PISTON

A solid cylinder or disk that fits snugly into a larger cylinder and moves under fluid pressure, as in a reciprocating engine, or displaces or compresses fluids, as in pumps and compressors. (from Old Italian pistone, from pistare to pound, grind) Piston is a disc or cylindrical part that slides to and fro in a hollow cylinder. In an internalcombustion engine it is forced to move by the expanding gases in the cylinder head and is attached by a pivoted connecting rod to a crankshaft or flywheel, thus converting reciprocating motion into rotation.

PISTON RINGS
Piston rings are made to maintain the cylinder and combustion pressure of the automobile. They prevent any oil from seeping into the combustion chamber as well as sealing in the air and fuel to be able to compress them.

TYPES
There are typically three piston rings to every piston, and each one of these rings does different things to help the engine operate. Top ring/Compression ring Second ring/Secondary compression ring Oil ring

Top ring/Compression ring

The first ring is known as the top ring; also know as the compression ring. This ring helps the piston work, because during the combustion process it doesnt allow it to lose any pressure. This ring maintains any pressure build up as the piston arrives at the top of the stroke. This is possible because the top ring acts as a barrier.

Second ring/Secondary compression ring

The second ring is also known as the secondary compression ring. This ring is a back up compression ring with a slightly tighter tolerance to help the top compression ring in sealing the combustion chamber. The second ring allows hot gases to penetrate into the crank case oil through the cylinder wall. When this happens it is called blow-by, and it helps mix the oil with carbon particles. This increases the acid level and makes the oil hotter and the oxidation process faster. This causes a slowdown of the oil from lubricating, and prevents the carbon particles from wearing out the parts of the engine. The second ring is also known as the oil scraper ring, which effectively minimizes any oil from gathering between the compression ring and oil ring.

Oil Rings
The last ring is called the oil ring. These work with the piston in the engine to lubricate the cylinder, walls, pistons, rings, and wrist pins. This ring keeps the oil out of the combustion process. The oil rings also help the thermal control because it cools the piston by directing oil around it.

PISTON SKIRTS
It is the part of a piston that is below the bottom piston ring and piston pin boss. The skirt acts as a guide as the piston goes up and down in the cylinder. It is often the part that shatters when the piston-to-cylinder clearance becomes excessive allowing the piston to rock in the bore.

The skirt is internally designed to support the gudgeon-pin boss, but not the piston crown, against compressive loads. It has sufficient length to resist tilting of the piston under load. Pistons are also designed to operate with very small skirt clearances and to prevent seizure under heavy loads. Some petrol-engine piston skirts are made flexible due to which their radial profile is capable of adjusting to the varying running conditions. Some pistons have a vertical split from the bottom of the piston to the underside of the ring-belt on the same side of the skirt as the crankpin when piston has passed TDC on its down-stroke. Some others have intersecting circumferential slots cut in the oil-control-ring groove above the gudgeon-pin bosses known as fully-split-skirt pistons. This type of piston provides a means of relief if the piston becomes tight due to overheating, particularly during initial bedding in, but the split reduces the skirts rigidity and the skirt tends to shrink inwards permanently causing piston slap, noise, and wear. Therefore, semi-split skirts which run only about half-way up are used as compromise. The blunting holes are drilled at the end of the split to reduce the stress concentration caused due to the splits notch effect. High-performance or heavy-duty pistons use only solid-skirt pistons without any split.

A. Solid-skirt piston. B. Semi-split skirt piston. C. Fully split (T)-skirt piston

REFRENCES
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/piston motorsportengineering.blogspot.com http://www.enginebasics.com/Engine%20Basics%20Root%20Fold er/Piston%20Rings.html http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4966604_piston-rings-work.html freewebs.com http://www.cyclepedia.com/piston-skirt/ http://what-when-how.com/automobile/piston-automobile/ cadvision.com