Method for producing piston a ring

The invention relates to a method for producing a piston ring made of cast iron or cast steel.

It is generally known to provide piston rings with wear-resistant layers. In many instances, very hard PVD (physical vapor deposition) layers are deposited on the running face. It is known from engine operation that piston rings, in particular in the first groove, at the joint are subject to greater wear than at the ring back. At the same time, the PVD layer impairs the radial pressure distribution of the ring during engine operation. Due to the differing thermal expansion of the coatings and the base material (bimetallic effect), the pressure at the joint increases, thereby favoring even higher wear in this region. This also results in a higher load on the counter-body, and consequently also in higher wear on the same.

JP 2001-295699 A1 discloses a piston ring comprising a coated running face. The running face of this piston ring is provided with a hard PVD layer. A further layer is deposited on the same, which has improved running-in properties than the hard PVD layer. This measure is intended to provide optimized pressure distribution, seen in the circumferential direction of the piston ring, since the running-in layer is ablated relatively quickly in the region of the piston ring close to the joint.

EP 1 359 351 B1 relates to a generic method. A base body provided with a joint is caused to rotate and is rotated around an evaporation source. Differing layer thicknesses are created, looking at the circumference of the base body, as a result of differing rotational speeds. The layer thickness in the joint region should be larger than in the remaining circumferential region.

Given the differing coefficients of thermal expansion of the piston ring base material and the PVD layer, starting at a ring temperature of approximately 150° C. the radial pressure distribution during operation of the engine changes, to the effect that an increased radial pressure is formed in the joint region.

It is the object of the invention to increase the service life of a PVD-coated piston ring, wherein, at the same time, the counter-body should not be subjected to any increased wear or increased load.

This object is achieved by working the piston ring base body so that, in the cold operating state with the engine not running, the radial pressure distribution of the same is such that the ring ends have substantially no radial pressure across a defined circumferential angle, and by setting the variable layer thickness of the PVD layer so that a substantially uniform radial pressure distribution is present over the entire ring circumference of the piston ring at a piston ring temperature above 150° C.

Advantageous refinements of the method according to the application are also disclosed hereinbelow.

This object is also achieved by a piston ring that is produced using the method according to the invention.

The piston ring provided with a joint comprises a base body, made of cast steel or cast iron, having at least one wear-resistant PVD layer applied to the outer circumferential surface, wherein the PVD layer in the region of the piston ring base body which is close to the joint, looking at a defined circumferential region, is designed to have a greater material thickness than in the remaining circumferential region.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a PVD layer having a coefficient of expansion <4×10 −6 /K is applied to a piston ring base body that is made of a cast steel material, or cast iron, and has a coefficient of expansion <15×10 −6 /K in the temperature range between 100 and 200° C.

The layer thickness of the PVD layer in the region close the joint is advantageously designed to be between 20 and 40% thicker than in the remaining circumferential region.

According to a further aspect of the invention, the layer thickness of the PVD layer in the region close to the joint is between >40 and 100 μm, and the layer thickness of the PVD layer in the remaining circumferential region is between 5 and 60 μm.

If the PVD layer is designed as a multi-layer system (such as AlTiN/CrN) or as a homogeneous layer, such as CrN, CrN(O) or CrN having an oxygen content of up to 15% by weight, it advantageously has a coefficient of thermal expansion <4×10 −6 /K in the temperature range between 100 and 200° C., wherein the layer thickness of the PVD layer is between 5 and <40 μm in the region of the piston ring back and between 40 and <100 μm in the region close to the joint. By the “back” of the piston ring is meant the region not close to the joint, i.e., remote from the joint.

If the PVD layer is carbon-based, according to a further idea of the invention it has a coefficient of thermal expansion <2×10 −6 /K in the temperature range between 100 and 200° C., wherein the layer thickness of the PVD layer is between >1 and 20 μm in the region of the piston ring back and a maximum of 30 μm in the region close to the joint.

If needed, the PVD layer may also be provided with nanoparticles.

According to a further aspect of the invention, the region close to, i.e., proximate, the joint is provided with the thicker PVD layer starting from each ring end in an angular range of 10 to 40°. In other words, that is the region which is “close” to or proximate the joint and the remaining region is the “back” or “remote” region of the joint.

By way of suitable process control during the coating process, a variable layer thickness is generated across the circumference of the piston ring base body. As was already addressed, the PVD wear protection layer is designed to be considerably thicker in the region close to the joint so as to address the increased wear and thereby significantly increase the service life of the piston ring thus implemented.

The original layer thickness is maintained over the remainder of the circumference, in particular at the ring back. This does not intensify the bimetallic effect of the layer.

During use, the ring shape, and in particular the ring shape of the hot piston ring, can be controlled by a targeted layer structure, such as a cylinder bore surface, so that the ring ends exert considerably less pressure on the counter-body.

Since, according to the invention, the ring ends of the cold piston ring develop almost no radial pressure, in the ideal application case, the bimetallic effect, which cannot be suppressed, results in uniform radial pressure distribution across the entire ring circumference at piston ring temperatures starting at 150° C. This measure also allows the piston ring shape to be favorably influenced, whereby the pressure at the joint is reduced, and thus increased wear, in particular in the region close to the joint, is counteracted.

The piston ring according to the invention is versatile to use. Conceivable applications include internal combustion engines in vehicles (passenger cars, trucks, buses), industrial applications (such as stationary engines), construction vehicles, locomotives, and ships. Applications in the diesel engine field, in particular large two-cycle diesel engines, are preferred.

The subject matter of the invention is shown in the drawings based on an exemplary embodiment and is described as follows.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a piston ring base body in which the radial pressure distribution is indicated; and

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a piston ring base body according to FIG. 1 provided with a PVD layer.

FIG. 1 shows a piston ring base body 1 provided with a joint 2 , which is only indicated by a gap in the radial pressure distribution of the piston ring base body 1 . The radial pressure distribution of the piston ring base body 1 in the cold state is indicated by arrows. The inner circle, schematically, representing the outer circumference of the piston ring base body 1 , spans the joint to show that, of course, there is no radial pressure at the joint, i.e., at the gap between the piston ring base body ends. The outer line is a visual representation of the radial pressure of the piston ring base body. The further the outer line is from the inner circle, the greater is the radial pressure of the piston ring base body. It is apparent that, with the exception of the end regions 3 , 4 close to the joint, the piston ring base body 1 has approximately the same radial pressure, seen in the circumferential direction, in the direction of the end regions 3 , 4 close to the joint, which preferably extend across a circumferential angle between 10 and 40°, the radial pressure distribution is to be reduced to ranges that are close to 0. This may be achieved, for example, by providing the piston ring base body 1 with a negative contour in the end regions 3 , 4 close to the joint, meaning that at the end regions the piston ring base body 1 deviate inwardly from a circular configuration.

FIG. 2 shows a piston ring base body according to FIG. 1 . The joint 2 and the end regions 3 , 4 close to the joint are apparent. The piston ring base body 1 is to be made of cast steel in this example and have a coefficient of expansion of 11×10 −6 /K. A PVD layer 5 is deposited onto the outer circumferential surface forming the running face and, according to the invention, has an increased layer thickness in the region of the end regions 3 , 4 of the piston ring base body 1 which are close to the joint. For this purpose, PVD multi-layer systems, such as AlTiN/CrN or homogeneous layers such as CrN having an oxygen content of up to 15% by weight may be used. A suitable CrN PVD wear protection layer has a coefficient of thermal expansion of approximately 3×10 −6 /K. Layer hardnesses between 800 and 2500 HV are achievable for such CrN-based layers, or alternatively, if needed, layer hardnesses of up to 4500 HV, or even higher if necessary, such as 8000 HV, are achievable for carbon-based layers.

In the present example, the layer thickness of the PVD layer 5 is to be approximately 42 μm in the region of the end regions 3 , 4 close to the joint, and approximately 15 μm in the region of the ring back 6 , i.e., the remainder of the ring. As a result of the bimetallic effect, which cannot be suppressed, in the ideal application case, the piston ring base body 1 produced in accordance with FIG. 1 will have a substantially uniform radial pressure distribution across the ring circumference starting at a piston ring temperature of 150° C.