Abstract: A piston including an abradable coating applied to a round surface of the piston is provided. The shape of the round surface is not greater than 0.1 mm from a circular shape, and thus is relatively inexpensive to machine. As the piston reciprocates in an internal combustion engine, the abradable coating rubs against another component, such as a cylinder liner or wrist pin, to achieve suitable contact geometry, such as an oval, asymmetric, or other non-round shape. Thus, a costly machining process is not required to achieve the desired contact geometry. The abradable coating can also be applied to ring lands, skirt sections, or along pin bores of the piston. The abradable coating can also be applied to a wrist pin or an opening of a connecting rod which receives the wrist pin. The abradable coating can be formed from a polymer-based material or an aluminum-silicon alloy-based material.

Abstract: A reformer-liquid fuel manufacturing system that utilizes an engine to generate hydrogen-rich gas is disclosed. The engine operates at very rich conditions, such as 2.5<?<4.0. In doing so, it creates an exothermic reaction, which results in the production of syngas. In addition, the system utilizes the energy from the exothermic reaction to rotate a shaft and also utilizes the heat in the syngas to heat the reactants. A mechanical power plant is in communication with the rotating shaft and can be used to produce oxygen, provide electricity or operate a compressor, as require. The hydrogen-rich gas is supplied to a chemical reactor, which converts the gas into a liquid fuel, such as methanol.

Abstract: An engine includes: a block defining a cylinder bore; a crankshaft mounted for rotation in the block; a piston disposed in the cylinder bore; a connecting rod interconnecting the piston to the crankshaft; and a cylinder head coupled to the block and including: a combustion chamber aligned with the cylinder bore and having an intake opening and an exhaust opening communicating therewith; an intake port; an exhaust port; a rotatable inlet valve barrel disposed between the intake opening and the intake port and having a first diameter; and a rotatable exhaust valve barrel disposed between the exhaust opening and the exhaust port and having a second diameter different from the first diameter.

Abstract: An opposed-piston, two-stroke engine is provided and includes a first cylinder having a first longitudinal axis and a first pair of pistons slidably disposed within the first cylinder and movable toward one another in a first mode of operation and away from one another in a second mode of operation. The engine additionally includes a second cylinder having a second longitudinal axis and a second pair of pistons slidably disposed within the second cylinder and movable toward one another in the first mode of operation and away from one another in the second mode of operation. A crankshaft is connected to at least one of the first pair of pistons and at least one of the second pair of pistons and has an axis of rotation. The axis of rotation is disposed between and is substantially perpendicular to the first longitudinal axis and the second longitudinal axis.

Abstract: A piston compound internal combustion engine is disclosed with an expander piston deactivation feature. A piston internal combustion engine is compounded with a secondary expander piston, where the expander piston extracts energy from the exhaust gases being expelled from the primary power pistons. The secondary expander piston can be deactivated and immobilized, or its stroke can be reduced, under low load conditions in order to reduce parasitic losses and over-expansion. Two mechanizations are disclosed for the secondary expander piston's coupling with the power pistons and crankshaft. Control strategies for activation and deactivation of the secondary expander piston are also disclosed. In addition, six-cylinder engine configurations are defined by replicating groups of two power pistons and one expander piston.

Abstract: A system includes a combustion engine having an intake manifold and an exhaust manifold, an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system coupled to the combustion engine and configured to route exhaust generated by the combustion engine from the exhaust manifold to the intake manifold, and a first knock sensor coupled to the combustion engine and configured to measure vibrations of the combustion engine and output a first vibration signal. The system also includes a controller communicatively coupled to the combustion engine, the knock sensor, the EGR system, or any combination thereof. The controller is configured to determine a peak firing pressure (PFP) within the combustion engine and control operations of both the combustion engine and the EGR system based on the PFP.

Abstract: A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine, the internal combustion engine including a plurality of cylinders, and the control apparatus including: an electronic control unit configured to: a) determine whether or not acceleration of a crank shaft at compression top dead center is equal to or greater than a threshold value; b) determine that a compression loss has occurred in the cylinder, when the acceleration of the crank shaft is equal to or greater than the threshold value; and c) prohibit the determination of compression loss, when acceleration of rotation of the crank shaft at compression top dead center has occurred a first specific number of times consecutively in the plurality of cylinders.

Abstract: A control apparatus for a diesel engine includes a neighboring temperature estimating section which estimates a temperature of a neighborhood of a glow plug that heats an interior of a cylinder upon startup, and a supercharging pressure control section which controls a supercharging pressure in such a way that a rotation fluctuation of the engine does not increase, on the basis of the estimated temperature of the neighborhood of the glow plug.

Abstract: An assembly for an internal combustion engine may include an intake module of a fresh air system for supplying fresh air to at least one combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine and an attachment part attached to the intake module in a joining direction. The intake module may include at least one retaining surface facing away from the attachment part. The attachment part may include at least one counter retaining surface facing away from the intake module. At least one reinforcing element may be disposed between the intake module and the attachment part and may interact with the at least one retaining surface and the at least one counter retaining surface. The at least one retaining element may be moveable in a movement direction extending transverse to the joining direction between a releasing position and a securing position.

Abstract: A method for producing a shaft, in particular a balance shaft, crankshaft and the like, having at least one substantially annular bearing seat and at least one unbalance portion. The method includes the steps: provision of a shaft blank; formation of the at least one unbalance portion and of at least two opposite bearing seat side members by a forming process; and deformation of the at least two opposite bearing seat side members by a shell tool such that the bearing seat side members are bent together, whereby the at least one substantially annular bearing seat is formed.

Abstract: An engine oil supply apparatus includes: a cylinder block; a shaft supporting member which bears a crank journal of a crank shaft in cooperation with a journal supporting wall section; and a nozzle which injects oil to a piston. The cylinder block includes a first oil supply path which extends in a cylinder bank direction at a position of one side section of the cylinder in a width direction that is perpendicular to the cylinder bank direction, a branch oil path which branches from the first oil supply path at a position of the journal supporting wall section and which supplies oil to a crank bearing section by which the crank journal is borne, and a second oil supply path which extends in the cylinder bank direction at a position further outward than the first oil supply path in the width direction and which supplies oil to the nozzle.

Abstract: An inside surface of an internal combustion engine liner is treated to have a surface roughness Ra smaller than 0.06 ?m, and then receives a DLC coating. A method of producing the internal combustion engine liner includes: forming the liner from a metal material, polishing an inside surface of the liner to obtain a polished inside surface of roughness Ra smaller than 0.06 ?m, and applying the DLC coating to the polished inside surface.

Abstract: A cast iron having high strength, hardness, and thermal conductivity for a cylinder liner of an internal combustion engine is provided. The cast iron includes 3.2 wt. % to 3.8 wt. % carbon, 2.2 wt. % to 3.2 wt. % silicon, 0.5 wt. % to 1.3 wt. % copper, and at least 75.0 wt. % iron, based on the total weight of the cast iron. The cast iron further includes 0.01 wt. % to 0.5 wt. % manganese, 0.01 wt. % to 0.2 wt. % chromium, up to 0.3 wt. % phosphorous, up to 0.05 wt. % sulfur, up to 0.2 wt. % tin, and up to 0.1 wt. % magnesium, based on the total weight of the cast iron. Preferably, the cast iron is free of molybdenum, nickel, and vanadium. The cast iron is also heat treated and solidifies to achieve fully spheroidal graphite.

Abstract: A stratified scavenging two-stroke engine includes a first scavenging passage that extends from a first scavenging intake that opens to the inside of the crankcase to a scavenging port that opens to the inside of a cylinder, and a second scavenging passage that branches from the first scavenging passage and extends to a second scavenging intake that opens to the inside of the crankcase. An air passage is provided to supply air for pre-scavenging into the first scavenging passage at a position closer to the first scavenging intake than a position at which the second scavenging passage branches from the first scavenging passage. A first check valve inhibits a flow of air from the first scavenging passage during an upward stroke of the piston, and a second check valve inhibits a flow of air and a gaseous mixture from the first scavenging passage during a downward stroke of the piston.

Abstract: A method of treating the surface of an aluminum-based engine block cylinder bore that has been mechanically roughened. In one form, this method includes using vibratory stress relief, elevated temperature stress relief or cryogenic stress relief so that residual stresses imparted to the surface by the roughening process are reduced. In this way, a protective coating that is also applied to the bore surface will exhibit better adhesion and lower incidence of stress-induced or fatigue-induced cracking.

Abstract: An outboard engine has a cowling defining an engine compartment and an outlet fluidly communicating therewith. An engine housed in the engine compartment includes an engine block and an output shaft defining an output shaft axis, an axial direction, a radial direction and a circumferential direction. An outer end thereof extends outside the engine block. A flywheel mounted thereto rotates therewith. A cover fixed with respect to the engine block defines a chamber housing the flywheel disposed axially between the engine block and the cover, and radially between the output shaft and the cover. The cover includes a channel member defining a channel between a first end and a second end fluidly communicating with the outlet. The channel member defines a cross-sectional area of the channel. A circumferentially-extending portion of the channel is continuous with the chamber and has a cross-sectional area increasing towards the second end.

Abstract: In an internal combustion engine in which an anodic oxide film (10) is formed on part or all of a wall surface facing a combustion chamber, the anodic oxide film (10) has a thickness of 30 ?m to 170 ?m, the anodic oxide film (10) has first micropores (1a) having a micro-size diameter, nanopores having a nano-size diameter and second micropores (1b) having a micro-size diameter, the first micropores (1a) and the nanopores extending from a surface of the anodic oxide film (10) toward an inside of the anodic oxide film (10) in a thickness direction of the anodic oxide film (10) or substantially the thickness direction, the second micropores (1b) being provided inside the anodic oxide film (10), at least part of the first micropores (1a) and the nanopores are sealed with a seal (2) converted from a sealant (2), and at least part of the second micropores (1b) are not sealed.

Abstract: A high strength cast iron material for application in heavy duty diesel engines with Pa peak cylinder pressure greater than 240 bar is disclosed, the material a ductile material austempered to get a ausferrite matrix structure with higher mechanical properties than conventional cast iron materials available by using a designed low cost alloying cast material with heat treatment. Furthermore, the cylinder liner may be formed using novel heat treatment and/or fine honing processes to improve the properties thereof.

Abstract: A valve actuation system for an internal combustion engine is disclosed. The engine has a first set of cylinders having a first set of exhaust valves and a second set of cylinders having a second set of exhaust valves. The valve actuation system for the exhaust valves includes one or more first cams having a compression-release lobe and a main exhaust lobe adapted to transfer valve actuation motion to the first set of exhaust valves, and one or more second cams having an early exhaust valve opening (EEVO) lobe and a main exhaust lobe adapted to transfer valve actuation motion to the second set of exhaust valves. The valve actuation system may provide any combination of (i) main exhaust valve actuation with or without compression release actuation with (ii) main exhaust valve actuation with or without EEVO for the two sets of cylinders.

Abstract: A cylinder liner for an opposed-piston engine, and corresponding methods of extending engine durability and thermal management therewith, has opposite ends and a bore with a longitudinal axis for supporting reciprocating movement of a pair of opposed pistons. An intermediate portion of the liner extends between the opposite ends and includes an annular liner portion within which the pistons reach respective TC locations. A liner ring is seated in a portion of the bore in the annular liner portion, between the TC locations, for scraping carbon from top lands of the pistons and/or increasing the thermal resistance of the annular liner portion.