Piston

The piston is a circular forging that moves up and down inside the bore of a cylinder of an engine. It transmits power created by the exploding fuel to the crankshaft through a connecting rod.

Functions of Piston

• The piston converts the potential energy of the fuel into kinetic energy, which in turn rotates the crankshaft.
• Transmits gas forces from the combustion to the crank gear.
• It works for the containment and configuration of the combustion chamber.
• Its rings seals the combustion chamber.
• It guides the connecting rod acting as a bearing.
• Get rid of the heat from the combustion and transfer it to some other place.
• Dissipate heat through the piston rings to the cylinder and directly to the lubricating oil.

Piston Rings

• A piston ring is an open-ended ring which fits into a groove on the outer diameter of a piston.
• Usually pistons have three rings, two of them are known as compression rings and are responsible for sealing compression. The other piston ring is known as oil control ring and seals oil.
• As the piston rings rub up and down the cylinder bore, they are subjected to lots of wear and tear. In order minimize this problem, these rings are made from very hard metal like cast iron.

Materials used for making Piston
The materials used for making piston should be light and a good heat conductor. The two most commonly used materials for making piston are:

• Aluminum
• Steel

Piston Head/Crown
It is the top surface where the explosive force is exerted. It can be be flat, concave, convex. Its main function is to promote turbulence or help control combustion.