Thursday 2 August 2018

Cylinder Liner Description,Functions & Material Used


Cylinder Liner
A cylinder liner is one of the most important functional part of an engine. It is basically a cylindrical part that is fitted into an engine block to form a cylinder. The cylinder liner is comparatively much harder than the engine block and also houses the piston, with the hardness of the liner preventing the piston from wearing through the cylinder bore.

Cylinder liners are generally used in all diesel engines. The noteworthy thing here is that in larger engines such as that of diesel locomotives, these are part of an assembly that also contains piston, piston rings and a connecting rod. Also, cylinder liners are an absolute necessity in engine blocks that are made of aluminium because the engine block itself is too soft to contain a piston.

Functions of a Cylinder Liner :

Cylinder liner performs some essential functions in all engines, their main functions are :
1) Formation of a sliding surface – The liner has high anti galling properties that enables it to form a sliding surface for the piston rings.

2) Heat Transfer – Another major function of a cylinder liner is to receive combustion heat through the piston before transferring the heat to the coolant.

3) Sealing of Compression Gas – Cylinder liners also prevent combustion gas and compressed gas from escaping outside.

Material(s) Used to Make Cylinder Liners

Almost all cylinder liners are made from cast iron because of the excellent wear resistance of cast iron, the most paramount feature a liner should have owing to it's requirement of a longer service life and heavy duty usage. However, with the recent trend of lighter engines, aluminum alloys are also being used now a days to make cylinder liners. Having said that, it should also be pointed out that liners made from aluminium alloys have been found to be lacking in wear resistance and are also prone to deformation. Thus it would be safe to assume that cylinder liners made from cast iron are still the most preferred ones.

While Inspecting a Cylinder Liner - Following Things Should Be Checked.
  • Whether the liner has a different specification from the engine block bore.
  • Whether the machine grooves in the cylinder liner are cracked.
  • The liner should also be checked for erosion on it's outside surface.
  • Another important thing to check is whether the liner itself has a crack.
  • Also check for any present cavities that may cause erosion in the future.

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