A piston for an internal combustion engine is provided. The piston includes a lower part joined to an upper part, for example by friction welding with inertia. The upper part presents a combustion surface and an undercrown surface. The piston also includes a cooling gallery surface provided by the upper part and the lower part. The cooling gallery surface surrounds a volume of space for containing a cooling media. The piston can include serrations in the cooling gallery surface and/or undercrown surface to increase surface area and thus reduce the temperature of the piston. The piston can also include shaped weld curls, instead of or in addition to the serrations, which also increase surface area and reduce the temperature of the piston.

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 region, and a portion of either an open outer cooling gallery, a sealed outer cooling gallery, or an outer galleryless region. A coating comprising a base layer including nickel and a catalyst layer including rhodium is applied to the undercrown surface.

A 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 cooling cavity is provided inside a piston of an internal combustion engine. Inlet/outlet holes of the cooling cavity are provided in a bottom surface of the piston. A first oil jet that sprays oil toward the inlet/outlet hole, a second oil jet that sprays oil toward a part different from the inlet/outlet hole are included. The first oil jet is caused to spray oil in preference to the second oil jet.

A steel piston achieving increased thermal brake efficiency in an internal combustion engine is provided. The piston includes a crown presenting a combustion surface, an outer side wall depending from the combustion surface, an outer cooling gallery, and an undercrown cooling gallery. The outer cooling gallery extends circumferentially along the outer side wall beneath the combustion surface. According to one embodiment, the outer cooling gallery is sealed and filled with air, argon, helium, xenon, or carbon dioxide as a cooling media. In this embodiment, the undercrown cooling gallery is filled with air as a cooling media and includes an open inlet hole having a diameter being from 2% to 4% of an outer diameter of the piston. Alternatively, the undercrown cooling gallery is filled with air, argon, helium, xenon, or carbon dioxide as a cooling media, and the inlet hole is sealed.

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 steel piston for heavy-duty diesel engines designed with features that increase adiabaticity, reduce weight, and improve passive cooling without loss of power density is provided. The piston includes a pair of skirt walls extending longitudinally from a crown to a lower end. The skirt walls include a plurality of heat sink wells extending axially from the crown to a lower end of the skirt wall. Each heat sink well is at least partially filled with a cooling medium and is sealed. The piston also includes a plurality of ribs each radially aligned with one of the heat sink wells and extending inwardly and upwardly from a first rib end at an inner surface of the skirt wall to a second rib end at the inner surface of the crown.

A galleryless piston for an internal combustion engine and method of construction thereof are provided. The piston has a monolithic piston body extending along a central longitudinal axis. The piston body has an upper wall forming an upper combustion surface with first and second portions, with the first portion extending annularly along an outer periphery of the upper wall and the second portion forming a combustion bowl. The upper wall has an undercrown surface on an underside of the combustion bowl directly opposite the second portion of the upper combustion surface. The undercrown surface has an openly exposed surface area, as viewed looking along the central longitudinal axis, thereby providing an expansive area against which oil being splashed or sprayed can freely contact to cool the piston.

A galleryless piston for an internal combustion engine is provided. The piston has a monolithic piston body including an upper wall forming an upper combustion surface with first and second portions. The first portion extends annularly along an outer periphery of the upper wall and the second portion includes a combustion bowl. The first portion can also include valve pockets formed therein to reduce weight. The upper wall has an undercrown surface directly opposite the second portion of the upper combustion surface. To enhance cooling, a center portion of the undercrown surface is concave, such that oil is channeled during reciprocation of the piston from one side to the opposite side of the piston. The concave center portion is axially offset from the surrounding area of the undercrown surface.

A galleryless piston for an internal combustion engine is provided. The piston has a monolithic piston body including an upper wall forming an upper combustion surface with first and second portions. The first portion extends annularly along an outer periphery of the upper wall and the second portion includes a combustion bowl. The first portion can also include valve pockets formed therein to reduce weight. The upper wall has an undercrown surface directly opposite the second portion of the upper combustion surface. To enhance cooling, a center portion of the undercrown surface is concave, such that oil is channeled during reciprocation of the piston from one side to the opposite side of the piston.