An aluminum piston expands at about twice the rate of the cast-iron block. What can be done to control this expansion?

What will be an ideal response?


Most piston skirts are tapered. They are larger in diameter at the bottom because the bottom of the piston runs cooler than the top so it does not expand as much. At operating temperature, the piston will fit the cylinder wall correctly. Some pistons are not tapered, but instead are barrel shaped, which means they are smaller at both the top and bottom.

The piston skirt is cam ground. This allows a cast piston to fit the cylinder with only 0.0005" to 0.0025" of clearance. The smaller the clearance, the less chance of "piston slap." Expansion takes place at a 90-degree angle (perpendicular) to the piston skirt.

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