Antecedentes: La economía colombiana, se ha caracterizado por una amplia apertura y libre mercado, tanto que hoy tiene tratados comerciales con los bloques más importantes del mundo. Esta característica exige tener unas condiciones de alta competitividad y diversificación, por lo que los Gobiernos nacional y regional intentan impulsar algunos sectores que tradicionalmente han sido inexplotados como el turismo y específicamente el Turismo de Salud, con el fin de convertirlo en un sector de clase mundial, que coadyuve a generar fuentes de riqueza, empleo y diversificación de la economía. El Turismo Médico es un sector que cada día toma mayor fuerza y credibilidad y en algunos países como Singapur, Malasia o Costa Rica constituyen un aporte importante al PIB. Objetivo: Describir la cadena de valor de sector Turismo de Salud, del Área de Cúcuta, determinar sus ventajas y desventajas y proponer estrategias que permitan su desarrollo como alternativa económica para la zona de frontera. Método: Documental y cuantitativo, enfocado en los actores del subsector, con especial énfasis en las Instituciones Prestadoras de Salud, y teniendo como teorías fundamentales, la Cadena de Valor y el Diamante de Porter. Resultados: La región cuenta con la infraestructura, una posición geoestratégica y las condiciones sociales y económicas necesarias, para lograr el surgimiento del subsector,aunque para lograrlo se requiere, principalmente, que las instituciones de salud logren acreditaciones internacionales, sus trabajadores tengan un buen nivel de bilingüismo y se desarrolle una adecuada estrategia de mercadeo y de articulación entre actores del sistema. Conclusiones: Existen las condiciones necesarias para que el turismo de salud se convierta en una alternativa económica viable, siendo necesario diseñar políticas y estrategias dirigidas a la articulación de los actores, el mejoramiento de la infraestructura, la capacitación del recurso humano y la certificación de calidad de las instituciones prestadoras de salud.Abstract Background: The Colombian economy has been characterized by a wide open free market, including current agreements with major trade blocs in the world. This feature requires high competitiveness and diversification conditions, thus national and regional governments must try to promote some sectors that have traditionally been unexploited such as Health Tourism, in order to make it become a world-class industry that contributes to generate economic wealth, employment and diversification of the economy. Health tourism is a growing industry in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Costa Rica, making an important contribution to the GPD. Objective: To establish the chain value in Health Tourism in the Cúcuta area, determining its advantages and disadvantages and proposing strategies for its development as an economic alternative to the border area. Method: Documental and quantitative, focused on Health Provider Institutions, with chain value and porter diamond as fundamental theories. Results: The results indicate that the region has the necessary infrastructure, a geostrategic position and the social and economic conditions that favor the emergence of the sector. It is necessary for the health institutions to obtain international accreditation, bilingual skills of the employees, and an adequate marketing strategy and articulation between the actors of the system. Conclusions: There are conditions for development of health tourism as a viable economic alternative. Design of policies, infrastructure improvement, human resource training, and quality certification of health institutions are necessary.Palabras Clave: Alternativa económica, Cadena de Valor, Norte de Santander, Turismo de Salud.

Internal combustion engines are widely implemented in several applications; however, they still face significant challenges due to the sealing capacity of the compression rings. Gas leakage through the crankcase, also known as blow-by, directly impacts power losses, overall efficiency, and global emissions. Therefore, the present study investigates the influence of parameters such as the ring gap, ring masses, and twist angle of the compression rings on the sealing capacity of the combustion chamber. A mathematical model is proposed to account for geometric, dynamic, and operational characteristics in a single-cylinder diesel engine. The results indicated that the greatest gas losses to the crankcase occur during the compression and combustion stages as a consequence of extreme pressure conditions. Specifically, at least 0.5% of the gases locked in the combustion chamber are released on each cycle, while increasing the mass of the compression rings boosts the gas leakage due to higher inertial forces in the rings. In contrast, a positive twist angle of the compression rings reduced the combustion gases leakage by . Additionally, a combined reduction in the gap of both compression rings minimized the leakage flows by 37%. In conclusion, the proposed model served as a robust tool to evaluate different parameters on the sealing capacity of the combustion chamber that contribute to minimizing global emissions. Secondary piston motion and ring distortion represent significant opportunities in future studies.

The contact between the piston rings and the cylinder liner is an interface with a strong influence on the tribological behavior and, therefore, directly affects the useful life of the engine components and fuel consumption. Due to this importance, the present investigation carried out an analysis of the effects of dimples and the honing groove in the cylinder liner on the tribological characteristics. A tribological model was developed to study the friction forces, minimum film thickness, and friction coefficient for the present investigation. Similarly, a computational fluid dynamics model was built to determine the dynamic movement of the piston. The validation of the numerical model showed a close similarity with the real behavior of the engine, obtaining an average relative error of 14%. The analysis of the results showed that a 3% increase in dimples’ density leads to a 3.79% increase in the minimum lubricant film and a 2.76% decrease in friction force. Additionally, it was shown that doubling the radius and depth of the dimple produces an increase of 3.86% and 1.91% in the thickness of the lubrication film. The most suitable distribution of the dimples on the surface of the cylinder liner corresponds to a square array. In general, the application of dimples and honing grooves in the cylinder liner are promising alternatives to reduce energy losses and minimize wear of engine components.

The present research aims to analyze the kinematic and dynamic behavior of the piston ring package. The development of the research was carried out through the development of numerical simulation by means of CFD. The analysis involves the three piston rings for the development of simulations that are closer to the real conditions of the engine since most of the investigations tend to focus on the study of the compression ring only. The simulation was reinforced by the incorporation of mathematical models, which allow determining the piston kinematics, the lubrication properties as a function of temperature, contact friction, and gas leakage. For the simulation, the CAD of the piston and the connecting rod—crankshaft mechanism was carried out, taking as a reference the geometry of a diesel engine. From the results obtained, it was possible to show that the first ring exhibits considerably greater radial and axial movement compared to the second and third piston rings. Additionally, it was shown that the first and second rings tend to maintain a negative tilt angle throughout the combustion cycle, which facilitates the advancement of the combustion gases over the piston grooves. Therefore, it is necessary to use strategies so that these rings tend to maintain a positive inclination. The analysis of the pressure conditions in the second ring are 150% and 480% higher compared to the conditions present in the third ring. Due to the above, it is necessary to focus efforts on the design of the profile of this ring. The study of energy losses showed that the combination of leakage gases and friction are responsible for a mechanical loss between 6–16%. In general, the development of the proposed methodology is a novel tool for the joint analysis of the kinematic characteristics, pressure conditions, and energy losses. In this way, integrated analysis of changes caused by piston ring designs is possible.

In the present investigation, a study is carried out using numerical simulation on the effects of cylinder deactivation on tribological parameters and emissions in an internal combustion engine. For the development of the research, a tribological model was used to predict the characteristics of the lubrication film, friction conditions, blow-by gas, and deformation of the piston rings. Additionally, the construction of a CFD model was carried out to describe the kinematic movement of the engine piston. The analysis of results allowed for the demonstration of the active cylinders presenting an increase of 21.53% and 7.65% in the pressure and temperature in the cylinder wall. Additionally, the active cylinders present a reduction of 11.33% in the minimum thickness of the lubrication film and an increase in the friction force due to asperities, which implies an increase of 33% in power losses due to friction. The implementation of technologies such as cylinder deactivation causes an increase in combustion gas leaks caused by the increase in pressure of the active cylinders. However, the use of this technology allows reducing 9.09%, 8.26%, and 7.41% in CO, HC, and NO emissions. Although the use of technologies such as cylinder deactivation allows significant fuel savings, it is necessary to consider the negative effects caused by this technology, such as the increase in combustion gas leaks and the increase in power loss by the greatest frictional forces.