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The first pistons for internal combustion engines appeared way back in 1866 when Nicholaus August Otto invented the first such engine. Given that much time, you would think the pistons inside today's engines would be radically different from those of their ancestors.
Piston materials and designs have evolved over the years and will continue to do so until fuel cells, exotic batteries or something else makes the internal combustion engine obsolete. But until that happens, pistons will continue to power most of the vehicles we drive.
One thing that has not changed over the years is the basic function of a piston. The piston forms the bottom half of the combustion chamber and transmits the force of combustion through the wrist pin and connecting rod to the crankshaft. The basic design of the piston is still pretty much the same, too. It is a round slug of metal that slides up and down in a cylinder. Rings are still used to seal compression, minimize combustion blowby and control oil.
So what has changed? The operating environment. Engines today run cleaner, work harder and run hotter than ever before. At the same time, engines are expected to last longer than ever before, too: up to 150,000 miles or more, and with minimal maintenance and extended oil change intervals. Consequently, heat management is the key to survival of the fittest.
Piston design used to be a process of trial and error. A piston engineer would make and test a new design three or four times before he got it right. Today, everything is modeled in 3D on a computer, then evaluated with finite element analysis software before anything is made. That speeds up the design and testing process, reduces the lead time to create new piston designs, and produces a better product.
According to a book produced by Mahle Inc. called Pistons for Internal Combustion Engines, engineers use two methods to evaluate new piston designs before they are actually produced for engine dyno testing: finite analysis and photoelastic stress analysis. The idea behind finite analysis is to divide a model piston into a fixed (finite) number of elements. The resulting grid forms lines that intersect and connect. Computer software generates equations for each individual element and predicts the overall stiffness of the entire piston.
Analyzing the data shows how the piston will behave in a real engine and allow the engineer to see where loads and temperatures will be greatest and how the piston will react.
With photoelastic stress analysis, a 3D transparent resin model is cast of a piston. When the model piston is subjected to loads, the refractive properties of the plastic change causing polarized light passing through the piston to change colors. This reveals how the piston deforms under load and the areas where it is experiencing the greatest stress.
The most critical area for heat management is the top ring area. One of the "tricks" engine designers came up with to reduce emissions was to move the top compression ring up closer to the top of the piston. In the 1990s, the distance or "land width" between the top ring groove and piston crown was typically 7.5 to 8.0 mm. Today that distance has decreased to only 3.0 to 3.5 mm or less in many engines.
The little crevice around the top of the piston between the crown and top ring creates a dead zone for the air/fuel mixture. When ignition occurs, this area often does not burn completely leaving unburned fuel in the combustion chamber. The amount is not much, but when you multiply the residual fuel in each cylinder by the number of cylinders in the engine times engine speed, it can add up to a significant portion of the engine's overall hydrocarbon (HC) emissions.
One of the consequences of relocating the top ring closer to the top of the piston is that it exposes the ring and top ring groove to higher operating temperatures. The top rings on many engines today run at close to 600 degrees F, while the second ring sees temperatures of 300 degrees F or less. These extreme temperatures can soften the metal and increase the danger of ring groove distortion, microwelding and pound-out failure. The reduced thickness of the land area between the top of the piston and top ring also increases the risk of cracking and land failure.
The evolutionary advances that enable today's pistons to handle this kind of environment include changes in piston geometry, stronger alloys, anodizing the top ring groove and using tougher ring materials. Ordinary cast iron top compression rings that worked great in a stock 350 Chevy V8 cannot take the kind of heat that is common in many late model engines. That is why ductile iron or steel top rings are used in many late model engines as well as performance engines. Steel rings outperform cast iron rings several ways: reduced oil consumption, better sealing for less blowby, reduced wear (up to 50 percent less!), less risk of breakage, and reduced friction.
Anodizing has become a popular method of improving the durability of the top ring groove and is now used in many late model engines. Anodizing reduces microwelding between the ring and piston to significantly improve durability. But it cannot work miracles: an anodized piston can still fail if it gets too hot.
Anodizing is done by treating the ring groove with sulfuric acid. The acid reacts with the metal to form a tough layer of aluminum oxide, which is very hard and wear-resistant. Part of the layer is below the surface of the metal and part is above. On average, the layer is about 20 microns (.001˝) thick so the piston manufacturer compensates for the added thickness when the top ring groove is machined.
Another approach some piston manufacturers use to improve top ring durability is to weld nickel alloy into the top ring groove. This was the approach used for the OEM pistons in Saturn 1.9L engines made from 1991 to 2001. The 2002-03 Saturn engine used an anodized top ring groove.
To further complicate the problem of heat management, rings have been getting smaller. Starting in the 1980s, "low tension" piston rings began to appear in many engines. Typical ring sizes today are 1.2 mm for the top compression ring, 1.5 mm for the second ring, and 3.0 mm for the oil ring. On Chevy LS series engines, the first and second rings are both 1.5mm, while the oil ring is 3.0mm. Some are even thinner. A few engines have top compression rings only 1.0 mm thick, and Buick used a 2.0 mm oil ring in their 3800 V6.
The OEMs went to thinner, shallower rings to improve fuel economy because the rings account for up to 40 percent of an engines internal friction losses. Thinner rings produce less drag and friction against the cylinder walls. But the downside is they also reduce heat transfer between the piston and cylinder because of the smaller area of contact between the two. Consequently, pistons with low tension rings run hotter than pistons with larger rings.
Low tension rings also present another problem. They are less able to handle cylinder bore distortion. To maximize compression and minimize blowby, the cylinder must be as round as possible. This often requires the use of a torque plate when honing to simulate the bore distortion that is produced by the cylinder head.
Changes in piston geometry have also been made to improve their ability to survive at higher temperatures. Piston manufacturers used to grind most pistons with a straight taper profile. When the piston got too hot, it would contact the cylinder along a narrow area producing a thin wear strip pattern on the side of the piston. Now they use CNC machining to create a barrel profile on the piston. The diameter of the piston in the upper land area is smaller to allow for more thermal expansion and to spread any wall contact over a larger area.
Pistons are getting shorter and lighter. In the 1970s, a typical 350 small block Chevy piston and pin assembly weighed around 750 grams. The same parts in a late model Chevy LS engine weigh only about 600 grams.
Part of the weight reduction has been achieved by reducing piston height and using shorter skirts. The distance from center of the wrist pin to the top of the piston (called "compression height") used to be 1.5˝ to 1.7˝ back in the 1970s. Today, wrist pins are located higher up. On Ford 4.6L engines, the compression height is 1.2˝, and it�s 1.3˝ on small block Chevy.
Moving the location of the wrist pin higher up on the piston also allows the use of longer connecting rods, which improve torque and make life easier on the bearings and rings.
Some aftermarket pistons feature wrist pins that have been relocated upward slightly to compensate for resurfacing on the block and heads. The other alternative is to shave the top of the piston if the block has been resurfaced, but this reduces the depth of the valve reliefs which may increase the risk of detonation and/or valve damage.
Pistons used to have long tail skirts (which sometimes cracked or broke off). Now most pistons have mini-skirts. Instead of a 2.5˝ skirt length, the piston may only have 1.5˝ skirt. Shorter skirts reduce weight but also require a tighter fit between the piston and cylinder bore to minimize piston rocking and noise. Consequently, piston to bore clearances are now tighter, typically .001˝ to .0005˝ or less. Some have a zero clearance fit made possible by a low friction anti-scuff skirt coatings.
The alloy from which a piston is made not only determines its strength and wear characteristics, but also its thermal expansion characteristics. Hotter engines require more stable alloys to maintain close tolerances without scuffing.
Many pistons used to be made from "hypoeutectic" aluminum alloys like SAE 332 which contains 8-1/2 to 10-1/2 percent silicon. Today we see more "eutectic" alloy pistons which have 11 to 12 percent silicon, and "hypereutectic" alloys that have 12-1/2 to over 16 percent silicon.
Silicon improves high heat strength and reduces the coefficient of expansion so tighter tolerances can be held as temperatures change. Hypereutectic pistons have a coefficient of thermal expansion that is about 15 percent less than that for standard F-132 alloy pistons. Because of this, the pistons can be installed with a much tighter fit, up to .0005˝ less clearance may be needed depending on the application.
Hypereutectic alloys are also slightly lighter (about 2 percent) than standard alloys. But the castings are often made thinner because the alloy is stronger, resulting in a net reduction of up to 10 percent in the pistons total weight.
Hypereutectic alloys are more difficult to cast because the silicon must be kept evenly dispersed throughout the aluminum as the metal cools. Particle size must also be carefully controlled so the piston does not become brittle or develop hard spots making it difficult to machine. Some pistons also receive a special heat treatment to further modify and improve the grain structure for added strength and durability. A "T-6" heat treatment, which is often used on performance pistons, increases strength up to 30 percent.
Machining hypereutectic pistons is more difficult because of the harder alloy. Consequently, hypereutectic pistons typically cost a little more than standard alloy pistons. That is why most OEMs (except Ford) have gone back to eutectic alloy pistons in their late model engines. High copper eutectic alloys offer most of the advantages of hypereutectic alloys without as much cost.
Forged pistons have long been used in performance applications and diesel engines. The two most commonly used alloys in forged pistons are 4032 and 2618. Pistons made of 4032 are typically designed for street performance applications. For more demanding applications, the preferred alloy is often 2618. This alloy is more malleable than 4032, which allows it to resist detonation better than 4032. It also has a higher coefficient of thermal expansion than 4032, so pistons made of 2618 aluminum require more wall clearance and make more piston noise while a cold engine is warming up. The alloy also tends to degrade more over time than 4032, which means the pistons may have to be replaced after a season of racing.
Survival of the fittest also requires a high degree of scuff resistance. Cold starts without adequate lubrication can cause piston scuffing. The same thing can happen if the engine overheats. Piston-to-cylinder clearances close up and the piston scuffs against the bore. The initial start-up of a freshly built engine is also a risky time for scuffing and is of special concern to engine builders because that is when many warranty problems occur.
Applying a permanent low friction coating to the sides of the pistons provides a layer of protection against scuffing. Many engine builders have found that using coated pistons has virtually eliminates warranty problems due to scuffing.
Many late model OEM engines including Ford 4.6L and 5.0L V8, Chrysler 3.2L, 3.5L, 3.8L, 4.0L, 5.7L and 6.1L, and GM 3.1L use pistons with graphite moly-disulfide coatings on the piston skirt to improve scuff resistance. Since 2003, GM has applied a polymer coating to LS piston skirts to reduce scuffing and piston-to-wall clearance for less piston slap following a cold start. Most aftermarket piston manufacturers also offer various types of piston coatings for both stock and performance applications.
"Thermal barrier" ceramic-metallic coatings for the tops of pistons are another type of coating that have been used on some diesel pistons, direct injection gasoline engines and performance pistons. Improving heat retention in the combustion chamber improves thermal efficiency and makes more power. It also helps the piston run cooler. But too much heat in the combustion chamber also increases the risk of detonation and preignition, which is not a problem with diesels but is with gasoline engines. So when a coating is used, ignition timing must usually be retarded several degrees to reduce the risk of detonation.
The shape and finish on the tops of pistons has also been changing. Flat top pistons have been replaced by dished pistons, domed pistons and pistons with intricate contours to swirl the fuel mixture and promote better fuel atomization.
Some piston crown designs can be very complex because they are designed to produce the lowest possible emissions with the best overall fuel efficiency. The shape of the crown controls the movement of air and fuel as the piston comes up on the compression stroke. This, in turn, affects the burn rate and what happens inside the combustion chamber. Replacement pistons for stock engines with complex piston designs should be the same as the original to maintain the same emissions and performance characteristics.
With performance pistons, designs can be even more specialized. Manufacturers have developed special "fast burn" configurations that allow engines to safely handle more compression without detonating.
Some pistons have an "Attenuator-Groove" to enhance the valve reliefs. The groove removes two potential hot spots in the combustion chamber and improves airflow and wet flow atomization. Some performance pistons also have a small groove machined into the top ring land to assist cooling. If the piston gets too hot, the top of the piston swells causing the mini-groove to contact the cylinder. This momentary contact helps cool the piston to reduce the danger of detonation and piston destruction.
Piston pin holes have also been changing. Rather than being round and straight, pin bores are taking on new shapes. Some are oval and some are trumpet-shaped, flaring out toward the inside edges of the pin bosses. The reason for these shapes is to accommodate wrist pin bending and ovalization. These variances from straight and round are quite small, measured in tenths of a thousandth, but have proven to extend piston life.
Some lightweight performance pistons also use a shorter wrist pin to save weight. The pin is steel, so reducing its length results in significant weight reduction.
Pistons may continue to get shorter and lighter, but most engineers believe rings cannot get much smaller than they are now. Some do think, though, that the two ring piston may not be too far away. Some Indy racing motors have used two ring pistons quite successfully.
Other design innovations that may shape the direction of future piston development include lightweight alloy wrist pins, more anodizing and/or the use of ceramic coatings on the tops of pistons and upper ring groove to improve heat resistance and wear, and maybe top rings with no end gaps.
The best indication of what is coming down the road is to look at state-of-the-art racing pistons: super lightweight designs with almost no skirts, holes machined into the sides to reduce weight, and various design tricks to control thermal expansion and detonation under high load.
We may see some exotic graphite reinforced pistons for certain high output engines similar to ones that are now being used in diesel engines. The growing use of direct injection gasoline requires complex fuel bowls in the tops of pistons similar to those used in many diesel engines. Direct injection allows extremely lean air/fuel mixtures, better fuel economy and power. But it also requires precise control of airflow in the combustion chamber for reliable ignition and complete combustion.
3D printing has been around for some time, but this is the first example of anyone creating high performance pistons using a special 3D laser printer. The experimental pistons where made by MAHLE in cooperation with Porsche and Trumpf.
The process uses a special aluminum alloy that is atomized into a fine powder and then printed in a process known as Laser Metal Fusion (LMF). A highly detailed 3D map of the piston is first created on a computer using special software that estimates where piston loads are highest and lowest. The design can then be modified to remove weight where it isn't needed. The piston design is then subdivided into thin layers which are then used to direct the path of the laser beam. The laser melts the aluminum powder, adding layer upon layer to slowly build up the shape of the piston. The piston blank takes about 12 hours to complete using the 3D process, and is made up of about 1,200 layers fused together.
The pistons were created to see how well 3D printed parts compare to traditional castings and forgings. Apparently, they did very well successfully surviving a grueling test in a 700 hp Porsche 911 GT2 RS engine during a 200-hour endurance test. The pistons show considerable promise for not only reducing weight but also handling higher horsepower loads. Special cooling galleys were created during the 3D forming process behind the top ring land to improve cooling in this critical area. The open side design also reduced overall piston weight up to 20 percent compared to a similar forged piston.
This new method of creating pistons only microscopic layer at a time using a 3D laser printer opens up a whole new world for racing and special applications. The 3D printing process is still too slow for mass produced parts, but for special projects it offers a wide range of possibilities.
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