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RICHARD GREEN 2	02/07/2014 11:47:36
329 forum posts 193 photos	Hello I am making an aluminium piston for a steam engine from 6082 alloy, 4 1/4" bore diameter, ( cast iron cylinder ) Does anyone know how much clearance I should allow between the piston and cylinder , taking into account the expansion of the alumunium piston with steam at 150 psi ( 185 degrees C ) Richard. Edited By RICHARD GREEN 2 on 02/07/2014 11:49:35
JasonB	02/07/2014 12:03:57
25215 forum posts 3105 photos 1 articles	Most of the traction engine guys allow about 0.002" - 0.003" per inch dia. J
Andrew Johnston	03/07/2014 11:01:32
7061 forum posts 719 photos	Assuming that we're talking traction engines running at a few hundred rpm the forces involved in reversing the direction of the piston at the end of each stroke are not that high, even with a solid cast iron piston. I would agree with JasonB on the clearances, but personally I would not be happy with the resultant rattling fit. So just to be different I have designed hollow cast iron pistons for my 4" scale SCC engines. As a flavour here's a screen shot of an FEA analysis of one half of the LP piston: The hollow LP CI piston is actually slightly lighter than an equivalent solid aluminium piston. Regards, Andrew

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