LSU ME Professor Receives Patent on Piston Ring Friction Reduction
April 28, 2020
BATON ROUGE, LA – LSU Mechanical Engineering Professor and LSU Center for Rotating
Machinery Director Michael Khonsari recently received approval on a patent that will
reduce the friction of piston rings, therefore, increasing energy savings.
“With stringent requirements on the efficiency and emission of internal combustion (IC) engines, there is a heightened need for reducing friction losses in IC engines,” Khonsari said. “Research shows that piston rings are responsible for approximately 24% of the total friction losses in an IC engine. Reducing friction for each piston during its reciprocating motion can be instrumental for significant savings.”
Khonsari and a team of researchers at LSU’s CeRoM discovered an innovative solution to reduce IC engine power loss by creating specially designed micro-pockets etched into the surface of the piston ring via laser. The textured rings were tested in a custom-built engine designed at CeRoM. The results showed that the total friction between the cylinder liner and piston assembly can be reduced by approximately 15% over a wide-speed range. The technology is available for licensing.
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Contact: Libby Haydel
Communications Specialist