The effect of thermal barrier coated piston crown on engine characteristics

While there have been numerous research papers in recent years describing the theoretical benefits obtained from the use of ceramic components in reciprocating engines, the amount of literature that describes practical results is very limited. Although successes have been reported and ceramic components are now in service in production engines, mainly for reduced in-cylinder heat rejection, many researchers have experienced failures or a drop in engine performance. This article presents the work completed on a low heat rejection engine. Extensive experiments were conducted on a three-cylinder SI Daihatsu engine with piston crowns coated with a layer of ceramic, which consisted of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ). Measurement and comparison of engine performance, in particular fuel consumption, were made before and after the application of YSZ coatings deposited onto the piston crowns. The details of the cylinder pressures during the combustion process were also investigated.