Application of Multiphase Flow Analysis based on Level Set Method to Mechanism of Oil Consumption around Piston Ring

Abstract

We predicted the oil behavior around the piston ring in an automobile engine based on gas-liquid two-phase flow analysis and investigated the mechanism of oil consumption. The calculation results quantitatively revealed the pressure and the flow rate at various positions around the ring. The inflow oil increases the pressure at the bottom of the side rails and flows into the groove through the side clearance. The results are not affected by the grid size even when the inflow oil film thickness from the skirt is thin due to the level set method, which resolves the interface sharply. The maximum oil film thickness is similar to the case where the oil velocity is the maximum by inertia force due to increased oil volume.