Composite cylinder block of an internal combustion engine

Abstract

A composite cylinder block is disclosed comprising a unitary inner core component 10 defining one or more cylinder bores and main bearing supports of a crankshaft, and an outer unitary jacket component 31 defining an upper crankcase. The inner core component is inserted in the outer jacket component, and is rigidly attached thereto. The arrangement provides a comparatively lightweight and rigid cylinder block. A method of manufacture of such a composite cylinder block and an internal combustion engine using such a composite cylinder block are also disclosed.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to a cylinder block for an engine, such as a conventional reciprocating piston internal combustion engine, and in particular, but not exclusively, to a composite cylinder block in which components can Better suited for functional requirements. Aspects of the invention relate to a cylinder block, an engine, a vehicle, and methods. [0002] In some embodiments, the term "cylinder block" is defined as the cylinders or barrels combined with the upper crankcase. For convenience, a multi-cylinder in-line block is described, however the invention is applicable to single cylinder and non-in-line configurations. Background technique [0003] Composite cylinder blocks are known. For example, the cylinders may consist of components bolted to a separate upper crankcase. Alternatively, each cylinder may include a liner extruded in the block / crankcase jacket. More recently, it has been proposed to cast the crankcase jacket over the...

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Problems solved by technology

These solutions also tend to increase cost since a relatively stronger block may require additional mass, and stronger materials are more expensive to form and machine

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