The abbreviation for reciprocating internal combustion engine. This covers any engine that uses pistons moving back and forth in cylinders to convert the pressure of combusting fuel into rotational motion. It distinguishes traditional piston engines from rotary engines, gas turbines, and electric motors.
Heard on the job
The new emissions standard applies to all stationary RICE units on the site.
Related terms
Cylinder
The tubular chamber in which a piston travels to compress a fluid or convert fluid pressure into mechanical work.
Piston
A sliding cylinder that moves back and forth inside a hollow tube to compress fluid or transmit force.
Two-stroke
Describing an engine that completes a power cycle in just one upward and one downward piston movement.