Internal-Combustion Engines With Ringless Carbon Pistons

Internal-combustion engines would be constructed with cylinders and ringless pistons made of lightweight carbon/carbon composite materials, according to a proposal. This proposal is a logical extension of previous research that showed that engines that contain carbon/carbon pistons with conventional metal piston rings running in conventional metal cylinders perform better than do engines with conventional aluminum-alloy pistons. The observed performance improvement (measured as increased piston life during high-performance operation) can be attributed mainly to the low thermal expansion of the carbon-carbon composite. Carbon-carbon pistons can continue to operate under thermal loads that cause aluminum pistons to seize or sustain scuffing damage due to excessive thermal growth and thermal distortion.