Concrete Engine Block with Liners

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Building an engine block from concrete with liners is generally not advisable due to concrete's high porosity and low tensile strength, which limit its durability under engine conditions. While concrete is inexpensive and offers good insulation, it struggles with thermal fatigue and tension, making it unsuitable for long-term use in engines. A metal liner would be necessary to ensure a smooth piston chamber, complicating the design further. The manufacturing and machining processes for precision parts like engine blocks are costly, overshadowing any savings from using concrete as a material. Overall, despite some potential benefits, concrete's limitations make it an impractical choice for engine block construction.
Mustafa Umut
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Is it useful to build my own engine block from concrete , liners inside.
Concrete is cheap , high resistant to pressure and high heat .

Best regards ,

Mustafa Umut Sarac

Istanbul
 
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Mustafa Umut said:
Is it useful to build my own engine block from concrete , liners inside.
No.
High porosity, very low tensile strength, etc.
You might be able to fashion one that functions for a (very) short time, but I can't imagine any serious reason to try.
 
Well, concrete is relatively inexpensive compared to metal alloys and engineering ceramics, and it would be a relatively good insulator compared to metal.

But concrete doesn't handle tension too well, and I image thermal fatigue would be a problem.

A metal liner would be necessary to maintain a smooth (minimal friction) bore in the piston chamber.
 
Sure concrete is cheap when you're making a sidewalk, but I seriously doubt it would be cheaper when you tried to manufacture an engine block out of it. As with most precision parts, the expensive part of making an engine block is not the material, its all of the manufacturing and machining processes that go into making it.
 
I researched concrete technologies little bit to make my boat.
First thing , I learned that concrete is fire proof.
At a fire , heat is enough to melt a aluminium block but no wear to concrete.
Second thing is to make it strong. At nato bases or us embassies they use bomb proof or missile proof walls. They make it with adding high concentration of steel fibers.
Even there is ultra high flexible concrete at the market also.
Problem is to keep metal parts modular , i mean installed on to the concrete mass by epoxy adhesive.
I think factories don't use concrete because it is slow to cure but you can save from time with less paying to shaping machines.

Best ,

Mustafa Umut Sarac

Istanbul
 
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