Structural and Thermal Expansion Analysis of Multiple Piston and Connecting Rod Assemblies

The piston and connecting rod are two fundamental elements of an engine. If an ideal material can be found it is possible to design a piston weighing less than a traditional one requiring less inertial forces to move the piston. Connecting rods come in various shapes and sizes. Determining the ideal geometry will give the connecting rod with highest life expectancy. The objectives of this work are to analyze different materials, and geometries for the piston, piston head, connection rod, and crankshaft. Von Mises stresses, and total deformation were determined at various loading conditions. Three materials aluminum, steel, and titanium were tested for the piston head, connecting rod for a structural analysis. In ANSYS Workbench a compressive force of 5000 N was applied to the connecting rod for simulation. Equivalent (von-Mises) stress was determined and compared to the compressive yield strength for each material to see if the rod would buckle under the compressive load. Total deformation was also determined after the simulations and compared for the materials in order to choose the material and geometry that would perform the best