Journal Article
Non-Contacting Finger Seal Piston for Oil Less Engines
2020-04-14
2020-01-1096
The current quest to reduce CO2 emissions combined to new technologies has sparked an interest in revisiting radically different engine configuration concepts, such as adiabatic and split-cycle engines. To achieve the full potential of both concepts, the combustion chamber must be sealed without lubricating oil. A promising approach that has yet remained elusive, is to lubricate the piston-liner interface with gases. This paper explores the concept of using non-contacting finger seals to seal piston engines combustion chambers. The finger seals, made of a gas-lubricated pad at the end of a flexible beam, are fixed on a rotating piston that uses the centrifugal force to close the piston-liner gap. A physics-based fluid-structure model is developed to predict finger displacements and sealing performances.