Surface Roughness Effects on the Lubrication Characteristics of the Engine Piston Ring Pack

The surface roughness between a piston ring pack and a cylinder liner directly affects the fuel economy, the oil consumption, and the emission of the engine so that it is very important to clarify the surface roughness effects on the lubrication characteristics. The friction characteristics of the piston ring during engine operations are known to as mixed lubrication experimentally. In this study to simulate the effects of the surface roughness of the piston ring pack on the lubrication characteristics, the mixed lubrication analysis of piston rings was performed using the simplified average Reynolds equation. From the results the surface roughness was found be considerably affects minimum oil film thickness as well as FMEP(Friction Mean Effective Pressure). Especially, the oil ring was the most sensitive on the surface roughness.