Finite element modelling of Lanthanum Cerate (La2Ce2O7) coated piston used in a diesel engine

Abstract

Nowadays, the performance of IC engines and its components are improved by having a thermal barrier coating which decreases the heat losses and the harmful emissions such as hydrocarbons and the NOx emissions. The steady-state temperature of a diesel engine piston with a ceramic coating has been determined in this analysis. The Al–Si piston is used in this analysis and the ceramic material which is used for coating the crown is Lanthanum Cerate (La2Ce2O7). Temperature distributions are investigated and further compared with an uncoated piston. All the investigations are performed by using finite element method (FEM) based on the software ANSYS Workbench. The piston model is created in the ANSYS Workbench and convection boundary conditions are considered for further analysis. The coating thickness is in the range of 0.4–1.6 mm for the analysis of temperature. In the coated piston, the increased maximum temperature is 45.5% for 0.4 mm thick coating. The temperature at the top surface increases with coating thickness and it also leads to the depletion of substrate surface temperature and stress. Lanthanum cerate is a better ceramic material than magnesium zirconate due to its low thermal conductivity.

Keywords

• Ceramic coating
• IC engine
• Lanthanum cerate
• Finite element method
• Thermal barrier coating