Finite Element Analysis of Thermal and Stress Fields of Diesel Engine Piston with GZO/YSZ Dual-Ceramic Layer Thermal Barrier Coating

Thermal barrier coating can effectively reduce the temperature of engine piston substrates. However, traditional YSZ coating materials are prone to sintering under high-temperature conditions, resulting in coating failure. To address this issue, finite element simulation of a type of new coating was conducted. Gd2Zr2O7 (GZO), a material with strong anti-sintering properties, was selected as a potential candidate for the design of a dual-ceramic layer thermal barrier coating. A GZO/YSZ-coated piston of a diesel engine was designed, and its mechanical/thermal behavior was simulated by a finite element model. A piston surface temperature experiment was conducted to validate the finite element model. The temperature and the thermal stress of the GZO/YSZ dual-ceramic layer coated piston were analyzed by finite element simulation software ANSYS 2023. The results showed that the GZO/YSZ dual-ceramic layer coating effectively reduced the substrate temperature and showed potential for improving the thermal efficiency of the engine. However, due to the properties of GZO and the structure of the coating, the surface stress of the GZO/YSZ dual-ceramic layer coating was relatively high, requiring further studies to verify its reliability.