Investigation into Piston Failures - Dissertation Example

Let’s study the historical background by reviewing the initial development of the piston ring. During the primitive times of mankind, the most important goal was to draw water more efficiently. Agricola, the Renaissance author published a comprehensive description, in 1556, about the piston pumps used by the miners to draw water. The author pointed out the use of metal discs and leather washers in which the purpose of using the leather was to avoid friction on the pump rods. The rapid growth of the urban population at that time gave rise to the need for pumps to raise water.

In 1582, the very first waterwheel-driven pump was set up in London. During the late seventeenth century, the severe issues related to the mining industry in England were observed with the agglomeration of water into deeper shafts put forward the opportunity to commence the use of steam power for driving reciprocating engines. Ever since the reciprocating engines have been constantly developing, and there is no predictable end towards their usage and continued augmentation. During the years of their use, one specific problem has stimulated pervasive developmental efforts, which is the leakage of fluid in between the piston and the cylinder bore.

This problem is experienced in various types of machinery, combustion engines, water pumps, hydraulic motors, air compressors, hydraulic pumps, and cylinders. Initially, the efforts were applied to excessively narrow down the gap however the efficiency of such a sealing method was found to be very low. It was considered impossible to develop a piston and bore with adequately small tolerances to ascertain low leakage. This problem was resolved by isolating the sealing function with the help of a separate machine element that was called the piston ring.

The purpose of the piston ring was to better adjust the contact surface of the cylinder bore or liner. In 1774, the first attempt was made to create such a ring, when rope packing was incorporated into a steam engine for acquiring a seal that enhanced the engine’s thermal efficiency to 1.4 percent.