Studying hydrodynamic friction in the oil ring/cylinder liner contact of an internal combustion engine

Abstract The main goal of the contemporary automotive industry is to improve efficiency and reduce harmful emissions of internal combustion engines. Approximately 25% of the total mechanical losses in engines are attributed to friction in the piston rings.Therefore, in all modern engines, a twin land oil control ring (TLOCR) is used due to its affordable cost and satisfactory performance in oil regulation under low workload conditions. In this work, a model for the oil control ring (TLOCR) was proposed, which takes into account ring elastic deformation. The TLOCR model was used to evaluate friction produced in piston ring assembly and the results were compared to the experiment data obtained from a single cylinder diesel engine. The model was based on correlation between the lubricating oil pressure and oil film thickness developed. The behavior of lubricant oil was investigated for different engine operational conditions and different tensions in the rings. Both experimental and numerical modeling data showed a good match, thereby validating the proposed model