.
- The material of the piston should have good and quick dissipation of heat from the crown to
the rings and bearing area to the cylinder walls. It should form an effective gas and oil seal.
- Material of the piston must possess good wearing qualities, so that the piston is able to
maintain sufficient surface-hardness unto the operating temperatures.
- Piston should have rigid construction to withstand thermal, mechanical distortion and sufficient
area to prevent undue wear. It has even expansion under thermal loads so should be free as
possible from
III- CONCLUSION

Piston in the internal combustion (IC) engine is robust, dynamically loaded tribo-pair that reciprocates
continuously at varying temperature. Study has been made by various researchers on piston design,
dynamics, fatigue and wear at the interface with other element in contact along with their effects on IC
engines. It was found that the friction coefficient increases with increasing surface roughness of liner
surface and thermal performance of the piston increases with increased coating thickness. The free
material liberated due to deep scoring between the piston and liner snowballs, leads to seizure failure.

References

https://www.ms-motorservice.com/en/technipedia/post/piston-damage-and-causes

http://dorobek.tu.kielce.pl/publikacje/spisytresci/21110.pdf

Piston damage recognizing and rectifying Service Tips & Infos