Structured Piston Rib Layout for Weight and Noise Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pistons for internal combustion engines face a challenge in balancing strength and durability with weight optimization, as existing methods do not effectively reduce weight without compromising these critical properties.
Innovation Solution
A structured construction with ribs and reduced wall thickness around them, combined with a recess in the pin boss and a shifted joining region, is implemented to achieve weight reduction while maintaining strength and durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the piston is produced from forged piston blanks to ensure strength and durability, then the strength and durability are improved, but the weight cannot be optimized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing ribs at specific locations within the piston blank where structural support is needed, while simultaneously reducing wall thickness in surrounding regions. This creates a non-uniform distribution of material properties - thicker ribs provide localized strength enhancement while thinner surrounding areas reduce overall weight, resolving the contradiction between strength and weight optimization
2Strength
If material is added to create ribs for stiffening, then the strength is improved, but the weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rib structures concentrate material only where stiffening is required, creating localized strength enhancement. The surrounding regions have reduced wall thickness, compensating for the added rib material. This selective material distribution ensures that the net weight change is minimal or reduced while achieving the desired stiffening effect in critical areas
Solution Approach 2:
The piston blank is segmented into distinct functional zones: rib structures for stiffening, reduced wall thickness regions for weight reduction, and maintained thickness areas for structural integrity. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each zone's properties to balance strength and weight requirements
3Ease of manufacture
If the joining region is positioned in the middle of the bottommost annular groove, then the manufacturing is simplified, but the noise generation increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of positioning the joining region in the conventional location (middle of the bottommost annular groove), the patent inverts this approach by placing the joining region between the bottommost and middle annular grooves. This inverted positioning extends the load-bearing skirt wall portions, which reduces piston noise during operation while still maintaining manufacturing feasibility through the established forging and welding process
Data Source
AI summary
Piston (1) of an internal combustion engine, which piston is designed in structured construction, comprising two oppositely arranged load-bearing skirt wall portions (2), wherein a connecting wall (3) respectively extends, starting from a pin boss (4), in the direction of the side edge of the load-bearing skirt wall portions (2), characterized in that in an interior of the piston (1) is (are) disposed at least one rib (5, 6, 7), preferably three ribs (5, 6, 7), and the material of the regions around the at least one rib (5, 6, 7) is reduced.