A vehicle internal combustion piston and method of construction thereof are provided. The piston includes piston body extending along a central longitudinal axis, having an upper combustion wall forming an upper combustion surface and an undercrown surface opposite the upper combustion surface. An annular ring belt region depends from the upper combustion surface, a pair of skirt panels depend from the ring belt region, and a pair of pin bosses depend from the undercrown surface to provide laterally spaced pin bores aligned along a pin bore axis for receipt of a wrist pin. The undercrown surface forms a central undercrown surface, and a portion of either an open outer cooling gallery, a sealed outer cooling gallery, or an outer galleryless region, wherein an insulating coating is applied to at least one of the portions of the undercrown surface.

A piston for an internal combustion engine may include a surface in a region on a crankshaft side. The piston may include a thermally conductive coating disposed on the surface via thermal spraying.

A piston for an internal combustion engine may include a surface in a region on a crankshaft side. The piston may include a thermally conductive coating disposed on the surface via thermal spraying.

Any one or more members of an engine, that is, a piston, a cylinder head and a valve, has a wall face disposed face-to-face to a combustion chamber, and the wall face is coated by a heat-insulation coating film. The heat-insulation coating film includes a heat-insulative layer formed on a surface of the wall face, and an inorganic-system coated-film layer formed on a surface of the heat-insulative layer. The heat-insulative layer includes a resin, and first hollow particles buried inside the resin and exhibiting an average particle diameter being smaller than a thickness of the heat-insulative layer. The inorganic-system coated-film layer includes an inorganic compound.

An internal combustion engine comprising: a combustion chamber surrounded by at least an inner wall of a cylinder bore, a cylinder head, a valve and a piston, and a coating layer arranged on at least part of the inner wall of the combustion chamber, wherein the thermal conductivity of the coating layer is, at room temperature, lower than the thermal conductivities of the cylinder block, the cylinder head, the valve and the piston, the thermal conductivity of the coating layer is reversibly increased along with a rise in the temperature of the coating layer, and wherein the heat capacity per unit area of the coating layer is more than 0 kJ/(m.sup.2.Math.K) and 4.2 kJ/(m.sup.2.Math.K) or less.

A piston for an internal combustion engine includes a cylindrical piston body defining a longitudinal axis and having a top end and an outer cylindrical surface. A first piston ring groove is formed in the outer cylindrical surface and includes a groove root, an upper surface and a lower surface. The groove root has a variable depth about a circumference of the cylindrical piston body.

A piston for an internal combustion engine includes a cylindrical piston body defining a longitudinal axis and having a top end and an outer cylindrical surface. A first piston ring groove is formed in the outer cylindrical surface and includes a groove root, an upper surface and a lower surface. The groove root has a variable depth about a circumference of the cylindrical piston body.

A galleryless steel piston designed to improve thermal efficiency, fuel consumption, and performance of an engine is provided. The piston includes a steel body portion and a thermal barrier layer applied to an upper combustion surface and/or a ring belt to reduce the amount of heat transferred from a combustion chamber to the body portion. The thermal barrier layer has a thermal conductivity which is lower than a thermal conductivity of the steel body portion. The thermal barrier layer typically includes a ceramic material, for example ceria, ceria stabilized zirconia, and/or a mixture of ceria stabilized zirconia and yttria stabilized zirconia in an amount of 90 to 100 wt. %, based on the total weight of the ceramic material. The thermal barrier layer can also have a gradient structure which gradually transitions from 100 wt. % of a metal bond material to 100 wt. % of the ceramic material.

A galleryless steel piston designed to improve thermal efficiency, fuel consumption, and performance of an engine is provided. The piston includes a steel body portion and a thermal barrier layer applied to an upper combustion surface and/or a ring belt to reduce the amount of heat transferred from a combustion chamber to the body portion. The thermal barrier layer has a thermal conductivity which is lower than a thermal conductivity of the steel body portion. The thermal barrier layer typically includes a ceramic material, for example ceria, ceria stabilized zirconia, and/or a mixture of ceria stabilized zirconia and yttria stabilized zirconia in an amount of 90 to 100 wt. %, based on the total weight of the ceramic material. The thermal barrier layer can also have a gradient structure which gradually transitions from 100 wt. % of a metal bond material to 100 wt. % of the ceramic material.

A coating for components of internal combustion engines, in particular for cylinder and/or piston surfaces that includes chromium with a mass fraction between 1 and 30%, iron with a mass fraction between 0 and 50%, carbides and/or oxides with a mass fraction between 0 and 50%, and a solid lubricant with a mass fraction between 0 and 30%.