Carbon Carbon Piston - Nasa
Carbon Carbon Piston - Nasa
Carbon Carbon Piston - Nasa
May 1994
Summary Wright in 1903 created a worldwide market for the
engine. The early spark-ignition engines that
Pistons for internal combustion engines have powered these vehicles had weight-power ratios of
been made of such materials as cast iron, steel and approximately 15.0 Ib/bhp (ref. 2). These engines
aluminum. Most pistons manufactured today are used compression ratios of only 4-to-1 because the
made of aluminum. However, aluminum has low gasolines available during this period had low-octane
strength and stiffness at elevated temperatures, and values and poor anti-knock (autoignition) qualities. In
aluminum has a large coefficient of thermal 1908 Henry Ford introduced his first Model T Ford
expansion. A new piston concept, made of carbon- automobile, and within three years more than a half-
carbon refractory-composite material, has been million automobiles had been sold (ref. 1). By 1918
developed that overcomes a number of the the airplane had evolved from a novelty to a vehicle
shortcomings of aluminum pistons. Carbon-carbon that was designed to meet specific military needs.
material, developed in the early 1960's, is lighter Improvements in the design of the engine,
weight than aluminum, has higher strength and advancements in the processing of fuels, and
stiffness than aluminum and maintains these refinements in the production of metals led to
properties at temperatures over 2500°F. In addition, substantial reductions in the weight-power ratio of
a low coefficient of thermal expansion and a high the internal combustion engine. By the mid 1930's
thermal conductivity give carbon-carbon material aircraft such as the DC-3 were powered by high
excellent resistance to thermal shock. An effort, performance piston engines such as the Wright
called the Advanced Carbon-Carbon Piston Program Cyclone engine that produced 1000 horsepower
was started in 1986 to develop and test carbon- and the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engine that
carbon pistons for use in two-stroke-cycle and four- produced 1200 horsepower (ref. 3).
stroke-cycle engines. The carbon-carbon pistons
developed under this program were designed to be In the late 1950's compact automotive V-8
replacements for existing aluminum pistons, use engines made of cast iron were introduced with
standard piston pin assemblies and use standard aluminum alloy pistons as standard production parts.
ring sets. The purpose of the engine tests was to Aluminum alloy pistons had significant advantages as
show that pistons made of carbon-carbon material compared to cast iron and steel pistons; the
could be successfully operated in a two-stroke-cycle aluminum pistons were much lighter and could
engine and a four-stroke-cycle engine. dissipate heat more rapidly. In the t970's and
1980's, government regulations and rising fuel costs
Carbon-carbon pistons can potentially enable prompted automobile manufacturers to build
engines to be more reliable, to be more efficient vehicles that had lower exhaust emissions and
(lower hydrocarbon emissions, greater fuel greater fuel economy. The manufacturers
efficiency), and to have greater power output. By responded by building engines and auxiliary
utilizing the unique characteristics of carbon-carbon components that dramatically reduced exhaust
material -- very low expansion rate, low weight, high emissions; by building vehicles with lower
strength and stiffness at elevated temperatures, and aerodynamic drag; and by building body, chassis,
high thermal conductivity -- a carbon-carbon piston and engine components made of lighter weight
can (1) have greater resistance to structural damage materials such as high strength steels, aluminum
caused by overheating, lean air-fuel mixture alloys, and composite materials. During this period
conditions and detonation, (2) be designed to be the popularity of motorcycles, snowmobiles and
lighter-weight than an aluminum piston thus, outboard engines for boats steadily increased which,
reducing the reciprocating mass of an engine, and in turn, fostered the development of two-stroke-
(3) be operated in a higher combustion temperature cycle engines with low weight-power ratios. Today,
environment without failure. new types of weight sensitive vehicles such as
personal watercraft (jet skis), ultralight aircraft and
light hovercraft have become generally available
Evolution of the Engine because of the development of two-stroke-cycle
engines with low weight-power ratios.
The first commercially successful internal
combustion engine was patented by a French The development of the internal combustion
inventor named Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir in engine has historically been an evolutionary process
1860 (ref. 1). In 1876 the four-stroke-cycle, spark- that has been driven by the conflicting requirements
ignition engine was introduced by Nickolaus Otto. of performance, economics and a concern for the
The introduction of the gasoline-powered environment. The quest for higher performance has
automobile by Charles and Frank Duryea in 1895 and been, by far, the strongest driver in this evolutionary
the gasoline-powered airplane by Orville and Wilbur process. The introduction of new materials and
seizure, occurs when a piston expands to the
improvements in the processing of existing materials diameter of the cylinder causing metal-to-metal
have created many opportunities for significant
contact between the piston and the cylinder wall.
advances in the performance of the engine. High
Because of these and other problems, the operation
performance spark-ignition engines available today of a high performance engine must be constrained
have weight-power ratios of less than 1.0 Ib/bhp.
to a range such that the aluminum pistons can
maintain their structural integrity.
Aluminum Pistons
Carbon-Carbon Pistons
The piston is one of the most important
components in the internal combustion engine. The
Piston Concept
piston must perform many functions simultaneously
while operating in a very hostile environment; the
A new piston concept has been developed that
piston must withstand rapidly changing pressure
overcomes a number of the shortcomings of
loads, dynamic forces, and thermal conditions.
Today, most pistons are made of aluminum which is aluminum pistons. The new piston concept is made
of carbon-carbon refractory composite material [refs.
relatively light weight, easy to manufacture and low in
cost. The use of aluminum as a piston material does, 6-11]. The carbon-carbon (c-c) piston was
however, have disadvantages. The strength and developed as a replacement for an aluminum piston
stiffness of aluminum rapidly decrease above 350°F; used in a two-stroke-cycle engine. The engine was
the melting temperature of aluminum is used to power a U.S. Army remotely piloted vehicle.
The aluminum piston and its carbon-carbon piston
approximately 1100°F; and the coefficient of thermal
expansion (CTE) of aluminum is relatively large (refs. replacement are shown in figure 1. A cooperative
effort, called the Advanced Carbon-Carbon Piston
4 and 5).
Program, was started in 1986 involving NASA
Aluminum pistons used in low and medium Langley Research Center and the U.S. Army, Fort
Eustis, Virginia. The first objective was to develop
performance engines are very reliable and operate
and test an all-carbon-carbon piston for use in the
for extended periods without maintenance.
However, aluminum pistons used in high two-stroke-cycle engine. The second objective was
to transfer the carbon-carbon piston technology to
performance engines have lower reliability and
require more frequent maintenance. High engines used in light aircraft, automobiles and other
performance engines are generally designed to types of transport vehicles, i.e., four-stroke-cycle
have low weight and high power output. These engines.
engines are usually setup to operate at moderately
high power output levels for extended periods or at Material
maximum power output levels for short periods.
These types of operational envelopes subject the Carbon-carbon refractory-composite material was
piston to high temperatures and high pressure loads developed in the early 1960's for use on the nose
at a time when the mechanical properties of the cone and in the rocket nozzle of missiles. Today,
aluminum alloy are low. In addition, because the this unique high-temperature material is also used on
pistons are exposed to a wide range of operating the nose cone and wing leading edges of the Space
temperatures they must be designed with relatively Shuttle, on the brakes of large commercial aircraft,
large clearances between the skirt and the cylinder and on the clutches and brakes of Formula 1 racing
wall to allow for thermal expansion. cars. Carbon-carbon material is lighter in weight than
aluminum, has higher strength and stiffness than
Engines typically operate with exhaust gas aluminum and maintains these properties at
temperatures between 1100°F and 1250°F. temperatures over 2500°F as shown in figure 2. In
Engines operating with lower exhaust gas addition, a low coefficient of thermal expansion and a
temperatures are inefficient and may have problems high thermal conductivity give carbon-carbon
with spark plug fouling. High performance engines material excellent resistance to thermal shock [refs.
operate with exhaust gas temperatures at about 12, 13 and 14]. Properties of aluminum and carbon-
1275°F. If exhaust gas temperatures exceed 1350°F carbon piston materials are given in table 1. The
because of lean air-fuel mixture conditions or if physical properties of carbon-carbon material, like
pressure loads dramatically increase because of most other composite materials, can be tailored to
detonation, piston failure is likely. Local melting of meet specific requirements. Properties such as
the crown of the piston is a typical failure mode. In modulus of elasticity, thermal conductivity and
severe cases, a hole can be blown through the tensile strength can be increased or decreased
crown of the piston. Another common failure, piston significantly depending upon precursor materials
f
2
and processing [12]. Because the mechanical
technique, molding could potentially be a low-cost
properties of carbon-carbon material do not method of manufacture. A third fabrication
decrease at elevated temperatures, an engine, technique involved the use of a carbon-carbon
using c-c pistons, can be operated in a manor not
crown insert and an aluminum piston body. The
normally possible for an engine with aluminum
fabrication of two pistons has been attempted using
pistons. An engine can be operated with exhaust
this technique; however, this technique has not
gas temperatures greater than 1350°F without piston
been fully developed. A fourth fabrication technique
failure, with leaner air-fuel ratios to obtain greater fuel
involved the use of a number of preformed parts
economy and lower exhaust gas emissions, and with
assembled by conventional composite hand lay-up
greater reliability at high power output levels. methods. This technique has been a successful
means of fabricating pistons in small quantities.
Two types of carbon-carbon pistons have been Under the Advanced Carbon-Carbon Piston
developed under the Advanced Carbon-Carbon
Program, a total of 24 carbon-carbon pistons have
Piston Program. These pistons are shown in figure been fabricated; 6 pistons were machined from billet
3. Pistons labeled 1 and 2 are designed for use in a
material, and 18 pistons were fabricated using woven
four-stroke-cycle engine, and pistons labeled 3 and
carbon-fiber material and the hand lay-up method.
4 are designed for use in a two-stroke-cycle engine.
Processing
Design
Conclusions
6
References
Carbon-Carbon (ACC-4)
Property (_b77 °F) Aluminum (F332.1 T5}
0.100 Ib/in 3 0.058 Ib/in 3
density
1.0 in/in/°F a, 3.0 in/in/°F b
coef. of therm, expan. 11.7 in/in/°F
-6
(xl0) 2.8 Btu/ft-h-°F b
60.4 Btu/ft-h-°F 28.6 Btu/ft-h-°F a,
thermal conductivity
10.6 x 106 psi 13 x 106 psi
modulus of elasticity 3
3
36 x 10 psi 40 x 10 psi
tensile strength
a fiber direction
b perpendicular to fiber direction
8
ORIGINAL PAGE
BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPH
Aluminum piston
Carbon-carbon piston
9
50000
45000
40000
35000
Tensile 30000
----O--- Carbon-carbon, ACC-4
strength,
25000 ----E}--- Aluminum alloy, F332.1 T5
psi
20000
15000
10000
5O00
0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 30uO
Temperature, °F
10
r-
0
.m
Q.
t-
O
.Q
L_
o
I
e-
o
.Q
L_
0
e_
I,-.
I.I.
11
Silicon carbide coating is
applied to crown after
machining
I il Shoulder
cylinder
inserts
12
4
Torque,
Ib-ft
2
1 ----O--- AI Piston
C-C Piston
0 • • _ _ I , , , , I • , , I , . , , I • , i m I
RPM
10
5
Torque,
Ib-ft
4 Brio__osand Stratton 5 Hp
Industrial Engine
3
0 .... I . , , • I • m . , l , , , , I , . , , I .... l
RPM
13
FormApproved
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Highway. Su_to t 204. Artington,m_A _-4302. and ,o the OffK::_ ol Management _ g •
1. AGENCYUSEONLY(Leaveblank) 2. REPORT
DATE 3. REPORT TYPEANDDATESCOVERED
May 1994 Contractor Report
5. FUNDING
NUMBERS
4; TITLEANDSUBTITLE
WU 505-70-63-01
Carbon-Carbon Piston Development
NAS1-19000
6. AUTHOR(S)
Mark P. Gorton
8. PERFORMING
ORGANIZATION
7. PERFORMING
ORGANIZATION
NAME(S)
ANDADDRESSEES) REPORT
NUMBER
Lockheed Engineering & Sciences Company
Hampton, VA 23666
10. SPONSORING
/ MONITORING
9, SPONSORING
/ MONITORING
AGENCY
NAME(S)
ANDADDRESS(ES) AGENCYREPORTNUMBER
National Aeronautics and Space Adminstration NASA CR-4595
Langley Research Center
Hampton, VA 23681-0001
11. SUPPLEMENTARY
NOTES
Langley Technical Monitor: H Kevin Rivers
Final Report
12b. DISTRIBUTION
CODE
12a.DISTRIBUTION
/ AVAILABILITY
STATEMENT
Unclassified - Unlimited
Subject Category 24
A new piston concept, made o! carbon-carbon refractory-composite material, has been developed that
overcomes a number of the shortcomings of aluminum pistons. Carbon-carbon material, developed in the early
1960's, is lighter in weight than aluminum, has higher strength and stiffnes than aluminum and maintans these
3roperties at temperatures over 2500°F. In addition, carbon-carbon material has a low coefficient ol thermal
expansion and excellent resistance to thermal shock. An effort, called the Advanced Carbon-Carbon Piston
Program was started in 1986 to develop and test carbon-carbon pistons for use in spark ignition engines. The
carbon-carbon pistons were designed to be replacements for existing aluminum pistons, using standard piston
pin assemblies and using standard rings.
Carbon-carbon pistons can potentially enable engines to be more reliable, more efficient and have greater power
output. By utilizing the unique characteristics of carbon-carbon material a piston can (1) have greater resistance
to structural damage caused by overheating, lean air-fuel mixture conditions and detonation, (2) be designed to
be lighter in weight than an aluminum piston thus, reducing the reciprocating mass of an engine, and (3) be
operated in a higher combustion temperature environment without failure.
•15. NUMBER
OFPAGES
14. SUBJECT
TERMS
carbon-carbon composite material 16
16. PRICECODE
engine components
pistons A03
CLASSIFICATION 20. UMITATION
OFABSTRACT
!17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURITY
OFREPORT OFTHISPAGE OFABSTRACT
Unclassified Unclassilied Unclassitied
StandardForm298 (Rev.2-89)
NSN 7540-01-280-5500 PrescriOed by ANSI St0. 7_39-,8
298-_02