Mechanical Analysis of Ceramic Coated Automotive Piston Using ANSYS

Key words:  structural analysis  piston  ceramic coating  stress

Abstract:

Piston is one of the most important components of an engine. It facilitates the conversion of heat energy into useful mechanical work through its to and fro motion. During its to and fro movement, it is often subjected to various mechanical stresses and thermal loads. Therefore, it is quite important to study these external factors acting on piston for its proper functions and prolonged life span. In this paper, structural analysis of a conventional piston made of AlSi alloy was investigated. Secondly, analysis was performed on ceramic coated AlSi alloy piston material. The material used for ceramic coating is MgZrO₃ (Magnesium zirconium oxide) and PYSZ (Partially Yttria Stabilized Zirconia). The design of piston was carried out in Autodesk Fusion 360 software. The coating thickness varies in nature and the analysis was performed using the ANSYS software. Finally, the results of conventional piston, MgZrO₃ coated piston and PYSZ coated piston, with varying layer thicknesses were found out and compared with each other. It was found that the MgZrO₃ coating material is better than PYSZ coating material as it has better fracture toughness, is harder than PYSZ material, and provide improved thermal and structural shock absorbing capability.