CRANKSHAFT

The crankshaft is an important IC engine member which

converts the reciprocating motion of the piston into rotary
motion in conjunction with a connecting rod.

It consists of three portions: crank pin, crank web and shaft.

The big end of the connecting rod is connected to the crank
pin. The crank web connects the crank pin to the shaft
portion. The shaft portion rotates in the main bearings and
transmits power to the outside source through belt drive,
gear drive or chain drive.

MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

There are two types of crankshafts: side crankshaft and
centre crankshaft as shown in the figure:

The side crankshaft is also known as the overhung

crankshaft . It has only one crank web and requires only
two bearings for support. It is used in medium size engines
and large size horizontal engines.
MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
The centre crankshaft has two crank webs and three bearings
for support. It is used radial aircraft engines, stationary
engines & marine engines.

Crankshafts are also classified as single- throw (having one

crank pin) and multi- throw depending upon the number of
crank pins (having more than one crank pins).

A crankshaft should have sufficient strength to withstand the

bending & twisting moments to which it is subjected. In
addition, it should have sufficient rigidity to keep the lateral &
angular deflections within permissible limits.

The crankshaft is subjected to fluctuating stresses & should

have sufficient
MUKESH GUPTAendurance strength.
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
The crankshafts are made by the forging process. The
materials used for making of crankshafts are: plain carbon
steels (40C8, 45C8, 50C4) & alloy steels (16Ni3Cr2,
35Ni5Cr2 & 40Ni10Cr3Mo6).

MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

 DESIGN OF CENTRE CRANKSHAFT

A crankshaft is subjected to the bending and torsional

moments due to the following three forces:

(a) Force exerted by the connecting rod on the crank pin.

(b) Weight of the flywheel (W) acting in the downward
direction.
(c) Resultant belt tensions acting in the horizontal direction
(P1 + P2 ).

In the design of the crankshaft two cases are considered.

MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

CENTRE CRANKSHAFT AT TOP DEAD POSITION

The forces acting on the centre crankshaft at the top dead

centre position. The crankshaft is supported on three
bearings 1, 2 and 3.

Assumptions:

(a) The engine is vertical and the crank is at the top dead
centre position.
(b) The belt drive is horizontal.
(c) The crankshaft is simply supported on bearings.
MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
BEARING REACTIONS:

(a) The reactions at the bearings 1 & 2 due to force on the

crank pin (Pp ) are denoted by R1 and R2 followed by
the suffix letters v and h.

(b) The reactions at the bearings 2 and 3 due to weight of

the flywheel (W) and the sum of the belt tensions (P1 +
P2 ) and are denoted by R2’ and R3’ followed by the
suffix letters v and h.

MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

 Let

Pp = force acting on the crank pin

D = diameter of the piston
Pmax = maximum gas pressure inside the cylinder
W = weight of the flywheel
P1 = belt tension on the tight side
P2 = belt tension on the slack side
b = distance between the main bearings 1 & 2
c = distance between the bearings 2 & 3

At the top dead centre position, the thrust on the

connecting rod is equal to the force on the piston.

Pp = {Πd2 / 4} * pmax
MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
It is assumed that the portion of the crankshaft between
bearings 1 & 2 is simply supported on the bearings and
subjected to force Pp . Taking the moment of forces:

Similarly

MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

 It is also assumed that the portion of the crankshaft
between bearings 2 & 3 is simply supported on bearings
and subjected to a vertical force W and horizontal force
(P1 + P2 ). Taking the moments of forces:

MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

 or

The resultant reactions at the bearings are given as:

MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

 DESIGN OF THE CRANKPIN

As shown in the fig. the central plane of the crank pin is

subjected to maximum bending moment.

MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

 Let

dc = diameter of the crank pin

lc = length of the crank pin
σb = allowable bending stress

The bending moment at the central plane is given by

(Mb )c = (R1)v * b1

Putting the values

(Mb )c = (π / 32 dc3 ) σb

MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

 The length of the crank pin is determined by bearing
consideration. Let,

pb = allowable bearing pressure on the crank

pin bush

pb = Pp / dc lc

DESIGN OF CRANK WEBS

Let

w = width of the crank web

t = thickness of the crank web
MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
The dimensions of the crank web are calculated by
empirical relations given below:

t = 0.7dc
w = 1.14 dc

The left crank web is subjected to eccentric load (R1)v .

There are two types of stresses on the central plane of the
crank web: direct compressive stress and the bending
stress due to the eccentricity of reaction (R1)v .

The compressive stress is given by

σc = (R1)v / wt
MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
 The bending moment is given by

MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

 The total compressive stress is given by

(σc )t = σc + σb

The total compressive stress should be less than the

allowable bending stress.

DESIGN OF SHAFT UNDER FLYWHEEL

The forces acting on the shaft under the flywheel are

shown in the fig.

MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Let

ds = diameter of the shaft

The bending moment is the vertical plane due to the

weight of the flywheel is given as

(Mb )v = (R3’ )v c2

The resultant bending moment is given by

MUKESH GUPTA DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING