Open-faced piston assembly
The present disclosure provides an open-faced piston with a circumferential groove into which a piston ring assembly is arranged. Openings at the bottom of the circumferential groove and between a front land of the open-faced piston and the piston face are provided. The openings are arranged to allow for a combustion reaction to propagate through the volume defined between the bottom of the piston ring assembly and the piston face such that at least a portion of an air and fuel mixture located in that volume is reacted.
1. A piston comprising:
a circumferential groove that extends at least partially around an outer surface of the piston, wherein the circumferential groove is configured to accommodate a piston ring assembly; and
a radially inward wall of the circumferential groove, wherein a majority of the radially inward wall is comprised of a plurality of openings.
2. The piston of claim 1 , wherein the piston further comprises a plurality of structural webs arranged between the plurality of openings.
3. The piston of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of openings is larger than a quench distance of an oxidizer and fuel mixture of a combustion section in contact with the piston.
4. The piston of claim 3 , wherein the quench distance is approximately 1 mm.
5. The piston of claim 1 , further comprising:
a front land attached to a radially inward side of the circumferential groove and defining a front side of the circumferential groove; and
a piston face, wherein the plurality of openings extend to an area between the front land and the piston face forming a gas path from the piston face to the circumferential groove, wherein a minimum opening along the gas path is larger than a quench distance of an oxidizer and fuel mixture of a combustion section in contact with the piston.
6. The piston of claim 5 , wherein a front face of the front land extends radially inward to connect with the piston face.
7. The piston of claim 1 , wherein the circumferential groove is a first circumferential groove, further comprising a second circumferential groove arranged behind the first circumferential groove.
8. The piston of claim 1 , wherein the circumferential groove extends completely around the outer surface of the piston.
9. A piston assembly comprising:
a piston comprising:
a circumferential groove that extends at least partially around an outer surface of the piston, wherein the circumferential groove is configured to accommodate a piston ring assembly, and
a radially inward surface of the circumferential groove, wherein a majority of the radially inward surface is comprised of a plurality of openings; and
a piston ring assembly arranged within the circumferential groove.
10. The piston assembly of claim 9 , wherein the piston further comprises a plurality of structural webs arranged between the plurality of openings.
11. The piston assembly of claim 9 , wherein the piston further comprises a front land configured to maintain the piston ring assembly within the circumferential groove.
12. The piston assembly of claim 9 , wherein each of the plurality of openings is sized and arranged such that a minimum opening along a gas path between each opening and an inner surface of the piston ring assembly is larger than a quench distance of an oxidizer and fuel mixture of the combustion section.
13. The piston assembly of claim 12 , wherein the quench distance is approximately 1 mm.
14. The piston assembly of claim 9 , wherein a distance between an outer surface of the piston and an inner surface of the piston ring assembly is greater than 1 mm.
15. The piston assembly of claim 9 , wherein the piston assembly is configured for oil-less operation.
16. The piston assembly of claim 9 , wherein the piston ring assembly comprises a solid lubricating material.
17. The piston assembly of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of openings is configured to allow a combustion reaction to propagate into a volume defined between an inner surface of the piston ring assembly and the piston.
18. The piston assembly of claim 17 , wherein as the volume increases, the plurality of openings is configured to allow the combustion reaction to propagate into the volume regardless of the increasing volume.
19. A piston comprising:
a circumferential groove that extends at least partially around an outer surface of the piston, wherein the circumferential groove is configured to accommodate a piston ring assembly;
a piston face;
a front land attached to a radially inward side of the circumferential groove; and
a plurality of openings arranged between the piston face and the front land, wherein the plurality of openings form a gas path to the circumferential groove, and wherein at least a majority of the radially inward side of the circumferential groove comprises a plurality of openings.