A comparison between the articulated and the aluminum piston is carried out in order to evaluate the thermal behaviour of the two versions. A 2D-FE model is used for the thermal analysis, considering the temperature and the heat flow distribution on each version.
The heat flow analysis shows that the articulated piston has a 4% lower heat rejection than the aluminum piston, when the same requirements concerning lube oil degradation are adopted. The heat flow distribution along the piston surface is also considerably different from the aluminum piston. The analysis indicates that the ring zone is the most important area for the latter, while gallery is the most important area for the articulated piston.
The analysis of the temperature distribution indicates that with an adequate cooling condition the articulated piston presents the same, or even better, results than the aluminum piston regarding the carbon build up and the oil deg radation.
