Study on real-time wear measurement of piston-ring and cylinder-bore in an engine using thin layer activation method.

The instantaneous wear rates for both the top compression piston-ring and the cylinder-bore, in a ZS1105 diesel engine, were measured in situ using the method of thin layer activation (TLA). The experimental arrangement and methods for calibrating the test specimens are described. During a 300 s counting interval, the minimum detectable wear depths for the cylinder-bore and piston-ring were 9 and 75 nm, respectively. These values reflect average recession depths and may not reflect localized differences in wear damage. Nevertheless, such in situ techniques can be usefully employed in engine development.