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Using a modified engine with a transparent glass cylinder for motoring equipment, the effects of the structure in the vicinity of the oil ring groove drain back slots of the inside of the piston, the end clearance size of the oil ring side rail gaps and the shape of the top ring gap on the lubricating oil flow were examined. The results indicate that the amount of undesirable oil flow was reduced by utilizing a piston with the covers installed under the drain back slots on the inside of the piston, the side rails with the optimized upper and lower side rail gap size and the top ring with a special joint (triangle step joint) as compared to a standard piston and standard piston rings. Furthermore, the amount of undesirable oil flow was considerably reduced by utilizing the combination of the modified piston and rings.

The authors have utilized a modified engine with a transparent glass cylinder for motoring equipment. The effect of the top ring which has a special joint (triangle step joint) on the lubricating oil flow was examined. The results indicate that the lubricating oil flow is considerably reduced by utilizing the top ring with a special joint (triangle step joint) as compared to a standard joint (straight joint). We have also found that if the modified engine is operated with attention to the pressure difference between intake manifold and crankcase, or the positions of the piston ring gaps, the lubricating oil flow is reduced by utilizing a two piston ring set (where a top ring and an oil ring are set on a piston) with the top ring having a special joint and without the second ring as compared to a three piston ring set (where a top ring, a second ring and an oil ring are set on a piston) with the top ring having a standard joint and with the second ring.

The authors have constructed a modified engine with a transparent glass cylinder, for motoring experiments, to observe lubricating oil flow from the sump to the combustion chamber through the clearance between the piston and the cylinder. The modified engine was motored at engine brake condition and the oil flow was filmed by a video camera. The amount of actual oil flow was also measured. The effects of pressure difference between the intake manifold and the crankcase, oil temperature, and oil ring tension on oil flow through the piston ring belt were studied. The results indicate that the main stream of oil flow increases with pressure difference and with oil temperature, and that oil flow is increased when a higher tension oil ring with excessive spacer expander circumference is utilized. Measuring equipment was also developed to examine the deflection of the oil ring underside in the cylinder when the expander circumference was varied.

Engine manufactures are continuing to develop new engine designs that provide higher power output, lower fuel consumption and lower engine weight. In order to achieve significant engine weight reduction, the light weight cylinder block structure employs dry cylinder liners rather than wet cylinder liners. The cast iron dry liner structure is utilized because of the superior wear and scuff resistance of the cast iron. Thin wall dry cast iron liners are being employed in both gasoline and diesel engines. Dry cylinder liners with wall thickness of 1.5mm are in production for Japanese automotive diesel engines. In the case of the dry thin wall cast iron liners, two(2) design configurations are employed: Loose-fit type having a specified clearance between the outer liner surface and the cylinder bore surface. Press-in type having an interference fit between the outer surface of liner and the cylinder bore surface.

The design of engine cylinders must satisfy two conflicting requirements, good cooling performance and ease of manufacture. A cooling system was designed to permit the circulation of engine lubricating oil as a coolant at high speed through grooves provided on the external periphery of the cylinder liner. Testing in an actual operating engine confirmed that this cooling system design not only provides better heat transfer and higher cooling performance but also simplifies the manufacturing of the cylinder since external cooling fins are not required. In this paper, we will discuss the cylinder cooling effect of the new cylinder cooling system, referring mainly to the test results of a single-cylinder motorcycle engine with lubricating oil from the crankcase used as the coolant.