Does Ring Wear Predict Cylinder Wear? Field Measurements Compared with Laboratory Radiotracer Data

A process is described for irradiating a cylinder liner so as to concentrate Fe-59 radioactivity (and a smaller amount of Mn-54) in the upper portion of the cylinder, providing a means of testing ring and cylinder wear by radioactive methods. Field test results show that wear at the upper limit of ring travel accounts for about 60% of cylinder wear. Laboratory experiments indicate that ring and cylinder wear relationship is affected by varying operating conditions. Possible anomalies in the ring and cylinder wear relationship warrant further investigation, and the radioactive technique presented here simplifies and expedites such study.