This piston includes a piston main body made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, used in an internal combustion and a modified layer formed on a surface of a strength reinforced portion of the piston main body, having a surface made of aluminum oxide by plasma oxidation, to which compressive residual stress is applied.

An exemplary casting assembly for an engine block includes, among other things, an insert and at least one magnet configured to retain the insert in a predefined position within an engine block mold cavity. An exemplary engine block casting method includes, among other things, positioning at least one insert in a mold cavity, retaining the insert in position with at least one magnet, introducing material into the mold cavity to form an engine block, and solidifying the material to secure the insert within the engine block.

A piston crown for a piston of a pair of pistons in a two-stroke, opposed-piston, compression ignition combustion engine has a barrier layer and a conductive layer. The barrier layer at least partially surrounds a combustion chamber formed by the piston crown and an end surface of an opposing piston. The conductive layer connects the crown to the rest of the piston body. The barrier layer and the conductive layer are joined either through welding or through the fabrication process. Optionally, the piston crown includes an insulating layer between the barrier and conductive layers.

A piston for an internal combustion engine includes a piston body having a top surface and having formed therein a combustion bowl surface, a base material of the piston body having a first thermal conductivity, a first layer of metal bonded to the top surface of the piston body, the first layer of metal having a second thermal conductivity that is lower than the first thermal conductivity, and a second layer of metal bonded to the first layer, the second layer of metal having a third thermal conductivity that is higher than the second thermal conductivity.

A cylinder liner is disclosed, the cylinder liner having a smoother internal surface of an internal side than known cylinder liners. The internal surface having at least one of a reduced peak height of (Rpk) of ?0.25 ?m, a core roughness (Rk) of about 0.2 ?m to about 0.6 ?m, a reduced valley depth (Rvk) of about 1.2 ?m to about 2.5 ?m, a material ratio (Mr1) of ?10%, and a material ratio (Mr2) of about 70% to about 90%.

A system includes an engine block having a plurality of cylinder-piston combinations. At least one of the cylinder-piston combinations includes a cylinder, a piston positioned in the cylinder and coupled to a connecting rod, the piston having an internal cooling gallery about a circumference of the piston, an oil jet for introducing coolant into the cooling gallery, and at least one pressure sensor positioned within the piston to detect pressure fluctuations within the cooling gallery. The system includes a processor having a program coupled thereto. The processor is configured to detect cyclical pressure fluctuations within the cooling gallery, via the at least one pressure sensor, during a linear motion of the piston within the engine block, determine pressures that occur during the detected cyclical pressure fluctuations, and determine a fill ratio of coolant within the cooling gallery based on the determined pressures.

The cylinder head gasket includes a gasket layer which presents an inner periphery that surrounds an opening. The gasket layer has a first thickness adjacent the inner periphery. A combustion seal is positioned in the opening and extends circumferentially around an axis. The combustion seal is joined with the inner periphery of the gasket layer. The combustion seal has a height that is greater than the first thickness of the gasket layer. The combustion seal includes at least one seal body which is generally C-shaped as viewed in cross-section and is resiliently flexible for maintaining fluid tight seals with the cylinder head and the engine block. The C-shaped seal body presents a pocket which faces away from the inner periphery of the of the gasket layer for receiving combustion gasses during use to improve the fluid tight seals established with the cylinder head and the engine block.

A metal static gasket and method of construction thereof is provided. The gasket includes at least one metal layer. At least one of the metal layers has opposite sides with at least one through opening extending through the opposite sides, with the through opening being configured to register with an opening to be sealed. At least one metal layer of the gasket has least one raised annular seal bead extending adjacent the through opening. A plurality of protrusions extend outwardly from at least one of the opposite sides, wherein the plurality of protrusions are formed from separate pieces of metal from the at least one metal layer and are individually fixed to the at least one metal layer via separate bond joints.

A system and method for installing a predetermined number of bearings into a lower block of an engine includes a tray having a plurality of slots for receiving the predetermined number of bearings, a plurality of proximity sensors, each of the proximity sensors associated with one of the slots in the tray for tracking the predetermined number of bearings, a visual indicator for confirming movement of the predetermined number of bearings into and out of the tray, and a light curtain for sounding an alarm if the lower block is moved to an installation position for installation to the engine block before the movement of the predetermined number of bearings into and out of the tray is completed to ensure all of the predetermined number of bearings are installed in the lower block.

An internal combustion engine includes: a head cover covering a cylinder head; and a variable valve actuation mechanism. The variable valve actuation mechanism includes: a cam placed inside the head cover and rotating with a camshaft extending in a rotation axis direction; and an intermediate arm placed inside the head cover and sandwiched between the cam and a rocker arm. A pair of side through-holes, which are provided for a support rod supporting the intermediate arm to pass through, are formed in side portions of the head cover so as to face each other along the rotation axis direction.