An Experimental Measurement of Lubrication Behavior of Piston Rings in a Spark Ignition Engine

Abstract

Friction forces of a piston ring pack for a typical SI engine were measured using a floating liner system, in which the effects of cylinder pressure, oil starvation and piston secondary motion were excluded. Friction patterns of each individual ring, represented by measured friction forces, were classified into five frictional modes with regard to the combination of predominant lubrication regimes (boundary, mixed and hydrodynamic lubrication) and stroke regions (mid-stroke and dead centers). Those modes were identified on a Stribeck diagram of the dimensionless bearing parameter and friction coefficients; the coefficients were evaluated at mid-stroke and at dead centers. Frictional modes were evaluated by varying operation parameters (such as engine speed and cylinder wall temperature). Compression rings operated in the mode in which hydrodynamic lubrication was dominant at mid-stroke, while mixed lubrication was dominant at dead centers in steady conditions. However, oil control rings operated in the mode in which mixed lubrication was dominant throughout the entire stroke.