Help with material selection - Car Piston

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around material selection for car pistons, specifically exploring alternative materials to the commonly used silicone aluminum alloy. Participants are considering various options, including titanium, carbon, and ceramic materials, and discussing their properties, advantages, and disadvantages.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests titanium as an alternative material due to its lower thermal expansion and higher melting point compared to aluminum, but notes its higher cost and machining difficulty.
  • Another participant proposes carbon pistons and mentions the possibility of ceramic-coated or solid ceramic pistons.
  • A participant recalls that ceramic pistons were a significant research area 25 years ago but expresses uncertainty about their current status and encourages further literature review.
  • There is mention of carbon pistons being heavily researched, with one participant suggesting that there is ample reference material available to support their selection.
  • Uncertainty exists regarding whether to choose carbon-carbon or silicon carbide for the piston material.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express multiple competing views on the best alternative materials for car pistons, with no consensus reached on a single preferred option. The discussion remains unresolved as participants explore various materials and their properties.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge the need for further research into the properties and current state of ceramic and carbon pistons, indicating potential limitations in available information and the evolving nature of material science.

Who May Find This Useful

Mechanical engineering students, materials science researchers, and professionals interested in automotive engineering and material selection may find this discussion relevant.

chuffy
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Hi guys,
1st year mech engineering student looking to get some input on a recent project for my Material Selection class

I have to select an alternative material that could be used to make a car piston
For simplicity I'll only be forcusing on the piston itself, not the con rods or anything like piston rings

I have done some research and most car engines for public use are made from silicone aluminum alloy. The properties are light weight, easy to machine, available material and can be forged to increse strength

I've thought about suggesting a Titanium piston. Advantage would be less thermal expansion than aluminium, higher melting point ... Disadvantage would be cost to procure and it's harder to machine than aluminum.

As long as I pick a material of similar properties as what is currently used I'll be fine.

Does anyone have more innovative ideas? I think most of my class will be choosing titanium. as long as I state the positive and negative sides to the selected material, the answer is acceptable.

thanks for reading.
 
Engineering news on Phys.org
cheers like the sound of ceramic just need to research it now
would they just be ceramic coated or the whole part made from ceramic (plus what kind of ceramic?)
 
When I was in college 25 years ago, ceramic pistons were a big research area but it seems like it's tapered off since then. I don't do any work in that area so I can't tell you much. Take a look through the literature and see what you come up with. If you find anything you'd like to discuss, go ahead and respond here. I'd be curious to see what the state of the art is today for ceramic pistons.

I've read some of the research regarding carbon pistons and it sounds pretty interesting. There's a lot of information out there on them and may even be more heavily researched than ceramic. Don't know.
 
Not sure if I should go with carbon-carbon or silicon carbide
 

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