What is Piston and what are all its parts? 

The force produces within the engine due to the combustion process. This force helps the cylindrical-shaped piston to slide back and forth within the cylinder bore. The piston works as a movable part within the engine. The cylinder head is the stationary part of the combustion chamber. Pistons are usually made up of cast aluminum, which is advantageous due to lightweight and thermal conductivity. It helps to transfer and conduct heat for the thermal conductivity.

Aluminum expands when it is heated, and it allows the piston to move clearly. The piston can seize due to insufficient clearance. On the other hand, excessive clearance can create a loss of compression and noise within the piston.

Parts of a Piston

The piston head is the top surface of the piston, and it is subjected to enormous forces and heat at the time of the usual engine operation.

A piston pin is a hollow shaft that joins the small end part of the connecting rod to the piston. The skirt of a piston is a part of the piston closest to the piston crankshaft. It helps with the alignment of the piston when it moves within the cylinder bore. Some skirts have profile cuts into then to decrease piston mass and to offer clearance to rotate the crankshaft counterweight.

The ring grooves are located within the perimeter of the piston. It helps to retain piston rings. The ring grooves have two parallel surfaces, which are called ring lands. It acts as the sealing surface of the piston rings. The piston ring is suitable for expansion as it splits. It offers a seal between the cylinder wall and the piston.

Rings are usually made up of cast iron. Cast iron is advantageous to retain the integrity of its actual shape under load, heat, and other dynamic forces. The size and the configuration of the piston ring depend on the cylinder material and the engine design. The piston ring helps to close the combustion chamber. It also helps with the conduction of heat from the piston to the cylinder wall and to come back oil to the crankcase.

Piston rings are three types, and these are compressor rings, oil rings, and wiper rings. The compressor ring is located within the ring grooves closest to the cylinder head. The compressor ring blocks the combustion chamber for avoiding any leakage at the time of the combustion process. After the ignition process of the air-fuel mixture, the pressure from the combustion gases id worked to the piston head. It also forces the piston to move towards the crankshaft.

The pressure acted upon the piston ring is nearly proportional to the combustion gas pressure. The combustion gas pressure helps to create a seal by forcing the piston rings against the cylinder wall.

The wiper ring is located between the compressor ring and the oil ring. The wiper ring is applied to seal off the combustion chamber further and wipe out the excess oil to keep the cylinder wall clean. The combustion gases, which passed by the wiper ring, are stopped by the wiper ring.

Oil rings are located within the ring grooves and closest to the crankcase. The oil ring helps to wipe out the excess oil from the cylinder wall at the time of the piston movement. The extra oil will return to the oil reservoir within the engine through the ring openings. Piston rings help to block the combustion chamber and to control the oil consumption.

The information mentioned above will help you to understand the different parts of the engine. It is advantageous to choose the right suppliers for purchasing the different parts of the engine as piston pins and piston rings.

Piston rings mainly help in increasing power and efficiency of the engine and to reduce the maintenance interval.