A cylinder liner for an opposed-piston engine, and corresponding methods of extending engine durability and thermal management therewith, has opposite ends and a bore with a longitudinal axis for supporting reciprocating movement of a pair of opposed pistons. An intermediate portion of the liner extends between the opposite ends and includes an annular liner portion within which the pistons reach respective TC locations. A liner ring is seated in a portion of the bore in the annular liner portion, between the TC locations, for scraping carbon from top lands of the pistons and/or increasing the thermal resistance of the annular liner portion.

A cylinder liner for an opposed-piston engine, and corresponding methods of extending engine durability and thermal management therewith, has opposite ends and a bore with a longitudinal axis for supporting reciprocating movement of a pair of opposed pistons. An intermediate portion of the liner extends between the opposite ends and includes an annular liner portion within which the pistons reach respective TC locations. A liner ring is seated in a portion of the bore in the annular liner portion, between the TC locations, for scraping carbon from top lands of the pistons and/or increasing the thermal resistance of the annular liner portion.

An opposed-piston engine includes a backlash reducing gear with at least a first and second gear that move relative to each other because of a hydraulic pressure applied within the gear. A backlash control system that includes the backlash reducing gear can dynamically adjust backlash between at least two gears in the gear train of the engine during operation of the engine instead of setting backlash prior to operation of the engine. A method for adjusting backlash in a two-stroke-cycle, opposed-piston engine with a backlash reducing gear includes providing hydraulic fluid, such as oil, to the gear, and allowing the backlash reducing gear to adapt to changes in the engine that include temperature changes, torque reversals, changes in load and the like. The backlash reducing gear adapts to changes in the engine by controlled leaking and intake of oil.

Load transfer point offset of rocking journal bearings in uniflow-scavenged, opposed-piston engines with phased crankshafts includes differing offsets for the load transfer points of opposed pistons. More specifically, under the condition that a first crankshaft leads the second crankshaft, an angular offset of a rocking journal wristpin of a piston coupled to the first crankshaft proportional to an offset of the first crankshaft relative to the second crankshaft is made to ensure adequate oil film thickness to the wristpin when it experiences a peak combustion pressure during a power stroke.

An internal combustion engine may include a first piston reciprocatingly disposed in a first cylinder, and a second piston reciprocatingly disposed in a second cylinder. A crankshaft may be coupled with the first piston and the second piston for rotational motion associated with reciprocating movement of at least one of the first piston and the second piston. A combustion chamber may be fluidly coupled with the first cylinder and the second cylinder. An ignition source may be at least partially disposed within the combustion chamber. An intake valve may provide selective fluid communication between an intake system and the combustion chamber, and an exhaust valve may provide selective fluid communication between an exhaust system and the combustion chamber.

A uniflow engine includes a cylinder having a cylinder wall, an inlet channel, an extension of a central axis of the inlet channel first intersecting the cylinder wail in a first portion of the cylinder and next intersecting the cylinder wail in a second portion of the cylinder opposite the first portion of the cylinder, an intake air gallery, the intake air gallery having a gallery wall and being in flow communication with the inlet channel, and a plurality of intake ports extending between the cylinder wail and the gallery wall, at least some of the intake ports having different areas at the cylinder wall measured perpendicular to longitudinal axes of the intake ports, and wherein an area of at least one in take port in the first portion of the cylinder is larger than an area of at least one intake port in the second portion of the cylinder.

A uniflow engine includes a cylinder having a cylinder wall, an inlet channel, an extension of a central axis of the inlet channel first intersecting the cylinder wail in a first portion of the cylinder and next intersecting the cylinder wail in a second portion of the cylinder opposite the first portion of the cylinder, an intake air gallery, the intake air gallery having a gallery wall and being in flow communication with the inlet channel, and a plurality of intake ports extending between the cylinder wail and the gallery wall, at least some of the intake ports having different areas at the cylinder wall measured perpendicular to longitudinal axes of the intake ports, and wherein an area of at least one in take port in the first portion of the cylinder is larger than an area of at least one intake port in the second portion of the cylinder.

With reference to FIG. 2, the invention relates to an opposed stepped piston two-stroke engine comprising at least a first and a second cylinder, wherein the air piston is a stepped piston providing a first air transfer piston that expands and compresses a first air transfer volume to deliver air from the first air transfer volume to an air transfer system, and the exhaust piston is a stepped piston providing a second air transfer piston that expands and compresses a second air transfer volume to deliver air from the second air transfer volume to the air transfer system, each of the first and second air transfer volumes having an air inlet for receiving air; and wherein the air transfer system provides fluid connection between the respective first air transfer volume of each cylinder and the air port of another respective cylinder, via respective first air transfer conduits, and fluid connection between the respective second air transfer volume of each cylinder and the air port of the other respective cylinder, via respective second air transfer conduits, wherein the drive system is configured, for each cylinder, to have a predetermined phase angle such that one of the exhaust piston and air piston is driven before the other piston, causing delivery of air from its respective air transfer volume to the air transfer system before delivery of air occurs from the other of the air transfer volumes.

A reciprocating internal combustion engine is disclosed having co-axially aligned cylinder blocks within a housing, each cylinder block having a piston structure comprising a piston head and a connecting rod. The piston heads are adapted to reciprocate within their respective cylinder blocks. The connecting rods are connected to opposite ends of a central yoke structure, pivotally, with the ability to angularly deviate from a longitudinal axis during a cycle of motion. The central yoke structure consists of a roller gear disposed within a void of the central yoke structure, and the linear motion of the piston structure is translated into the rotary motion of the roller gear.

A method includes operating an air boosting apparatus of a two-stroke, opposed piston engine as a function of one or more factors including a first engine speed, a first torque, demand, a first altitude, a first transient rate, and one or more first ambient conditions to provide a first pressure S ratio (PR} of pre-turbine pressure (PTP) versus turbocharger compressor discharge pressure (CDP} and a first air-to-fuel ratio (AFR).