Material characterization and wear evaluation of the original and replacement pistons and cylinder liners from a Tiger 131 are reported. The original piston and cylinder liner were operative in the ...Tiger engine during WWII. The replacement piston and cylinder liner were used as substitutes and were obtained after failure in 2 h of operation in the actual engine. Material characterization revealed that the original piston was aluminum silicon hypereutectic alloy approximately matching the specification of RSA-419 AE, with a silicon content of 19.92 wt%. The replacement piston was aluminum copper alloy with a low silicon content of 0.73 wt%, approximately satisfying specifications of Al 2031 and Al 2618-T6. Scuffing, material removal, and ploughing were observed in the replacement piston and cylinder liner. These failures were attributed to inadequate piston material and design. The replacement piston average surface roughness was 9.09 μm and for the replacement cylinder liner it was 5.78 μm. Characterization results showed that both the original and replacement cylinder liners consisted of mostly iron, which is indicative of cast iron, a common material for this application.
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