PISTON RINGS AND HOW IT WORKS
What Is a Piston Ring?
Piston rings are metallic split-type rings. These are fitted into the grooves in a piston’s outer diameter. They ensure a good seal is maintained between the cylinder wall and piston.
Functions Of Pistol Rings
Piston rings are used for sealing cylinders. They can work at higher temperatures than elastomeric, fabric, or polymer seals.
Piston ring seals are very important for the efficient performance of combustion engines. Damaged or leaking piston rings can lead to hot exhaust escaping the cylinder and entering the crankcase of the engine, contaminating the engine oil and causing carbon to build up on the pistons. This decreases engine efficiency and can ultimately lead to damage of engine components.
What Are the Types Of Piston Rings?
There are two basic types of piston rings:
1. Compression Rings: These rings form the seal between the crankcase and combustion space; they are located closest to the combustion space and need to withstand significant pressure and temperature variations.
2. Scraper Rings: These rings are used to regulate the amount of oil used for lubrication between the piston rings and cylinder liner; they are located further from the combustion space (under the compression rings) and are not exposed to the larger pressure and temperature variations experienced by the compression rings.
What Are the Functions of The Piston Rings?
There are 3 primary functions of a piston ring. Let’s have a look at all of them one by one:
1. Seal for Combustion Gas: This function involves maintaining airtightness in-cylinder, i.e., between the cylinder wall and piston. It does not let the combustion gas leak from between the piston and cylinder when the explosion creates a gap. If combustion gas leaks, the engine cannot realize full power, leading to increased fuel consumption. This is not good both economically and environmentally.
2. Control Lubrication Oil Or The Engine Oil: The following function is to keep creating a minimum lubricating oil layer that prevents burn.
Inside the engine’s cylinder, the piston ring goes through high-temperature combustion gas, which happens thousands of times every minute.
Thus piston rings ensure that the cylinder and piston ring don’t burn and that the lubricating oil does not get inside the combustion chamber. For the same reasons, the lubricating oil layer of the cylinder wall is kept at the minimum possible.
3. Heat Conduction Function: The third function releases heat from the piston to the cylinder.
When gas explodes in the combustion chamber, the temperature reaches 300 degrees centigrade. This excessive heat poses the risk of engine damage. And thus, it needs to be released. The piston rings help us achieve the task.
4. Piston Attitude Support This last function prevents the piston from making strong contact with the cylinder wall.
Say, the piston is at an angle, and as it moves up and down, it makes direct contact with the cylinder wall. This can cause engine damage. Piston rings ensure the piston works smoothly.
Piston Ring Failure
A piston ring failure, or incorrect lubrication, can lead to ‘blow-by’. Blow-by allows gases to escape the combustion space and enter the crankcase. This situation is undesirable as the engine efficiency decreases due to the reduction in maximum peak pressure achieved during the power stroke. The situation is also undesirable as the gases within the crankcase are exposed to higher temperatures and potentially higher pressures; this could cause a crankcase explosion. Crankcase explosions are a very real threat for large two stroke marine engines.
Signs your piston rings need replacing
Piston rings are incredibly important when it comes to the smooth running of engines. However, all too often people forget about their condition until it’s too late. Here are some signs that you’re in need of some new ones:
1. Excessive smoke: If the smoke coming out of your engine is grey in colour and particularly thick, then it could mean your piston rings need replacing. The bad rings allow oil to leak and burn, resulting in incomplete combustion and smoke.
2. Using more oil than usual: If your oil consumption seems to have increased all of a sudden, then old piston rings could be the culprit. When rings are old and worn, they allow the oil to leak into combustion chambers, meaning you will be using more than you need. Over time, this can cost you a great deal of money, so it’s always best to check your piston rings on a regular basis.
3. Lacking power: Worn piston rings can also cause your engine to experience a reduction in power. There will be less compression, so your engine may struggle to accelerate as effectively. If you’re using the throttle and waiting increasingly long periods of time for your engine to speed up, then the piston rings may be at fault.
4. Decreased performance: When piston rings have really deteriorated, your engine may completely lose power, or its performance will be greatly reduced. You might notice very limited functionality and will need to fix the problem as soon as possible, as work won’t be possible when the engine is running this poorly. However, it’s unlikely that your engine will reach this point if you act quickly when noticing the other symptoms.
To get original car parts anywhere in Nigeria with a warranty, send us a message or please visit: Click Here
