MODELLING AND STRESS ANALYSIS OF A MARINE DIESEL PISTON

BY

EDET, JOY EKOMINAM

AK16/ENG/MAE/015

SUBMITTED TO

ENGR. HOPE- IKUE JOHN

THE DEPARTMENT OF MARINE ENGINEERING

AKWA IBOM STATE UNIVERSITY

IKOT AKPADEN

0CTOBER , 2021
 CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Piston is one of the most important components in internal combustion engine which
reciprocates within the cylinder. The main function of the piston is to transfer force
from gas in the cylinder to the crankshaft through connecting rod. Hence design and
analysis of engine components has become more complex, and one of these
components is the engine piston (Venkata Rajam et. al., 2013).

As an important part in an engine, piston endures the cyclic gas pressure and the
inertial forces at work, and this working condition may cause the fatigue damage of
piston, such as piston side wear, piston head/crown cracks and so on. The
investigations indicate that the greatest stress appears on the upper end of the piston
and stress concentration is one of the mainly reason for fatigue failure. On the other
hand piston overheating-seizure can only occur when something burns or scrapes
away the oil film that exists between the piston and the cylinder wall (Shahanwaz and
Prof. Santosh, 2017). There are lots of research works proposing, for engine pistons,
new geometries, materials and manufacturing techniques, and this evolution has
undergone with a continuous improvement over the last decades and required
thorough examination of the smallest details.
Notwithstanding all these studies, there are a huge number of damaged pistons
damage mechanisms have different origins and are mainly wear, temperature,
and fatigue related. But more than wear and fatigue, damage of the piston is mainly
due to stress development, namely- Thermal stress, Mechanical stress (Dilip and
Madhura, 2015).
 This works describes the stress distribution on piston of internal combustion engine
by using ANSYS software base on FEM. The main objectives are to investigate and
analyze the thermal stress and mechanical stress distribution of piston at the real
engine condition during combustion process. SOILD WORKS software for structural
model of a piston will be developed.

In engine, transfer of heat takes place due to difference in temperature and from
higher temperature to lower temperature. Thus, there is heat transfer to the gases
during intakes stroke and the first part of the compression stroke, but the during
combustion and expansion processes the heat transfer take place from the gases to the
walls. So the piston crown, piston ring and the piston skirt should have enough
stiffness which can endure the pressure and the friction between contacting surfaces.
The thermal and mechanical deformation causes piston cracks (Chougule et al.,
2013). Therefore, it is very essential to analyses the stress distribution, temperature
distribution, heat transfer, mechanical load in order to minimize the stress at different
load on piston. In addition, as an important part in engine, the working condition of
piston is directly.

1.2 AIM
The aim of this project is to model and analyze the thermal stress of a marine diesel
engine piston.

1.3 OBJECTIVE
The objective of this project are:
 To model 3D piston using Solid works.
 To determine the thermal stress on the piston
 To determine the maximum stress and critical region on the piston
2.2 Review of past work on stress analysis on piston

According to (Stella Ezeoye, 2019) in her work “design and optimization of marine
two-stroke diesel engine piston” presented a paper on stress analysis on a piston using
Autodesk inventor software. She focused on the linear static stress analysis
simulation, mechanical, thermal and thermal-mechanical stress of the piston design.
This research proves to be helpful in the thermal stress analysis.
An approximate expression of a piston was analyzed numerically with FEA software
named ANSYS workbench to evaluate thermos-mechanical capability under a
predefined thermal and structural load was identified by [CITATION Dip17 \l 1033 ]
They stated that the performance of the engine, weight of the piston been kept
minimum by optimizing different dimensions. Yaohui et al, 2016 investigated the
study of analysis of thermal temperature fields and thermal stress under steady
temperature field of diesel engine piston; present a new calculation method for the
theoretical design of the piston.
Vaishali and Khamankar, 2015) investigated the study of stress analysis of piston
using pressure load and thermal load. The main objective of their proposed study is
to present an overview of existing analyze and stress distribution of piston at actual
engine condition. Pressure analysis, thermal analysis and thermo-mechanical
analysis was done. The different analysis piston models were presented, discussed,
and compared. The compared models are of different level of accuracy. However,
they are suitable for different types of studies and have been utilized for different
purposes. The parameter used for the analysis is operating gas pressure, temperature
and material properties of piston. (Muhammet and Mehmet, 2014) investigated the
comparative study of Temperature and thermal stress analyses of a ceramic-coated
aluminum alloy piston used in a diesel engine. They performed a complementary
and comparative analysis to determine both temperature and thermal stress
distributions in a plasma sprayed magnesia-stabilized zirconia coating on an
aluminum piston crown to improve the performance of a diesel engine.

(Bhagat and Jibhakate, 2012) investigated the study of thermal analysis and
optimization of I.C. engine piston using finite element method to describe the stress
distribution of the seizure on piston four stroke engines by using FEA. The finite
element analysis is performed by using computer aided design (CAD) software. The
main objective is to investigate and analyze the thermal stress distribution of piston
at the real engine condition during combustion process. The work describes the
mesh optimization with using finite element analysis technique to predict the higher
stress and critical region on the component.

Vibhandik et al, 2014, studied that design analysis and optimization of piston and
deformation of its thermal stresses using CAE tool, performed thermal analysis on
conventional diesel piston and secondly on optimized piston made of aluminum
alloy and titanium alloy material. Conventional diesel piston made of structural
steel. The objective of the research was to analyze and reduce the stress
concentration on the upper end of the piston so as to increase life of piston. After
the analysis he conclude that titanium has better thermal property, it also helps to
improve piston qualities but it is expensive for large scale applications, due to
which it can be used in some special cases.

Venkata et al 2013, research on the design analysis and optimization of piston using
CATIA and ANSYS. The objective of the research was to optimize that all
parameters are in consideration. In an optimization of piston, the length is constant
because heat flow is not affected the length, diameter is also made constant due to
same reason. The volume varied after applying temperature and pressure loads over
piston as volume is not only depending on length and diameter but also on thickness
which is more affected.

Manjunatha et al 2013, under look specification for both high pressure and low
pressure stages and analysis is carried out during suction and compression stroke
and identify area those are likely to fail due to maximum stress concentration. The
material used foe the cylinder is cast-iron and for piston aluminum alloy for both
low and high pressure. He concluded that the stress developed during suction and
compression stroke is less than the allowable stress. So the design is safe. The static
and dynamic analysis is carried out which are well below the permissible stress
value. The study of (Lokesh et al., 2015) is related to the material for the piston is
aluminum-silicon composites. The high temperature at piston head, due to direct
contact with gas, thermal boundary conditions is applied and for maximum pressure
mechanical boundary conditions are applied. After all this analysis all values
obtained by the analysis is less than permissible value so the design is safe under
applied loading condition. The study of (R. C. Singh et al., 2014), discussed about
failure of piston in I.C engines, after all the review, it was found that the function
coefficient increases with increasing surface roughness of liner surface and thermal
performance of the piston increases. The stress values obtained from FEA during
analysis is compared with material properties of the piston like aluminum alloy
zirconium material. If those value obtained are less than allowable stress value of
material, then the design is safe.
2.3 Techniques for Stress Analysis

Stress Analysis as the name implies, stress analysis is the complete and
comprehensive study of specimen under consideration. The main objective of stress
analysis is to keep the working stresses within its limits for evaluating the factor for
economical design criteria and to improve the product quality. Material
characteristics can be predicted successfully through stress analysis.

The techniques for stress analysis can be stated as follows

 Analytical techniques
 Experimental techniques
 Numerical Techniques
 Element Used in Finite Element Method

2.4 General Description of Engine Piston

Piston are made of different materials such as Carbon steel, Cast Iron, Aluminum
alloys etc. The piston is one of the most important components of the diesel engine. It
is a disc that reciprocates within the cylinder. As one of the major moving parts in the
power-transmitting assembly, the piston must be so designed that it can withstand the
extreme heat and pressure of combustion. Pistons must also be light enough to keep
inertial loads on related parts to a minimum. As one of the main components in an
engine, pistons technological evolution is expected to continue and they are expected
to be stronger, lighter, thinner and durable. The main reason is because the
mechanical efficiency of an engine is still low and only about 25% of the original
energy is used in brake power[CITATION Tay98 \l 1033 ]. The basic design of the piston
is still pretty much the same. The only change has been the operating environment.
Today’s engines run cleaner, work harder and run hotter than ever before. At the
same time, they are expected to last longer and with minimal maintenance [CITATION
Pay04 \l 1033 ].
2.5 Functions of the Piston in a four-Stroke Diesel Engine:

 It converts the force produced by the combustion gases to mechanical power

through its reciprocating motion to the crankshaft through connecting rod without
loss of gas.
 It disperses a large amount of heat from the combustion chamber to the cylinder
walls.
 The air in the cylinder is compressed by the piston crown while the piston skirt acts
as a guide during the movement of the piston from top dead center (TDC) to bottom
dead center (BDC).
 The piston crown and skirt should have enough stiffness to endure the pressure and
friction between contacting surfaces and resist corrosive combustion products like
heavy fuel oil or marine diesel oil.

2.6 Classification of an Engine Piston

 Trunk piston: consists of piston with elongated skirt to absorb the side thrusts and
attached to the connecting rod by small end rotating bearing.
 Crosshead piston: comprises of piston crown, piston skirt and piston rod which is
connected to crosshead functioning to transfer the side thrust to the engine structure
 Piston of double acting engine
The function of a piston is to transfer the combustion pressure developed to the
connecting rod crankshaft for rotation, lubricate the cylinder liner and carry the
piston ring that prevents gas leakage.

2.7 Piston parts

 Piston Head or crown: piston crowns are design to withstand the high pressure and
temperature that prevail during combustion process.
 Skirt: the piston skirt must be able to withstand the side thrust force developed by
the angularity of the connecting rod movement.
 Piston rings: It is used to seal the cylinder in order to prevent leakage of gas past
the piston.
 Piston pin: It is also called gudgeon pin or wrist pin. It is used to connect the
piston to the connecting rod.

2.8 Piston Force

The piston crown transfers combustion gas forces to the crankshaft via the connecting
rod. The forces on the piston can be illustrated using the diagram in figure 1. The gas
pressure against the piston crown and the oscillating inertial forces referred to in the
following as inertia force of the piston and the connecting rod constitute the piston
force. Due to the reduction of the piston force in the direction of the connecting rod
(rod force is) an additional component arises following the force parallelogram
namely the lateral force also known as the normal force. This force presses the piston
skirt against the cylinder bore. During a combustion cycle, the lateral force changes
direction several times, which presses the piston from one side of the cylinder bore to
the other
2.10 The Nature of the Stresses acting on the Piston
The stresses to which a piston is subjected are compressive and tensile caused by
bending action due to gas pressures, inertia effects, and thermal stresses. When the
crown of a piston is subjected to gas pressures the top surface of the piston is under
compressive loading and the lower surface is under tensile loading. The piston crown
is then behaving somewhat like a uniformly loaded beam. When the piston is moving
upward towards the end of its stroke, retardation occurs and the inertia effects tend to
cause the piston to bow upwards so that the top surface of the piston, together with
the sides, is under tensile loading and the lower surface of the crown is under
compressive loading. The pressure on the top of the piston nullifies the inertia effects
when the piston approaches the top center position in the upward direction.
When the piston is retarded on its approach downwards to bottom-center, the piston
crown tends to bow downwards, and its upper surface and the piston walls are in
compression. The lower surface of the piston crown is then in tension. As the stresses
from inertia effects are in the same direction as those caused by gas pressure on the
piston crown the two stresses become additive; thus when the piston approaches
bottom-dead center the inertia stresses increase the stresses caused by gas pressure.
The thermal stresses set up in a piston are caused by the difference in temperatures
across a section. The free expansion of the hot side is resisted by the cold side which
does not want to expand so much, as it is cooler. This section then sets up thermal
stresses in the material of the piston, these stresses being greatest where the
difference in temperature of the material across any section is greatest (S.G.
Christensen, 2004).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The methodology to be used in this project will primarily be best fitted for a piston
model.
3.1 Piston Design

The 3D piston model was developed in solid works using the dimensions obtained
from the piston available in AKSU marine engineering power plant laboratory.

3.2 DESCRIPTION OF SOFTWARE SOLID WORKS

Solid works is a solid modeling computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided

engineering (CAE) computer program that runs on Microsoft windows. Model in
solid works usually starts with a 2D sketch (although 3D sketches are available for
power users). The sketch consists of geometry such as points, lines, arcs, conics and
splines.

3.3 DESCRIPTION SOFTWARE FEM

The author will use Ansys software based on FINITE ELEMENT METHOD to
carry out stress analysis on the piston.

ANSYS, Inc. is a finite element engineering simulation software (computer-aided

engineering, or CAE) that offers engineering simulation solution a design process
requires. Companies in a wide variety of industries use ANSYS software. It allows
engineers to construct computer models of structures, machine components, or
systems; apply operating loads and other design criteria; and study physical
responses such as stress levels, temperature distributions, pressure etc. It permits an
evaluation of a design without having to build and destroy multiple prototypes in
testing. In the present study software version ANSYS12 has been used.

3.4 FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

FEM is a numerical technique for analyzing engineering designs. FEM is accepted as
the standard analysis method due to its generality and suitability for computer
implementation. FEM divides the model into many small pieces of simple shapes
called elements effectively replacing a complex problem by many simple problems
that need to be solved simultaneously. It is a computer-based method that breaks
geometry into elements joined by nodes and a series of the equation to which
elements are formed. It can be used to calculate deflection, stress, vibration, Buckling
behavior and many other phenomena. In the finite element method, a structure is
broken down into many small simple blocks or elements.
3.5 Modelling
The piston is designed according to the procedure and specification which are given
in machine design and data hand books. The dimensions are calculated in terms of SI
Units. The pressure applied on piston head, temperatures of various areas of the
piston, heat flow, stresses, strains, length, diameter of piston and hole, thicknesses,
etc., parameters are taken into consideration Design Considerations for a Piston.

In designing a piston for an engine, the following points should be taken into
consideration: It should have enormous strength to withstand the high pressure.

 It should have minimum weight to withstand the inertia forces.

 It should form effective oil sealing in the cylinder.

 It should provide sufficient bearing area to prevent undue wear.

 It should have high speed reciprocation without noise.

 It should have sufficient support for the piston pin.

3.6 ENGINE SPECIFICATIONS:

Engine: Detroit v8: 71 Power Marine Diesel Engine

Type: Four Stroke, Water Cooled Diesel  
Bore Diameter: 94mm
No. of cylinder: 8 Cylinder Engine
Stroke Length: 280mm
Temperature: 800oc
Gas Pressure: 55bar
Compression Ratio: 18.7
Combustion Principle: Compression Ignition 
 TABLE 3.1: PISTON DIMENSION

S/N DESCRIPTION NOTATION UNIT VALUE USED

1 Length of Piston l Mm 115.2

2 Outside diameter d Mm 94
of Piston

3 Length of skirt ls Mm 96.2

4 Thickness of tH Mm 15
Piston Head

5 Radial thickness t1 Mm 2
of the ring

6 Axial thickness t2 Mm 2
of the ring

7 Maximum t3 Mm 6
Thickness of
barrel

8 Width of the top b1 Mm 2

land
b2
9 Width of other Mm 5
ring lands

10 Piston pin do Mm 25
diameter
11 Number of rings nr Mm 6

The diagram on figure (3.1:ABC) is the piston model drawn in solidworks software
using the measured dimensions. The sketch was done by activating a cylinder tool on
a 3D modeling tab in the software after which the required diameter was inserted.
Extrude tool was used by filling the required distance after which the command was
executed. Features like revolving, fillet holes, mirror, etc. were used for the sketch.
four compression ring grooves and two oil scraper ring groove were created using a
rectangular pattern. The table below shows the mechanical properties of piston
materials.

3.7 MATERIAL PROPERTIES
Aluminum alloys are widely used in engineering structures and components where
light weight or corrosion resistance is required.  
TABLE 3.2
Mechanical Aluminium
Properties Alloy
Young's 7.1e+010
Modulus Pa
Poisson's 0.33
Ratio
Shear 2.6692e+010
Modulus Pa
Density 2770 kg m^-3
Tensile Yield 2.8e+008
Strength Pa
Tensile 3.1e+008
Ultimate
Strength Pa