This is going to perhaps never be realistic, but in a theoretical point:

One of the weakest links, on boosted or High CR or Nitrous engines, are the head gaskets and ways to keep it all clamped down with outrageous chamber pressures.

How about if heads were to become an intergral part of the block???
No more gaskets to worry about. Chamber design could be in a way that valves can be installed through the cylinders.
Of course this would be very expensive but would allow us to go beyond our even exteeme cylinder pressures used for all out super max effort engines.

What do you think??

 

Your right it is crazy! how would you get all the coolant passages in the block etc. And servicing the part would be a real hard thing to do. I don't think anyone would build one like that from a reparable stand point How would you bore the cylinders etc. I am assuming you are talking about a one piece block and heads construction right? But he it would be one strong setup if it ever was worked out.

 

I think if you could design the heads to actualy have a lip on them that would fit around the block(covering the gaskets on all sides)...that would help..No clue how realistic that is. Of course the block owuld have to be setup so the cylinders are a few mm's extended from the intake many etc.

 

years back before the small block was popular, Offy had a 4 cylinder that was very popular in the racing circles for this very reason ... the heads and cylinders were one piece, and that assembly actually bolted down to a crankcase ... extremely tough ...

however, there are many diesels with bolt on heads (generally agriculture and tractor pulling) that are running well in excess of 250 lbs of boost ... it can be done ...

 

How do top fuel dragsters and funny cars keep their heads from lifting?

 

dont they weld the heads to the block?

 

they dont...they replace them after each run...sometimes the studs too

 

There seems to be no problems with some of the engine W2W and others have out out. Of course, it may have to do with some secret squirrel ingredient to the build up too, like quench area, torque. More and more people are making the power needed to run crazy power, so it can be done, you just have to do it right.

Charlie

 

a good medium solution would be to have the head go down into the cylinder so the interface between the head and block is not a simple flat surface. This interlocking would allow the piston to rise into the head and the block would support the combustion chamber around the part of the head that drops down into the block that makes the top part of the cylinder bore.