Methods and systems for managing a clearance gap in a piston engine

摘要

A piston engine may include a piston and cylinder assembly. A piston assembly may be configured to translate in a cylinder liner, which may form a bore in the cylinder. The cylinder liner may be deformable, and deformations of the cylinder liner may affect the clearance gap between the piston assembly and the cylinder. A liner fluid may be supplied to the cylinder liner to create a pressure differential across the liner, and a resulting deformation. The liner fluid may be used to provide cooling as well as liner deformation to control the clearance gap. A cylinder may include one or more fluid passages configured to provide heating, cooling, or both. A cylinder may include one or more localized heat sources such as, for example, electric resistance heaters or heating fluid passages.

主权项

1. A cylinder liner configured to be positioned coaxially within a cylinder of a piston engine, the cylinder liner comprising:
an inner face that is capable of forming a clearance gap with a piston assembly that is capable of translating axially within the cylinder liner; and an outer face that interfaces with the cylinder of the piston engine, wherein the interface includes at least one fluid passage capable of containing a pressure controlled fluid, wherein the cylinder liner is configured to radially contract or expand, wherein radial contraction and expansion of the cylinder liner is at least in part directly caused by a pressure difference between the inner face and the outer face directly generated by the pressure controlled fluid.