Laboratory evaluation of engine ring wear under natural gas and gasoline operation. Topical report, November 1991

Technical Report · Fri Nov 01 00:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:5878102

Treuhaft, M B; Buckingham, J P

A series of laboratory tests to measure piston ring wear, on a real-time basis, as a function of engine operating conditions (speed, load, and coolant temperature) and oil type, are reported. Two types of tests were performed: one after converting a gasoline engine to run on natural gas, and the other while operating the same engine on gasoline. Piston ring wear was measured using radioactive tracer technology, whereby the small wear particles themselves are monitored as they abrade from the irradiated piston rings and accumulate in the lubrication system. The test data were statistically analyzed and examined on the basis of wear rate as calculated from the instantaneous data showing cumulative wear as a function of test time for a given set of operating conditions. Both independent and synergistic effects were examined. While it was statistically possible to compare wear rates with gasoline and its oil to those for natural gas and its oils, it was not possible to make a distinction with respect to fuel or oil type alone.

• Research Organization: Southwest Research Inst., San Antonio, TX (United States). Engine, Fuel, and Vehicle Research Div.
• OSTI ID: 5878102
• Report Number(s): PB-93-220903/XAB; GETA-91-12; CNN: GRI-5089-293-1848
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS
03 NATURAL GAS
GASOLINE
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
NATURAL GAS
FUELS
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
LUBRICATION
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
OILS
PARTICLES
PISTONS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
REAL TIME SYSTEMS
STATISTICAL DATA
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
TRACER TECHNIQUES
WEAR
DATA
ENERGY SOURCES
ENGINES
EVALUATION
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
GAS FUELS
GASES
HEAT ENGINES
INFORMATION
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
LIQUID FUELS
MACHINE PARTS
MATERIALS
NUMERICAL DATA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
330800* - Emission Control- Alternative Fuels
034000 - Natural Gas- Combustion