Effect of Untampered Plasma Coating and Surface Texturing on Friction and Running-in Behavior of Piston Rings

The running-in behavior and the associated transient friction characteristics of a piston ring with different surface treatments are experimentally evaluated using a custom-made engine testing apparatus. Results are reported for a series of running-in and steady-state experiments on piston rings with different combinations of coated and textured surfaces. Comparisons are provided between five different types of piston rings: (1) with no textures; (2) with textures only; (3) with coating only; (4) first textured and then coated; and (5) first coated and then textured. A combination of the texturing and coating showed 12.5% improvement in the frictional behavior and up to 50% improvement in break-in time compared to cases when only one surface treatment was applied.