T-14 Armata tank X-engine - photos

[nova_robotics]

They used bronze rings on the cylinders.

That's a new one to me. I guess cylinders wear a tiny little bit even with conventional iron or steel rings. What were the cylinder liners made of that this would be a concern? Sounds like they would be using very poor cylinder liner materials for this to even be a consideration. Either that or horrible lubrication. Maybe both?

I have a cast aluminum V8 engine that has no cylinder liners. The process is called alusil and silicon particles are introduced in the aluminum. The cylinders are machined directly in the casting. The rings interface directly with the aluminum/silicon matrix. It's a very interesting design which I believe was used a lot in motorcycles. Anyway even with this unique construction they use conventional rings and both the cylinders and rings tend to last forever.