Advantages and disadvantages of reciprocating engines

An engine with a piston-cylinder mechanism has the following advantages:

1. It is possible to seal the gap between the piston and the cylinder, resulting in high compression ratio, high heat efficiency and low fuel consumption.

2. The piston ring faces the cylinder bore wall, separated by an oil film. The resulting hydrodynamic lubrication generates low friction and high durability.

3. The piston loses speed at the dead-center points where the travelling direction reverses, which gives enough time for combustion and intake as well as for exhaust.

However, the reciprocating engine also has disadvantages:

1. The unbalanced inertial force and resulting piston ‘slap’ can cause noise

and vibration.

2. It is difficult to reuse the exhaust heat. The rotary engine (Wankel engine) is one of the few alternatives that have been mass produced and installed in production vehicles. However, none of

them has been as popular as the piston-cylinder mechanism to date.

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The science and technology of materials in automotive engines

Hiroshi Yamagata

Woodhead Publishing and Maney Publishing

on behalf of

The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining

CRC Press

Boca Raton Boston New York Washington, DC

WOODHEAD PUBLISHING LIMITED

Cambridge England

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