Piston Rings: What are they and how do they work?
The piston ring holds a crucial purpose inside your equipment’s engine. The engine is built of many different precise components, and each of these individual parts plays an important role in the efficient function of the engine. Hence, although it is a very small element, the piston ring is a very important component.
What is a Piston Ring?
A piston ring ring-shaped metallic component that gets attached to the circumference of a piston. These pistons are further located in combustion engines. There are different types of piston rings, which hold slightly different purposes. The different types of piston rings are as follows:
Compression Ring
The compression piston ring is located closest to the piston head itself and is designed to prevent gas leakages during the combustion process, by sealing the combustion chamber.
Wiper Ring
This type of piston ring is located in between the oil and compression ring and is designed to provide an extra sealant to the combustion chamber (to support the compression ring) and to wipe excess oil from the cylinder wall (which provides further support for the oil ring).
Oil Ring
This piston ring is located closest to the crankcase within the engine and is designed to maintain the efficient function of the engine’s oil reservoir. The oil ring functions to ensure there is a thin layer of oil on the cylinder throughout the piston movement. To then return any excess oil into the engine’s oil reservoir, the piston ring wipes off the oil and allows the oil to run through the ring-opening into the sump .
How do Piston Rings Work?
Understanding that there are different types of piston rings, they all have different ways of working in accordance with their specific individual functions. The primary piston ring functions can be found below:
Oil Lubrication Control
One of the main primary functions of piston rings is lubrication. It is important for there to be sufficient lubrication between the piston and the cylinder, because the more lubrication present, the risk of wear and tear is dramatically decreased. To lubricate the piston and the cylinder, the piston ring makes a thin layer of oil between the surfaces when the oil is wiped . Furthermore, the piston rings then discard the excess oil into the sump. In this way, oil consumption is held at an acceptable level and harmful emissions are reduced.
Gas Sealant
Another primary function of a piston ring is to provide a strong seal to hold gases within the combustion chamber. This is important because, due to the pressure of the combustion gases within the crankcase ultimately moving the piston to generate crankshaft rotation, the gases need to be controlled and held as tightly and efficiently as possible.
Heat Transfer
Piston rings are also designed to carry heat away from the hot piston and into the cylinder wall of the engine. Once the heat energy is carried into the cylinder wall from the piston ring, it is then transferred into a coolant for the engine. The piston ring is very important for this particular function, as it helps to maintain the piston’s stability and appropriate temperatures within the engine.
Moreover, piston rings hold crucial roles within the performance efficiency of engine crankcases. Therefore, piston rings generally have the main function of being the main defence barrier for different engine components, such as providing a sealant within the combustion chamber, for instance.
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