Evaluation on the tribological performance of ring/liner system under cylinder deactivation with consideration of cylinder liner deformation and oil supply

In gasoline engines, CDA (cylinder deactivation) affects greatly the tribological performance of ring/liner system while reducing the emissions and improving the fuel economy. The analyses on the tribological performance of ring/liner system under the CDA mainly focus on the ideal circular cylinder liner and fixed fully flooded lubrication condition. In this study, a numerical investigation on the tribological performance of a compression ring-cylinder liner system is presented under the CDA with consideration of the cylinder liner deformation and the transition between the fully flooded and starved lubrication conditions. A mixed lubrication model coupled with oil transport model and JFO (Jacobson-Floberg-Olsson) conservative cavitation algorithm is proposed to evaluate the frictional properties. Based on the model, the tribological performance is investigated under the standard operation condition and the CDA. Meanwhile, the influence of cylinder liner deformation and oil supply on the tribological performance is also evaluated. Results show that the tribological performance of the compression ring-cylinder liner system is greatly changed when the CDA is adopted. In particular, under the CDA, the overall power loss and FMEP (friction mean effective pressure) value are increased about 27.29% and 53.51%. The study also demonstrates the necessity to consider the cylinder liner deformation and oil supply in the simulation of compression ring-cylinder liner system under the CDA.