Achates Power, Inc.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.

Ryan G Mackenzie

Eric P Dion

Michael H Wahl

James U Lemke

Fabien G Redon

Clark A Klyza

Bryant A Wagner

Brendan M Lenski

Neerav Abani

Patrick T Lee

Jin Dai

Rishikesh Venugopal

Tristan M Burton

Gordon Rado

Gordon E Rado

Louis F Medeiros

Isaac B Thomas

Todd Rose

Todd R Rose

Daniel M Chown

Eric Dion

Patrick Lee

Louis Medeiros

A piston for an opposed-piston, internal combustion engine includes a crown with an end surface shaped to form a combustion chamber with an end surface of an opposing piston in the opposed-piston engine, a skirt part including a piston sidewall extending from the crown to an open end of the skirt part, a wristpin bore with first and second openings through the sidewall, a wristpin disposed in the wristpin bore, and at least two caps received in the first and second openings of the wristpin bore for sealing the wristpin bore and retaining the wristpin against axial movement.

Piston bearing assembly for an opposed-piston engine

A piston for an opposed-piston, internal combustion engine includes a crown with an end surface having a bowl shaped to form a combustion chamber with an end surface of an opposing piston in the opposed-piston engine. A substantially circumferential top land of the crown meets the end surface at a substantially circular peripheral edge, and a skirt comprising a sidewall extends from a substantially circumferential belt region of the crown. A wristpin bore with a wristpin axis opens through the sidewall. The end surface of the piston includes a pair of injection regions across which fuel is injected into the bowl. The injection regions are disposed in substantially diametrically-opposed quadrants of the end surface which are defined by the wristpin axis and a connecting rod envelope axis substantially orthogonal to the wristpin axis. Each injection region extends along a respective arc concentric with the substantially circular peripheral edge.

Piston assembly with opposing injection regions for an opposed-piston engine

In an opposed-piston engine, a piston has a top land. The piston top land has a non-cylindrical shape which affords more clearance with a piston bore to thrust and anti-thrust sides than to front-facing and rear facing sides.

Piston for an opposed-piston engine

Pistons for opposed-piston engines include an interior annular cooling gallery. The gallery is provided with inlet and drain passageways constructed to shield a jet of liquid coolant entering the gallery, thereby reducing interference between the incoming jet and liquid coolant circulating in the gallery.

Piston cooling for opposed-piston engine

A piston crown for a piston of a pair of pistons in a two-stroke, opposed-piston, compression ignition combustion engine has a barrier layer and a conductive layer. The barrier layer at least partially surrounds a combustion chamber formed by the piston crown and an end surface of an opposing piston. The conductive layer connects the crown to the rest of the piston body. The barrier layer and the conductive layer are joined either through welding or through the fabrication process. Optionally, the piston crown includes an insulating layer between the barrier and conductive layers.

Multi-layered piston crown for opposed-piston engines

Pressurized lubricating oil is accumulated in the bearings of opposed pistons and accumulated oil is dispensed therefrom for bearing lubrication and also for cooling the undercrowns of the pistons by jets of oil emitted from the bearings.

Piston cooling configurations utilizing lubricating oil from a bearing reservoir in an opposed-piston engine

An opposed-piston engine includes pistons, each piston having an annular cavity in the piston's sidewall and positioned between its crown and ring grooves to block transfer of heat from the crown to the piston body.

Piston thermal management in an opposed-piston engine

Piston cooling for opposed-piston engines

A combustion chamber for an opposed-piston engine has an elongated asymmetrical shape in longitudinal section that runs along a chamber centerline, between diametrically-opposed openings of the combustion chamber through which fuel is injected. The asymmetry apportions combustion chamber volume to provide additional clearance on a side of the chamber centerline toward which swirl is directed, thereby giving a fuel plume space to swing without hindrance in response to swirl.

Asymmetrically-shaped combustion chamber for opposed-piston engines

A piston construction with an end surface is equipped with a pattern of insulating cavities embedded in an upper end of the piston, between the end surface and interior portions of the piston that are cooled by circulating liquid coolant.

Constructions for piston thermal management

A combustion chamber construction for opposed-piston engines in which fuel is injected from two opposed injectors includes a dual mixing region construction with a respective mixing region for each injector and a coupling region between the two mixing regions through which the mixing regions communicate. In some aspects, the mixing regions are bulbous and are connected by a waist, or tunnel, region that is relatively narrower than the bulbous mixing chambers.

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San Diego, CA, United States of America

Ryan G Mackenzie