Surface anisotropy for monitoring the wear of IC engine cylinders

Abstract

The present work proposes a methodology for monitoring the wear of internal combustion engine cylinders. This could be useful in calculating the time at which maintenance should be done on such a tribosystem or in determining its lifetime. On the basis of experimental data obtained using a friction-wear simulator, and through the determination of certain standardised and non-standardised micro-geometric parameters of the cylinder surface that change with respect to operating time, it is shown that the characteristic that exhibits the most variation is the cylinder surface anisotropy. This factor participates to a large degree in the partial hydrodynamic lubrication mechanism of the reciprocating piston ring system and, as it is associated with the stage of wear, better expresses the characteristics of the cylinder's worn surface. As a consequence, by prescribing a limit for the maximum acceptable anisotropy as a basic criterion, the ultimate tolerable stage of wear is controlled simultaneously and vice versa.