Vehicle Design II

ENGINE BLOCK

Dr. Nouby M. Ghazaly

Automotive and Tractor Engineering Dept. College of Engineering, Minia University-61111 nouby.auto@gmail.com

Engine block
The engine block is the main body of the engine; all parts of the engine are either inside the engine block or attached to the outside of it. The engine block is casting of cast iron, it is considered in two parts, the crankcase and the cylinder block. The crankcase, which supports the crankshaft, is hollow inside with one or more rib-like castings that form the main frame

Cylinder block
The upper portion of the engine block is the cylinder block. This portion contains the cylinders, the water passages (commonly known as the "water jacket") (fig. 1), and oil passages (fig. 2).

Cylinder block
Core plugs
Core (frost or expansion) plugs are used to seal core holes in all cast cylinder blocks. The purpose of the core holes is to allow the sand from the sand core moulds to exit the block after the blocks are cast.

Cylinder Block Material

The cylinder blocks are casting from: Gray cast iron Cast iron alloy containing nickel and chromium for high strength and wear resistance. Some cylinder blocks are cast from a silicon aluminium alloy.

Cylinder-block material
The cylinder-block material should (a) be relatively cheap, (b) readily produce castings with good impressions, (c) be easily machined, d) be rigid and strong enough in both bending and torsion, (e) have good abrasion resistance, (f) have good corrosion resistance, g) have high thermal expansion, (h) have a high thermal conductivity, (i) hold its strength at high operating temperatures, and (J) have a relatively low density. Note: Although cast iron meets most of these requirements, it has a low thermal conductivity and is comparatively heavier. Due to these limitations, light aluminium alloys have been used as alternative cylinder-block materials for petrol engines.

Advantages of aluminium cylinder blocks

Advantages of aluminium cylinder blocks are ; (i) Lighter in weight. (ii) Attractive appearance. (Hi) Easier machining during production. (iv) Better heat dissipation.

A common aluminium alloy composition is 11.5% silicon, 0.5% manganese, and 0.4% magnesium, with the balance (87.6%) aluminium. The high silicon content in this alloy reduces expansion but improves cast-ability, strength, and abrasion resistance, while the other two elements strengthen the aluminium structure. While this alloy provides a good corrosion resistance, it can absorb only moderate shock loads.

Cylinder Liners (Sleeves)

The cylinder liners are : the most loaded parts of an engine., They resist to the stresses due to the action of gas pressures, side pressure of the piston, and heat stresses. There are two types: Dry liner Wet liner

Cylinder Liners (Sleeves)

(i) dry liners are in direct contact with the cylinder bore walls of the cylinder block.

(ii) Wet Liners are supported only at each end in the cylinder block and are elsewhere in direct contact with the engine coolant.

Dry Liners.
Normally dry cylinder liners are provided under the following considerations: (a) When the cylinder block is made from aluminium alloy, the cylinder bore wall should be stronger and of much harder wear resistant material. (b) For heavy duty operating conditions, the normal wear resistance of a castiron cylinder block can be improved through sleeves with superior properties. (c) When the cylinder block is designed with siamesed adjacent cylinder bores in order to reduce the over all length, then only dry liners are suitable. (d) When a cylinder block has been rebored two or three times, then dry liners are used to restore to the original size of the cylinder bore.

Wet Liners.
Wet cylinder liners provide the following advantages if used in petrol engines with aluminium alloy cylinder block having a high coefficient of expansion. (a) Due to isolation of the bulk of the sleeve from the block, difficult expansion problems can be resolved at one or two locations only. (b) The use of wet liners simplifies the casting of the cylinder block. Also, castings of suitable material can be used with an appropriate heat treatment for structural requirements, rather than the cylinder-bore wear-resistance treatments. (c) With better outside surface finish and constant wall thickness the liner improves the thermal conductance and uniformity of cylinder cooling.

Wet liners fit

Wet liners fit into the cylinder block at the top and near the bottom, and the remaining portion of the sleeve is unsupported. O-rings are used to prevent leakage of the coolant. Some wet liner sleeves have a flange at the top, which sits into a recess machined in the upper deck of the block. The liner is sealed at the bottom by one or more rubber O-rings, usually fitted in grooves. A flat gasket is used between these two joint faces . Since the top of the liner sleeve has no side support, it depends totally on vertical compression of the liner caused by the cylinder head and gasket during tightening down.

Liner Materials
Iron 93.92 to 92.22% Carbon 3 to 3.5% Silicon 1.8 to 2.4% Manganese 0.5 to 0.8% Phosphorous 0.4 to 0.7% Sulphur 0.08%) Chromium 0.3% Some commonly used liner materials are Steel alloy, Nickel cast iron alloy cast irons, and heat treated chromium and other alloy cast irons. The wear resistance of these metals is at least 50% more than the cylinder block material. The typical specification of liner material is :

Gaskets
Gaskets or static seals are used between attaching engine parts to seal the joints for preventing either internal or external leakage. A gasket must withstand the high pressure and temperature of the engine. Therefore, the gasket (i) must be prevent to the fluids in contact, (ii) must fit to any existing surface imperfections, (iii) must be resilient to maintain sealing pressure, even when the joints are slightly loosened as a result of temperature changes or vibration, (iv) must be resistant to all expected changes in its environment due to temperature, pressure variations, and age (v) must be stable under compression conditions, avoiding excessive setting.

Gasket
The following gaskets are commonly used in automobile engines. (a) Copper-asbestos gasket. (b) Steel-asbestos gasket. (c) Steel-asbestos-copper gasket. (d) Single steel ridged or corrugated gasket. (e) Stainless steel gasket. (f) Asbestos-coated steel sheet with separate steel beading around bore. (g) Laminated steel and graphitized asbestos sheet with formed steel bore bead. (h) Asbestos impregnated rubber bonded with reinforced ferrule bead. (i) Asbestos/steel wire-reinforced tissue.

Gaskets
Copper-Asbestos Gaskets. This consists of an asbestos sheet cut to the required form, which is protected with thin sheet copper. There is a copper sheet on each side of the asbestos sheet, and the two copper sheets lap along the outer edges of the asbestos sheet, so that the latter is completely covered. Steel-Encased Gaskets. Cylinder-head gaskets are made also of asbestos sheet covered in steel instead of copper. Steel being harder does not have as good sealing properties as copper, and a sealing coat of some heat-resistant, non-hardening material is generally applied to the gasket, either in the manufacturing process or during installation. The edges of the steel sheet, of course, are not rust-proofed, and some steel-encased gaskets are fitted with copper grommets at the waterways. The principal advantage of steel- over copper-encased gaskets is that the production cost of the former is about 20 per cent less.

Cylinder Wear
The characteristic which is most important in judging cylinder irons is their resistance to wear under engine- operating conditions. Abrasion, which is due to foreign particles in the oil film; Erosion, which is due to metal-to-metal contact between the cylinder wall on the one hand and the piston and rings on the other; and Corrosion, which results from chemical action on the cylinder walls by the products of combustion.

Block dimensions

LINER DIMENSIONS
Wet liner dim. Dry liner dim.

DESIGN OF LINERS
Types of liner stresses; 1. Stress due to gas pressure 2. Thermal stress 3. Stress due to tightening force of studs 4. Stress due to piston side thrust force.

Questions?