Thermal stress analysis in an engine piston with ceramic coatings

The volume of the engine parts, type of mounting and the size of the radiator are determined in the light of thermal losses in engines. When the cylinder inside the engine is considered, instantaneous graphical changes and heat flux are important to be controlled in terms of thermal loss and thermal efficiency. In today's industry, different surface coating are used in various areas. Another field of widely used surface coating we experience frequently are the applications of the parts of the engine surface coating. Applications of coating on engine parts are generally applied on combustion chamber parts. Because they have an important role on preserving working systems under the circumstances of wearing, friction, high pressure and thermal stress, the components applied on surface coating are preferred. It is also of importance for engine efficiency for they are more resistant to such effects. In this study, the surface of a piston in an thermal combustion (diesel) engine was coated with the binding materials of NiCoCrAlY and 150µ. This coating was also coated with 500µ and ZrO2 in order to investigate the effect coatings on performance of the engine and the piston durability. The results of the experiments have shown that unlike the uncoated pistons, the coated ones improve the efficiency and performance of the engine. It has also been found that this technique reduces heat transmission by bringing the piston deformation to a minimum level which extends piston life.