A Model for Evaporative Consumption of Lubricating Oil in Reciprocating Engines

OpenAlex İngilizce

A model for oil consumption due to in-cylinder evaporation of oil in reciprocating engines, has been developed. The model is based on conservation of mass and energy on the surface of the oil film left on the cylinder by a piston ring pack, at the oil/gas interface, and also conservation of energy within the oil film and cylinder/coolant interface. The model is sensitive to in-cylinder conditions and is part of an integrated model of ring pack performance, which provides the geometry of the oil film left by the ring pack on the cylinder. Preliminary simulation results indicate that a relatively small but not insignificant fraction (2-5%) of the total oil consumption may be due to evaporation losses for a heavy duty diesel at the rated condition. The evaporation rate was shown to be sensitive to oil grade and upper cylinder temperature. Much of these losses occur during the non-firing half of the cycle. Under certain conditions these losses could be higher than those for the firing half of the cycle and thus may have important implication for control of hydrocarbon emissions.