Piston damages - case studies and possibilities of early detection

Damages of car engine pistons are one of the most expensive failures regarding final consequences and possibilities of engine repair. There have been many research works carried out so far regarding the materials, manufacturing techniques, geometrical shapes and reliability of engine pistons. Notwithstanding all these studies, there is a huge number of piston damage cases. This work is concerned with causes of piston damages and possibilities of early detections. Damaged piston of petrol and diesel engines in passenger and light duty cars have been analyzed. A compendium of case studies of damaged piston causes has been presented. The analysis of different types of damage mechanisms such as thermal and mechanical fatigue, seizure due to insufficient clearances, poor lubrication, overheating and damages due to abnormal combustion have been presented in this work. Faults of electronic control system, engine management malfunction, ignition-timing faults were recognized as the most frequent initial causes of piston damages. Possibilities of early diagnostics of particular causes of damages have been elaborated and presented in the context of total costs of repairs.