Theory and Design of Automotive Engines

THEORY AND DESIGN
OF
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINES
Syllabus
I Introduction
1 General - Historical development of automobiles, Types of power plant, Principle of engine operation,
Classification of engines.
2. Two stroke & four stroke engines; Principles of engine operation (SI & CI), Scavenging - systems,
theoretical processes, parameters, relative merits & demerits; Port timing diagrams, port design.
Relative merits & demerits compared to petrol & diesel engines, scavenging pumps.
II Engine components
Classification/types, function, materials, construction details, design and manufacturing processes of
the following engine components
3. Cylinders and liners - design, cylinder wear and corrosion, details of water jacket, dry and wet liners,
Cylinder head - design;
4. Piston, piston rings, piston pin - design - stress analysis, methods of manufacture, compensation of
thermal expansion in pistons, heat treatment, piston ring selection, limits of fit for pins
5. Connecting rod - design, effects of whipping, bearing materials, lubrication
6. Crank shaft - design, firing order, balancing and torsional vibration analysis, vibration dampers,
bearings,. Lubrication
7. Flywheel - design; Camshaft - drives of cams, materials, Types (only descriptive)
8. Valve and valve mechanism - design, types of valve operating mechanisms, valve springs, guides,
push rods, rocker arms, tappets, valve timing diagrams
9. Crank Case- Design of crank case, oil sumps and cooling features
10. Manifolds-construction and design of inlet and exhaust manifolds.
TEXT BOOKS:
I. High Speed Engines - P .M.Heldt, Oxford & IBH , 1965
2. Auto Design - R.B Gupta, Satya Prakashan, New Delhi 1999
REFERENCE BOOKS:
I.A course in I.c. Engine - Mathur & Sharma, Dhanput Rai & Sons, Delhi, 1994
2.Automobile Engineering VoU & II - Kirpal Singh, Standard publications, New Delhi, 1972
3. Modem Petrol Engine ~ A.W.Judge, B.I. Publications. 1983
4. I.c. Engine - Maleev &Litchy, McGrawHill
5. I.C.Engines - H.B.Keshwani, Standard Pub New Delhi., 1982
6. Fundamentals of I.C.Engines - J.B.Heywood
7. Machine design exercises - S.N.Trikha, Khanna publications, Delhi
8. Automotive mechanics - N.K.Giri, Khanna publications,Delhi
9. Automotive mechanics - William H. Crouse, Tata Mc,Graw Hill Publications Co. New Delhi
10. I.C.Engines and Air Pollution - B.P.Obel'rlntext harper & Roni Pub, New york
)
Scheme of Examination (AU511)
Answer any FIVE questions out of EIGHT questions.
Chapter No.
Question
1 &2
2
3
I
4
I
5
I
6
I
7
I
8, 9&10
I
THEORY AND DESIGN OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINES
Theory and Design of Automotive Engines
CHAPTER - 1
HISTORY
Automobiles through the Years - Since they originated in the late 1800s, automobiles have
changed and developed in response to consumer wishes, economic conditions, and advancing
technology. The first gas-powered vehicles looked like horse buggies with engines mounted underneath
because this was the style to which people were accustomed. By 1910, however, features like the frontmounted engine were already established, giving the automobile a look that was all its own. As public
demand for cars increased, the vehicles became more stylized. The classic cars of the 1920s and 1930s
epitomize the sleek, individually designed luxury cars called the classic cars. During the 1940s and
1950s, automobiles generally became larger until the advent of the compact car, which immediately
became a popular alternative. The gasoline crisis is reflected in the fuel efficient cars made in the 1970s
and 1980s. Current designs continue to reflect economy awareness, although many different markets
exist.
The history of the automobile actually began about 4,000 years ago when the first wheel was
used for transportation in India.
In the early 15th century the Portuguese arrived in China and the interaction of the two cultures
led to a variety of new technologies, including the creation of a wheel that turned under its own power.
By the 1600s small steam-powered engine models had been developed, but it was another century
before a full-sized engine-powered vehicle was created.
In 1769 French Army officer Captain Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built what has been called the first
automobile. Cugnots three-wheeled, steam-powered vehicle carried four persons. Designed to move
artillery pieces, it had a top speed of a little more than 3.2 km/h (2 mph) and had to stop every 20
minutes to build up a fresh head of steam.
Cugnot
Steam
Tractor
-the
first
selfpropelled
road
vehicle, thus, the
earliest automobile.
Powered by steam,
the three-wheeled
tractor- invented in
1769 by NicolasJoseph
Cugnot.
designed to carry
artillery, but similar
vehicles
soon
found many other
uses in industry.
As early as 1801, successful but very heavy steam automobiles were introduced in England.
Laws barred them from public roads and forced their owners to run them like trains on private tracks.
In 1802 a steam-powered coach designed by British engineer Richard Trevithick journeyed more than
160 km (100 mi) from Cornwall to London. Steam power caught the attention of other vehicle builders.
In 1804 American inventor Oliver Evans built a steam-powered vehicle in Chicago, Illinois. French
engineer Onsiphore Pecqueur built one in 1828.
British inventor Walter Handcock built a series of steam carriages in the mid-1830s that were
used for the first omnibus service in London.
By the mid-1800s England had an extensive network of steam coach lines. Horse-drawn
stagecoach companies and the new railroad companies pressured the British Parliament to approve
heavy tolls on steam-powered road vehicles. The tolls quickly drove the steam coach operators out of
business.
During the early 20th century steam cars were popular in the United States. Most famous was
the Stanley Steamer, built by American twin brothers Freelan and Francis Stanley. A Stanley Steamer
established a world land speed record in 1906 of 205.44 km/h (121.573 mph). Manufacturers produced
about 125 models of steam-powered automobiles, including the Stanley, until 1932.
By B Dinesh Prabhu, Assistant Professor, P E S College of Engineering, Mandya, KARNATAKA

Internal-Combustion Engine
Development of lighter steam cars during the 19th century coincided with major developments
in engines that ran on gasoline or other fuels. Because the newer engines burned fuel in cylinders inside
the engine, they were called internal-combustion engines.
In 1860 French inventor Jean-Joseph-tienne Lenoir patented a one-cylinder engine that used
kerosene for fuel. Two years later, a vehicle powered by Lenoirs engine reached a top speed of about
6.4 km/h (about 4 mph).
In 1864 Austrian inventor Siegfried Marcus built and drove a carriage propelled by a twocylinder gasoline engine.
American George Brayton patented an internal-combustion engine that was displayed at the
1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In 1876 German engineer Nikolaus August Otto built a four-stroke gas engine, the most direct ancestor
to todays automobile engines. In a four-stroke engine the pistons move down to draw fuel vapor into
the cylinder during stroke one; in stroke two, the pistons move up to compress the vapor; in stroke three
the vapor explodes and the hot gases push the pistons down the cylinders; and in stroke four the pistons
move up to push exhaust gases out of the cylinders. Engines with two or more cylinders are designed so
combustion occurs in one cylinder after the other instead of in all at once. Two-stroke engines
accomplish the same steps, but less efficiently and with more exhaust emissions.
Automobile manufacturing began in earnest in Europe by the late 1880s.
German engineer Gottlieb Daimler and German inventor Wilhelm Maybach mounted a gasolinepowered engine onto a bicycle, creating a motorcycle, in 1885.
In 1887 they manufactured their first car, which included a steering tiller and a four-speed
gearbox. Another German engineer, Karl Benz, produced his first gasoline car in 1886.
Early Car
The first practical car, built
by German engineer Karl
Benz in 1885, initiated the
era
of
automobile
manufacturing. Benz made
improvements to the internal
combustion
engine
and
invented the differential drive
and
other
automotive
components. The company
Benz founded grew into one
of the largest automobile
manufacturers in Germany.
In 1890 Daimler and Maybach started a successful car manufacturing company, The Daimler
Motor Company, which eventually merged with Benzs manufacturing firm in 1926 to create DaimlerBenz. The joint company makes cars today under the Mercedes-Benz nameplate.
In France, a company called Panhard-Levassor began making cars in 1894 using Daimlers
patents. Instead of installing the engine under the seats, as other car designers had done, the company
introduced the design of a front-mounted engine under the hood. Panhard-Levassor also introduced, a
clutch and gears, and separate construction of the chassis, or underlying structure of the car, and the car
body. The companys first model was a gasoline-powered buggy steered by a tiller.
French bicycle manufacturer Armand Peugeot saw the Panhard-Levassor car and designed an
automobile using a similar Daimler engine. In 1891 this first Peugeot automobile paced a 1,046-km
(650-mi) professional bicycle race between Paris and Brest.
Other French automobile manufacturers opened shop in the late 1800s, including Renault.
In Italy, Fiat (Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino) began building cars in 1899.

American automobile builders were not far behind. Brothers Charles Edgar Duryea and James
Frank Duryea built several gas-powered vehicles between 1893 and 1895. The first Duryea, a onecylinder, four-horsepower model, looked much like a Panhard-Levassor model.
Horseless Carriage
The original horseless carriage was introduced in
1893 by brothers Charles and Frank Duryea. It was
Americas first internal-combustion motor car, and it
was followed by Henry Fords first experimental car
that same year.
In 1893 American industrialist

Henry Ford built an internal-combustion
engine from plans he saw in a magazine. In
1896 he used an engine to power a vehicle
mounted on bicycle wheels and steered by a
tiller.
Early Electric Cars
For a few decades in the 1800s, electric engines enjoyed great popularity because they were
quiet and ran at slow speeds that were less likely to scare horses and people. By 1899 an electric car
designed and driven by Belgian inventor Camille Jenatzy set a record of 105.8810 km/h (65.79 mph).
Early electric cars featured a large bank of storage batteries under the hood. Heavy cables connected the
batteries to a motor between the front and rear axles. Most electric cars had top speeds of 48 km/h (30
mph), but could go only 80 km (50 mi) before their batteries needed recharging. Electric automobiles
were manufactured in quantity in the United States until 1930.
Automobiles in the 20th century
For many years after the introduction of automobiles, three kinds of power sources were in
common use: steam engines, gasoline engines, and electric motors.
In 1900 more than 2,300 automobiles were registered in New York City; Boston, Massachusetts; and
Chicago, Illinois. Of these, 1,170 were steam cars, 800 were electric cars, and only 400 were gasoline
cars. Gasoline-powered engines eventually became the nearly universal choice for automobiles because
they allowed longer trips and faster speeds than engines powered by steam or electricity.
Improvements in the operating and riding qualities of gasoline automobiles developed quickly
after 1900. The 1902 Locomobile was the first American car with a four-cylinder, water-cooled, frontmounted gasoline engine, very similar in design to most cars today. Built-in baggage compartments
appeared in 1906, along with weather resistant tops and side curtains. An electric self-starter was
introduced in 1911 to replace the hand crank used to start the engine turning. Electric headlights were
introduced at about the same time.
Most automobiles at the turn of the 20th century appeared more or less like horseless carriages.
In 1906 gasoline-powered cars were produced that had a style all their own. In these new models, a
hood covered the front-mounted engine. Two kerosene or acetylene lamps mounted to the front served
as headlights. Cars had fenders that covered the wheels and step-up platforms called running boards,
which helped passengers, get in and out of the vehicle. The passenger compartment was behind the
engine. Although drivers of horse-drawn vehicles usually sat on the right, automotive steering wheels
were on the left in the United States.

In 1903 Henry Ford incorporated the Ford Motor Company, which introduced its first
automobile, the Model A, in that same year. It closely resembled the 1903 Cadillac, which was hardly
surprising since Ford had designed cars the previous year for the Cadillac Motor Car Company. Fords
company rolled out new car models each year, and each model was named with a letter of the alphabet.
By 1907, when models R and S appeared, Fords share of the domestic automobile market had soared to
35 percent.
Ford Model T
A Ford Model T
rolls
off
the
assembly
line.
Between 1908 and
1927, Ford built 15
million Model Ts.
Fords famous Model T debuted in 1908 but was called a 1909 Ford. Ford built 17,771 Model
Ts and offered nine body styles. Popularly known as the Tin Lizzy, the Model T became one of the
biggest-selling automobiles of all time. Ford sold more than 15 million before stopping production of
the model in 1927. The companys innovative assembly-line method of building the cars was widely
adopted in the automobile industry.
Silver Ghost
One of the highest-rated early
luxury automobiles, the 1909
Rolls-Royce
Silver
Ghosts
features included a quiet 6cylinder engine, leather interior,
folding windscreens and hood,
and an aluminum body. Generally
driven only by chauffeurs, the
emphasis of the luxury car was on
comfort and style rather than
speed.
By 1920 more than 8 million Americans owned cars. Major reasons for the surge in automobile
ownership were Fords Model T, the assembly-line method of building it, and the affordability of cars
for the ordinary wage earner.

Improvements in engine-powered cars during the 1920s contributed to their popularity:
synchromesh transmissions for easier gear shifting; four-wheel hydraulic brake systems; improved
carburetors; shatterproof glass; balloon tires; heaters; and mechanically operated windshield wipers.
Phaeton
Cars of the 1920s exhibited design refinements such as
balloon tires, pressed-steel wheels, and four-wheel
brakes. Although assembly lines (which originated with
Henry Ford in 1908) continued to bring the price of
automobiles down, many cars in this time were one-ofa-kind
vintage
models,
made
to
individual
specifications. The 1929 Graham Paige DC Phaeton
shown here featured an 8-cylinder engine and an
aluminum body.
From 1930 to 1937, automobile engines and bodies became large and luxurious. Many 12- and
16-cylinder cars were built. Independent front suspension, which made the big cars more comfortable,
appeared in 1933. Also introduced during the 1930s were stronger, more reliable braking systems, and
higher-compression engines, which developed more horsepower. Mercedes introduced the worlds first
diesel car in 1936.
Automobiles on both sides of the Atlantic were styled with gracious proportions, long hoods,
and pontoon-shaped fenders. Creative artistry merged with industrial design to produce appealing,
aerodynamic automobiles.
De Luxe Sedan
The roomy interior
and rear-hinged back
door of this 1937
Pontiac
De Luxe
sedan represent a
move toward a car
more suited to the
needs of families.
With
these
consumers in mind,
cars were designed
to be convenient,
reliable, and relatively
inexpensive. Vehicles
in the 1930s were
generally less boxy
and more streamlined
than
their
predecessors.
Some of the first vehicles to fully incorporate the fender into the bodywork came along just after
World War II, but the majority of designs still had separate fenders with pontoon shapes holding
headlight assemblies. Three companies, Ford, Nash, and Hudson Motor Car Company, offered postwar
designs that merged fenders into the bodywork. The 1949 Ford was a landmark in this respect, and its
new styling was so well accepted the car continued in production virtually unchanged for three years,
selling more than 3 million. During the 1940s, sealed-beam headlights, tubeless tires, and the automatic
transmission were introduced.
Two schools of styling emerged in the 1950s, one on each side of the Atlantic. The Europeans
continued to produce small, light cars weighing less than 1,300 kg (2,800 lb). European sports cars of
that era featured hand-fashioned aluminum bodies over a steel chassis and framework.
Studebaker
This 1940 Studebaker Champion two-door sedan was
designed by Raymond Loewy and built by Studebaker
craftsmen. Features emerging in the 1940s include
automatic transmission, sealed-beam headlights, and
tubeless tires.
In America, automobile designers borrowed features for their cars that were normally found on
aircraft and ships, including tailfins and portholes. Automobiles were produced that had more space,
more power, and smoother riding capability. Introduction of power steering and power brakes made
bigger cars easier to handle. The Buick Motor Car Company, Olds Motor Vehicle Company
(Oldsmobile), Cadillac Automobile Company, and Ford all built enormous cars, some weighing as
much as 2,495 kg (5,500 lb). The first import by German manufacturer Volkswagen AG, advertised as
the Beetle, arrived in the United States in 1949. Only two were sold that year, but American consumers
soon began buying the Beetle and other small imports by the thousands.
VW Beetle
The Volkswagen Beetle dominated the
market for several years, during which few
modifications were made on the original
design. Volkswagens name means car for
the people, and the car served at least two
important consumer needs. The rearmounted engine and small, rounded, buglike
shape of the European car represented an
appealing combination of look and economy
that remained popular for more than four
decades.
That prompted a downsizing of some American-made vehicles. The first American car called a
compact was the Nash Rambler. Introduced in 1950, it did not attract buyers on a large scale until 1958.
More compacts, smaller in overall size than a standard car but with virtually the same interior body
dimensions, emerged from the factories of many major manufacturers. The first Japanese imports, 16
compact trucks, arrived in the United States in 1956.
In the 1950s new automotive features were introduced, including air conditioning and
electrically operated car windows and seat adjusters. Manufacturers changed from the 6-volt to the 12volt ignition system, which gave better engine performance and more reliable operation of the growing
number of electrical accessories.
By 1960 sales of foreign and domestic compacts accounted for about one-third of all passenger
cars sold in the United States. American cars were built smaller, but with increased engine size and
horsepower. Heating and ventilating systems became standard equipment on even the least expensive
models. Automatic transmissions, power brakes, and power steering became widespread. Styling
sometimes prevailed over practicalitysome cars were built in which the engines had to be lifted to
allow simple service operations, like changing the spark plugs. Back seats were designed with no
legroom.
Gullwing
Powerful high-performance cars
such as this 1957 Mercedes-Benz
300SL were built on compact and
stylized lines. Also called the
Gullwing because its doors open
upward into the shape of a gulls
wings, the 300SL was capable of
230 kmh (144 mph), its on-road
performance matching its racing
capacity.
El Dorado
This 1957 Cadillac El Dorado
convertible epitomizes the large cars of
the American Dream era. Tail fins are
an example of a trend in car design.
Although the feature did little for the
performance of the vehicle, consumers
loved the look, and demanded fins of
increasing size until the 1960s.
Mustang
More
than
100,000
Ford
Mustangs sold during first four
months the model was on the
market in 1964, making it Fords
best early sales success since
the introduction of the Model T. A
vehicle from the muscle car
category, the Mustangs popular
characteristics included a small,
fast design, excellent handling, a
powerful engine, and a distinctive
look.
In the 1970s American manufacturers continued to offer smaller, lighter models in addition to
the bigger sedans that led their product lines, but Japanese and European compacts continued to sell
well. Catalytic converters were introduced to help reduce exhaust emissions.
Digital speedometers and electronic prompts to service parts of the vehicle appeared in the
1980s. Japanese manufacturers opened plants in the United States. At the same time, sporty cars and
family minivans surged in popularity.

Advances in automobile technology in the 1980s included better engine control and the use of
innovative types of fuel. In 1981 Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) introduced an on-board
computer to monitor engine performance. A solar-powered vehicle, SunRaycer, traveled 3,000 km
(1,864 mi) in Australia in six days.
MR-2 Turbo
Modern
cars
like
the
Japanese 1992 MR-2 Turbo
T-bar Toyota are generally
light,
aerodynamically
shaped,
and
compact.
Japanese imports changed
the
automobile
industry
significantly. The generally
reliable, inexpensive cars
increased
competition
between
manufacturers
dramatically, to the benefit of
consumers.
New technologies
Gas-Electric Hybrids
The Toyota Prius,

a four-seat hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), was the first
HEV to be marketed when Toyota introduced it in Japan
in 1997.
The Honda Insight,

a two-seat HEV, followed in 1999 when it was sold in
both Japan and the United States. The Prius had its U.S.
debut in 2000.
Gas-Electric Hybrids The Toyota Prius, a four-seat hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), was the first
HEV to be marketed when Toyota introduced it in Japan in 1997. The Honda Insight, a two-seat HEV,
followed in 1999 when it was sold in both Japan and the United States. The Prius had its U.S. debut in
2000.
Pollution-control laws adopted at the beginning of the 1990s in some of the United States and in
Europe called for automobiles that produced better gas mileage with lower emissions. In 1996 General
Motors became the first to begin selling an all-electric car, the EV1, to California buyers. The allelectric cars introduced so far have been limited by low range, long recharges, and weak consumer
interest.

Engines that run on hydrogen have been tested. Hydrogen combustion produces only a trace of
harmful emissions, no carbon dioxide, and a water-vapor by-product. However, technical problems
related to the gass density and flammability remains to be solved.
Diesel engines burn fuel more efficiently, and produce fewer pollutants, but they are noisy.
Popular in trucks and heavy vehicles, diesel engines are only a small portion of the automobile market.
A redesigned, quieter diesel engine introduced by Volkswagen in 1996 may pave the way for more
diesels, and less pollution, in passenger cars.
While some developers searched for additional alternatives, others investigated ways to combine
electricity with liquid fuels to produce low-emissions power systems. Two automobiles with such
hybrid engines, the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight, became available in the late 1990s. Prius hit
automobile showrooms in Japan in 1997, selling 30,000 models in its first two years of production. The
Prius became available for sale in North America in 2000. The Honda Insight debuted in North America
in late 1999. Both vehicles, known as hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), promised to double the fuel
efficiency of conventional gasoline-powered cars while significantly reducing toxic emissions.
Computer control of automobile systems increased dramatically during the 1990s. The central
processing unit (CPU) in modern engines manages overall engine performance. Microprocessors
regulating other systems share data with the CPU. Computers manage fuel and air mixture ratios,
ignition timing, and exhaust-emission levels. They adjust the antilock braking and traction control
systems. In many models, computers also control the air conditioning and heating, the sound system,
and the information displayed in the vehicles dashboard.
Expanded use of computer technology, development of stronger and lighter materials, and
research on pollution control will produce better, smarter automobiles.
In the 1980s the notion that a car would talk to its driver was science fiction; by the 1990s it
had become reality.
Onboard navigation was one of the new automotive technologies in the 1990s. By using the
satellite-aided global positioning system (GPS), a computer in the automobile can pinpoint the vehicles
location within a few meters. The onboard navigation system uses an electronic compass, digitized
maps, and a display screen showing where the vehicle is relative to the destination the driver wants to
reach. After being told the destination, the computer locates it and directs the driver to it, offering
alternative routes if needed.
Some cars now come equipped with GPS locator beacons, enabling a GPS system operator to
locate the vehicle, map its location, and if necessary, direct repair or emergency workers to the scene.
Cars equipped with computers and cellular telephones can link to the Internet to obtain constantly
updated traffic reports, weather information, route directions, and other data. Future built-in computer
systems may be used to automatically obtain business information over the Internet and manage
personal affairs while the vehicles owner is driving.
During the 1980s and 1990s, manufacturers trimmed 450 kg (1,000 lb) from the weight of the
typical car by making cars smaller. Less weight, coupled with more efficient engines, doubled the gas
mileage obtained by the average new car between 1974 and 1995. Further reductions in vehicle size are
not practical, so the emphasis has shifted to using lighter materials, such as plastics, aluminum alloys,
and carbon composites, in the engine and the rest of the vehicle.
Looking ahead, engineers are devising ways to reduce driver errors and poor driving habits.
Systems already exist in some locales to prevent intoxicated drivers from starting their vehicles. The
technology may be expanded to new vehicles. Anti-collision systems with sensors and warning signals
are being developed. In some, the cars brakes automatically slow the vehicle if it is following another
vehicle too closely. New infrared sensors or radar systems may warn drivers when another vehicle is in
their blind spot.
Catalytic converters work only when they are warm, so most of the pollution they emit occurs in
the first few minutes of operation. Engineers are working on ways to keep the converters warm for
longer periods between drives, or heat the converters more rapidly.

Types of power plant
An engine is a device which transforms one form of energy into another form. However, while
transforming energy from one form to another, the efficiency of conversion plays an important role.
Normally, most of the engines convert thermal energy into mechanical work and therefore they are
called 'heat engines'.
Heat engine is a device which transforms the chemical energy of a fuel into thermal energy and
utilizes this thermal energy to perform useful work. Thus, thermal energy is converted to mechanical
energy in a heat engine.
Heat engines can be broadly classified into two categories:
(i) Internal Combustion Engines (IC Engines)
(ii) External Combustion Engines (EC Engines)
Table 1.1 Classification of heat engines
Engines whether Internal Combustion or External Combustion are of two types, viz.,
(i) Rotary engines
(ii) Reciprocating engines
Of the various types of heat engines, the most widely used ones are the reciprocating internal
combustion engine, the gas turbine and the steam turbine. The steam engine is rarely used nowadays.
The reciprocating internal combustion engine enjoys some advantages over the steam turbine due to the
absence of heat exchangers in the passage of the working fluid (boilers and condensers in steam turbine
plant). This results in a considerable mechanical simplicity and improved power plant efficiency of the
internal combustion engine.
Fig.1.1
Classification of heat engines
10

Another advantage of the reciprocating internal combustion engine over the other two types is
that all its components work at an average temperature which is much below the maximum temperature
of the working fluid in the cycle. This is because the high temperature of the working fluid in the cycle
persists only for a very small fraction of the cycle time. Therefore, very high working fluid temperatures
can be employed resulting in higher thermal efficiency.
Further, in internal combustion engines, higher thermal efficiency can be obtained with
moderate maximum working pressure of the fluid in the cycle, and therefore, the weight of power ratio
is less than that of the steam turbine plant. Also, it has been possible to develop reciprocating internal
combustion engines of very small power output (power output of even a fraction of a kilowatt) with
reasonable thermal efficiency and cost.
The main disadvantage of this type of engine is the problem of vibration caused by the
reciprocating components. Also, it is not possible to use a variety of fuels in these engines. Only liquid
or gaseous fuels of given specification can be efficiently used. These fuels are relatively more
expensive.
Considering all the above factors the reciprocating internal combustion engines have been found
suitable for use in automobiles, motor-cycles and scooters, power boats, ships, slow speed aircraft,
locomotives and power units of relatively small output.
External Combustion and Internal Combustion Engines
External combustion engines are those in which combustion takes place outside the engine
whereas in internal combustion engines combustion takes place within the engine. For example, in a
steam engine or a steam turbine, the heat generated due to the combustion of fuel is employed to
generate high pressure steam which is used as the working fluid in a reciprocating engine or a turbine.
In case of gasoline or diesel engines, the products of combustion generated by the combustion of fuel
and air within the cylinder form the working fluid.
Principle of engine operation (4 stroke & 2 stroke operating cycles)
In reciprocating engines, the piston moves back and forth
in a cylinder and transmits power through a connecting rod and
crank mechanism to the drive shaft as shown in Fig1.2. The steady
rotation of the crank produces a cyclical piston motion. The piston
comes to rest at the top center (TC) crank position and bottomcenter (BC) [These crank positions are also referred to as topdead-center (TDC) and bottom-dead-center (BDC)] crank position
when the cylinder volume is a minimum or maximum,
respectively. The minimum cylinder volume is called the
clearance volume.
The volume swept out by the piston, the difference
between the maximum or total volume Vt and the clearance
volume, is called the displaced or swept volume Vd. The ratio of
maximum volume to minimum volume is the compression ratio rc.
Typical values of rc are 8 to 12 for SI engines and 12 to 24 for CI
engines.
Fig 1.2
Basic geometry of the reciprocating internal combustion engine.
Vc, Vd, and Vt, indicate clearance, displaced, and total cylinder volumes.
11
Fig.1.3 :-The four-stroke operating cycle.
The majority of reciprocating engines operate on what is known as the four-stroke cycle. Each
cylinder requires four strokes of its piston-two revolutions of the crankshaft-to complete the sequence of
events which produces one power stroke. Both SI and CI engines use this cycle which comprises
1. An intake stroke, which starts with the piston at TC and ends with the piston at BC, which draws
fresh mixture into the cylinder. To increase the mass inducted, the inlet valve opens shortly before the
stroke starts and closes after it ends.
2. A compression stroke, when both valves are closed and the mixture inside the cylinder is compressed
to a small fraction of its initial volume. Toward the end of the compression stroke, combustion is
initiated and the cylinder pressure rises more rapidly.
3. A power stroke, or expansion stroke, which starts with the piston at TC and ends at BC as the hightemperature, high-pressure, gases push the piston down and force the crank to rotate. About five times
as much work is done on the piston during the power stroke as the piston had to do during compression.
As the piston approaches BC the exhaust valve opens to initiate the exhaust process and drop the
cylinder pressure to close to the exhaust pressure.
4 An exhaust stroke, where the remaining burned gases exit the cylinder: first, because the cylinder
pressure may be substantially higher than the exhaust pressure; then as they are swept out by the piston
as it moves toward TC. As the piston approaches TC the inlet valve opens. Just after TC the exhaust
valve closes and the cycle starts again.
Though often called the Otto cycle after its inventor, Nicolaus Otto, who built the first engine
operating on these principles in 1876, the more descriptive four-stroke nomenclature is preferred.
The four-stroke cycle requires, for each engine cylinder, two crankshaft revolutions for each
power stroke.
To obtain a higher power output from a given engine size, and a simpler valve design, the twostroke cycle was developed. The two-stroke cycle is applicable to both SI and CI engines.
12

Figure 1.4 shows one of the simplest types of two-stroke engine designs. Ports in the cylinder
liner opened and closed by the piston motion, control the exhaust and inlet flows while the piston is
close to BC. The two strokes are:
A compression stroke, which starts by closing the inlet and exhaust ports, and then compresses
the cylinder contents and draws fresh charge into the crankcase. As the piston approaches TC,
combustion is initiated.
Fig.1.4 The two-stroke operating cycle.
A crankcase-scavenged engine
A power or expansion stroke, similar to that in the four-stroke cycle until the piston approaches
BC, when first the exhaust ports and then the intake ports are uncovered. Most of the burnt gases exit
the cylinder in an exhaust blow down process. When the inlet ports are uncovered, the fresh charge
which has been compressed in the crankcase flows into the cylinder.
The piston and the ports are generally shaped to deflect the incoming charge from flowing directly into
the exhaust ports and to achieve effective scavenging of the residual gases.
Each engine cycle with one power stroke is completed in one crankshaft revolution. However, it
is difficult to fill completely the displaced volume with fresh charge, and some of the fresh mixture
flows directly out of the cylinder during the scavenging process. The example shown is a crossscavenged design; other approaches use loop-scavenging or uniflow systems
13

Engine classifications
Fig.1.5
IC engine classification
There are many different types of internal combustion engines. They can be classified by:
1. Application.
Automobile, truck, locomotive, light aircraft, marine, portable power system, power generation
2 Basic engine design
Reciprocating
engines (in turn subdivided
by arrangement of cylinders:
e.g., in-line, V, radial,
opposed-ref, fig1.6.), rotary
engines (Wankel and other
geometries)
Fig1.6.Engine
Classification by
Cylinder
Arrangements
14

3. Working cycle.
Four-stroke cycle: naturally aspirated (admitting atmospheric air), supercharged (admitting precompressed fresh mixture), and turbocharged (admitting fresh mixture compressed in a compressor
driven by an exhaust turbine),
Two-stroke cycle: crankcase scavenged, supercharged, and turbocharged,
Constant volume heat addition cycle engine or Otto cycle engine -SI engine or Gasoline engine,
Constant pressure heat addition cycle engine or Diesel cycle engine-CI engine or Diesel engine.
4 Valve or port design and location.
Overhead (or I-head) valves, under head
(or L-head) valves, rotary valves, crossscavenged porting (inlet and exhaust ports on
opposite sides of cylinder at one end), loopscavenged porting (inlet and exhaust ports on
same side of cylinder at one end), through- or
uni-flow scavenged (inlet and exhaust ports or
valves at different ends of cylinder)
Fig1.7
classification of SI engine
by port/ valve location
(C)
(a)Cross,
(b) Loop,
(c) Uniflow Scavenging
15

5. Fuel
Gasoline (or petrol), fuel oil (or diesel fuel), natural gas, liquid petroleum gas, alcohols
(methanol, ethanol), hydrogen, dual fuel
6. Method of mixture preparation.
Carburetion, fuel injection into the intake ports or intake manifold, fuel injection into the engine
cylinder
7. Method of ignition
Spark ignition (in conventional engines where the mixture is uniform and in stratified-charge
engines where the mixture is non-uniform), compression ignition (in conventional diesels, as well as
ignition in gas engines by pilot injection of fuel oil)
8. Combustion chamber design.
Open chamber (many designs: e.g., disc, wedge, hemisphere, bowl-in-piston), divided chamber
(small and large auxiliary chambers; many designs: e.g., swirl chambers, pre-chambers)
9. Method of load control.
Throttling of fuel and air flow together so mixture composition is essentially unchanged, control
of fuel flow alone, a combination of these
10. Method of cooling.
Water cooled, air cooled, un-cooled (other than by natural convection and radiation)
.
All these distinctions are important and they illustrate the breadth of engine designs available
from a fundamental point of view. The method of ignition has been selected as the primary classifying
feature. From the method of ignition-spark-ignition or compression-ignition-follow the important
characteristics of the fuel used, method of mixture preparation, combustion chamber design, method of
load control, details of the combustion process, engine emissions, and operating characteristics. Some of
the other classifications are used as subcategories within this basic classification. The engine operating
cycle--four-stroke or two-stroke--is next in importance.
16

Table 1.2
17

Table 1.3 Engine characteristics Emphasized by Type of Service
References:
1. Microsoft Encarta
2. Fundamentals of IC Engines By J B Heywood
3. Theory & Practice in IC Engines By C F Taylor
4. I C Engines By M L Mathur & RP Sharma
5. I C Engines By Ganesan
18
CHAPTER 2
FOUR-STROKE CYCLE S-I ENGINE - PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
Fig: cross section of a SI Engine
In Four-stroke cycle engine, the cycle

of operation is completed in four-strokes of
the piston or two revolutions of the
crankshaft. Each stroke consists of 180, of
crankshaft rotation and hence a cycle consists
of 720of crankshaft rotation. The series of
operations of an ideal four-stroke. SI engine
are as follows (see Fig.2.1 & 2.2)
1. Suction stroke
Suction stroke 0-1 starts when the piston is at top dead centre and about to move downwards. The
inlet valve is open at this time and the exhaust valve is closed. Due to the suction created by the motion of
the piston towards bottom dead centre, the charge consisting of fresh air mixed with the fuel is drawn into
the cylinder. At the end of the suction stroke the inlet valve closes.
2. Compression stroke.
The fresh charge taken into the cylinder during suction stroke is compressed by the return stroke of
the piston 1-2. During this stroke both inlet and exhaust valves remain closed. The air which occupied the
whole cylinder volume is now compressed into clearance volume. Just before the end of the compression
stroke the mixture is ignited with the help of an electric spark between the electrodes of the spark plug
located in combustion chamber wall. Burning takes place when the piston is almost at top dead centre.
During the burning process the chemical energy of the fuel is converted into sensible energy, producing a
temperature rise of about 2000C, and the pressure is also considerably increased.
3. Expansion or power stroke.
Due to high pressure the burnt gases force the piston towards bottom dead centre, stroke 3-4, and
both the inlet and exhaust valves remaining closed. Thus power is obtained during this stroke. Both
pressure and temperature decrease during expansion.
4. Exhaust stroke.
At the end of the expansion stroke the exhaust valve opens, the inlet valve remaining closed, and
the piston is moving from bottom dead centre to top dead centre sweeps out the burnt gases from the
cylinder, stroke 4-0. The exhaust valve closes at the end of the exhaust stroke and some 'residual' gases
remain in the cylinder.
Each cylinder of a four-stroke engine completes the above four operations in two engine
revolutions. One revolution of the crankshaft occurs during the suction and compression strokes, and
second revolution during the power and exhaust strokes. Thus for one complete cycle, there is only one
power stroke while the crankshaft turns by two revolutions. Most of the spark-ignition internal combustion
engines are of the four-stroke type. They are most popular for passenger cars and small aircraft
applications.
Fig.2.1-The four-stroke spark-ignition (SI) engine

cycle (Otto cycle or constant volume cycle)
Fig.2.2-Ideal and actual indicator diagrams for four-stroke SI engine
Fig. 2.3 Four-stroke petrol engine valve timing diagram in relation to the pressure volume diagram
Actual Valve Timing Of Four-Stroke Petrol Engine.

Valve timing is the regulation of the points in the cycle at which the valves are set to open and
close. As described above in the ideal cycle inlet and exhaust valves open and close at dead centres, but in
actual cycles they open or close before or after dead centres as explained below. There are two factors, one
mechanical and other dynamic, for the actual valve timing to be different from the theoretical valve timing.
(a) Mechanical factor.
The poppet valves of the reciprocating engines are opened and closed by cam mechanisms. The
clearance between cam, tappet and valve must be slowly taken up and valve slowly lifted, at first, if noise
and wear is to be avoided. For the same reasons the valve cannot be closed abruptly, else it will 'bounce' on
its seat. (Also the cam contours should be so designed as to produce gradual and smooth changes in
directional acceleration). Thus the valve opening and closing periods are spread over a considerable
number of crankshaft degrees. As a result, the opening of the valve must commence ahead of the time at
which it is fully opened (i.e., before dead centres). The same reasoning applies for the closing time and the
valves must close after the dead centres. Fig.2.3 shows the actual valve timing diagram of a four-stroke
engine in relation to its pressure-volume diagram.

b) Dynamic factor;
Besides mechanical factor of opening and closing of valves, the actual valve timing is set taking
into consideration the dynamic effects of gas flow.
Intake valve timing.
Intake valve timing has a bearing on the actual quantity of air sucked during the suction stroke i.e.
it affects the volumetric efficiency. Fig.2.4 shows the intake valve timing diagram for both low speed &
high speed SI engines.
Fig:2.4 Valve timing for low and high speed four-stroke SI engine
It is seen that for both low speed and high speed engine the intake valve opens 100 before the
arrival of the piston at TDC on the exhaust stroke. This is to insure that the valve will be fully open and the
fresh charge starting to flow into the cylinder as soon as possible after TDC. As the piston moves out in the
suction stroke, the fresh charge is drawn in through the intake port and valve. When the piston reaches the
BDC and starts to move in the compression stroke, the inertia of the entering fresh charge tends to cause it
to continue to move into the cylinder. To take advantage of this, the intake valve is closed after BDC so
that maximum air is taken in. This is called ram effect. However, if the intake valve is to remain open for
too long a time beyond BDC, the up-moving piston on the compression stroke would tend to force some of
the charge, already in the cylinder, back into the intake manifold. The time the intake valve should remain
open after BDC is decided by the speed of the engine.
At low engine speed, the charge speed is low and so the air inertia is low, and hence the intake
valve should close relatively early after BDC for a slow speed engine (say about 100 after BDC).
In high speed engines the charge speed is high and consequently the inertia is high and hence to
induct maximum quantity of charge due to ram effect the intake valve should close relatively late after
BDC (up to 600 after BDC).
4

For a variable speed engine the chosen intake valve setting is a compromise between the best
setting for low and high speeds.
There is a limit to the high speed for advantage of ram effect. At very high speeds the effect of fluid
friction may be more than offset the advantage of ram effect and the charge for cylinder per cycle falls off.
Exhaust valve timing
The exhaust valve is set to open before BDC (say about 250 before BDC in low speed engines and
0
55 before BDC in high speed engines). If the exhaust valve did not start to open until BDC, the pressures
in the cylinder would be considerably above atmospheric pressure during the first portion of the exhaust
stroke, increasing the work required to expel the exhaust gases. But opening the exhaust valve earlier
reduces the pressure near the end of the power stroke and thus causes some loss of useful work on this
stroke. However, the overall effect of opening the valve prior to the time the piston reaches BDC results in
overall gain in output.
The closing time of exhaust valve effects the volumetric efficiency, By closing the exhaust valve a
few degrees after TDC (about 150 in case of low speed engines and 200 in case of high speed engines) the
inertia of the exhaust gases tends to scavenge the cylinder by carrying out a greater mass of the gas left in
the clearance volume. This results in increased volumetric efficiency.
Note that there may be a period when both the intake and exhaust valves are open at the same time. This is
called valve over-lap (say about 150 in low speed engine and 300 in high speed engines). This overlap
should not be excessive otherwise it will allow the burned gases to be sucked into the intake manifold, or
the fresh charge to escape through the exhaust valve.
Table2.1Typical valve timings for four-stroke SI engines
Note. Valve timing is different for different makes of engines.

b-before,
a-after
TDC-Top dead centre,
BDC-Bottom dead centre.

FOUR-STROKE CI ENGINES- PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
The four-stroke CI engine is similar to four-stroke SI engine except that a high compression ratio is
used in the former, and during the suction stroke, air alone, instead of a fuel-air mixture, is inducted. Due
to high compression ratio, the temperature at the end of compression stroke is sufficient to ignite the fuel
which is injected into the combustion chamber.
In the CI engine a high pressure fuel pump and an injector is provided to inject fuel into
combustion chamber.
The carburettor and ignition system, necessary in the SI engine, are not required in the CI engine.
The ideal sequence of operation for the four-stroke CI engine is as follows:
Fig.2.5 Ideal P-V Diagram
Fig.2.6 Cycle of Operation
1.Suction stroke
Only air is inducted during the suction stroke. During this stroke intake valve is open and exhaust
valve is closed.
2.Compression stroke
Both valves remain closed during compression stroke.
3. Expansion or power stroke
Fuel is injected in the beginning of the expansion .stroke. The rate of injection is such that the
combustion maintains the pressure constant. After the injection of fuel is over (i.e. after fuel cut off) the
products of combustion expand. Both valves remain closed during expansion stroke.
4. Exhaust stroke.
The exhaust valve is open and the intake valve remains closed in the exhaust stroke.
Due to higher pressures the CI engine is heavier than SI engine but has a higher thermal efficiency because
of greater expansion. CI engines are mainly used for heavy transport vehicles, power generation, and
industrial and marine applications.
The typical valve timing diagram for a four-stroke CI
engine is as follows
IVO
about 300 before TDC
IVO
up to 500 after BDC
EVO about 450 before BDC

EVO up to 300 after TDC
Injection about 150 before TDC

TWO-STROKE CYCLE ENGINE-PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
In two-stroke engines the cycle is completed in two strokes, i.e., one revolution of the crankshaft as
against two revolutions of four-stroke cycle. The difference between two-stroke and four-stroke engines is
in the method of filling the cylinder with the fresh charge and removing the burned gases from the
cylinder. In a four-stroke engine the operations are performed by the engine piston during the suction and
exhaust strokes, respectively. In a two stroke engine suction is accomplished by air compressed in
crankcase or by a blower. The induction of compressed air removes the products of combustion, through
exhaust ports. Therefore no piston strokes are required for suction and exhaust operations. Only two piston
strokes are required to complete the cycle, one for compressing the fresh charge and the other for
expansion or power stroke.
Types of two stroke engines
Based on scavenging method
i)Crankcase & ii) Separately scavenged engine
Based on scavenging process (air flow)
i)Cross flow scavenging,
ii)Loop scavenging (MAN, Schnuerle, Curtis type)
iii)Uni-flow scavenging (opposed piston, poppet valve, sleeve valve)
Based on overall port-timing
i) Symmetrical & ii) Unsymmetrical scavenging
Crankcase-scavenged two-stroke engine
Figure 2.7 shows the simplest type of two-stroke engine the crankcase scavenged engine. Fig.2.8
shows its ideal and actual indicator diagrams. Fig.2.9 shows the typical valve timing diagram of a twostroke engine. The air or charge is sucked through spring-loaded inlet valve when the pressure in the
crankcase reduces due to upward motion of the piston during compression stroke. After the compression,
ignition and expansion takes place in the usual way: During the expansion stroke the air in the crankcase is
compressed. Near the end of expansion stroke piston uncovers the exhaust port, and the cylinder pressure
drops to atmospheric as the combustion products leave the cylinder. Further motion of the piston uncovers
transfer ports, permitting the slightly compressed air or mixture in the crankcase to enter the engine
cylinder. The top of the piston sometimes has a projection to deflect the fresh air to sweep up to the top of
the cylinder before flowing to the exhaust ports. This serves the double purpose of scavenging the upper
part of the cylinder of combustion products and preventing the fresh charge from .flowing directly to the
exhaust ports. The same objective can be achieved without piston deflector by proper shaping of the
transfer port. During the upward motion of the piston from bottom dead centre, the transfer ports and then
the exhaust port close and compression of the charge begins and the cycle is repeated.
Fig.2.7-Crankcase-scavenged
two-stroke engine
Fig. 2.8
Ideal and actual
indicator diagrams for a twostroke SI engine
Fig.2.9. Typical valve

timing diagram of a twostroke engine

Separately scavenged engine
In the loop-scavenged engine (Fig. 2.10) an external blower is used to supply the charge, under
some pressure, at the inlet manifold. During the downward stroke of the piston exhaust ports are uncovered
at about 65 before bottom dead
centre. At about 100 later the inlet
ports open and the scavenging
process takes place.
The inlet ports are shaped
so that most of the air flows to the
top of the cylinder for proper
scavenging of the upper part of the
cylinder. Piston deflectors are not
used as they are heavy and tend to
become overheated at high output.
The scavenging process is
moreefficient in properly designed
loop-scavenged engine than in the
usual crank-case compression
engine with deflector piston.
Fig.2.10. Loop-scavenged two-stroke engine (separately scavenged engine)
Opposed piston or end to end scavenged engine (uniflow scavenged) two stroke engine.
In this type of engine the exhaust
ports or exhaust valves are opened first. The
inlet ports give swirl to incoming air which
prevents mixing of fresh charge and
combustion products during the scavenging
process. Early on the compression stroke the
exhaust ports close. In loop scavenged
engine the port timing is symmetrical, so the
exhaust port must close after the inlet port
closes. These timings prevent this type of
engine from filling its cylinder at full inlet
pressure. In the end-to-end scavenged
engines counter flow within the cylinder is
eliminated, and there is less opportunity for
mixing of fresh charge and burnt gases. The
scavenging should therefore be more
efficient.
Fig. 2.11. 'End to end' scavenged or uniflow twostroke engine

Valvetiming for two-stroke engines
Fig. 2.12(a), (b) and (c) show typical valve timing diagram for a crankcase-scavenged two-stroke
engine and supercharged two-stroke engine and a four-stroke engine, respectively.
Fig 2.12
In case of two-stroke engine the exhaust port is opened near the end of the expansion stroke. With
piston-controlled exhaust and inlet port arrangement the lower part of the piston stroke is always wasted so
as far as the useful power output is concerned; about 15% to 40% of the expansion stroke is ineffective.
The actual percentage varies with different designs. This early opening of the exhaust ports during the last
part of the expansion stroke is necessary to permit blow down of the exhaust gases and, also to reduce the
cylinder pressure so that when the inlet port opens at the end of the blow down process, fresh charge can
enter the cylinder. The fresh charge, which comes from the crankcase for scavenging pump, enters the
cylinder at a pressure slightly higher than the atmospheric pressure. Some of the fresh charge is lost due to
short-circuiting. For petrol engine this means a loss of fuel and high unburnt hydrocarbons in the exhaust.
By comparing the valve timing of two stroke and four-stroke engines, (Fig. 2.12), it is clear that the time
available for scavenging and charging of the cylinder of a two stroke engine is almost one-third that
available for the .four-stroke engine. For a crankcase-scavenged engine the inlet port closes before the
exhaust port whilst for a supercharged engine the inlet port closes after the exhaust port [Fig. 2.12 (b)].
Such timing allows more time for filling the cylinder.
10

Scavenging process
At the end of the expansion stroke, the combustion chambers of a two-stroke engine is left full of
products of combustion. This is because, unlike four-stroke engines, there is no exhaust stroke available to
clear the cylinder of burnt gases. The process of clearing the cylinder of burned gases and filling it with
fresh mixture (or air}-the combined intake and exhaust process is called scavenging process. This must be
completed in a very short duration available between the end of the expansion stroke and start of the
charging process.
The efficiency of a two-stroke engine depends to a great degree on the effectiveness of the
scavenging process, since bad scavenging gives a low mean indicated pressure and hence, results in a high
weight and high cost per bhp for the engine. With insufficient scavenging the amount of oxygen available
is low so that the consequent incomplete combustion results in higher specific fuel consumption. Not only
that, the lubricating oil becomes more contaminated, so that its lubricating qualities are reduced and results
in increased wear of piston and cylinder liners. Poor scavenging also leads to higher mean temperatures
and greater heat stresses on the cylinder walls.
Thus it goes without saying that every improvement in the scavenging leads to improvement in
engine and its efficiency in several directions and hence, a detailed study of scavenging process and
different scavenging systems is worthwhile.
The scavenging process is the replacement of the products of combustion in the cylinder from the previous
power stroke with fresh-air charge to be burned in the next cycle. In the absence of an exhaust stroke in
every revolution of the crankshaft, this gas exchange process for a two-stroke engine must take place in its
entirety at the lower portion of the piston travel. Obviously, it cannot occur instantaneously at bottom dead
centre. Therefore, a portion of both the expansion stroke and the compression stroke is utilized for cylinder
blow-down and recharging.
The scavenging process can be divided into four distinct periods
Fig. 2.13 show the pressure recordings inside the cylinder for a Flat 782 S engine. When the inlet
port opens the gases expanding in the main cylinder tend to escape from it and to pre-discharge into the
scavenge air manifold. This process, called pre-blowdown, ends when the exhaust port opens. As soon as
the exhaust ports are open, the gases existing in the cylinder at the end of expansion stroke discharge
spontaneously into the exhaust manifold and the pressure of the main cylinder drops to a value lower than
that existing in the scavenge air manifold. This process, called blowdown, terminates at the moment the
gas pressure inside the cylinder attains a value slightly lower than the air-pressure inside the scavenge
manifold. During the third phase, called scavenging, which starts at the moment the spontaneous exhaust
gases from the cylinder terminates and ends at the moment the exhaust ports are closed; the scavenge air
sweeps out all residual gases remaining in the main cylinder at the end of the spontaneous exhaust and
replaces them as completely as possible with fresh charge. After scavenging is complete the fresh charge
continues to flow till the scavenge ports are open and the pressure in the cylinder rises. This results in
better filling of the cylinder. This last part of the scavenging process is called additional-charging.
11
Fig. 2.13 Fiat 782 S engine standard scavenging & typical valve timing diagram of a two-stroke engine
12

Fig.2.14shows, a typical pressure-volume diagram
for a two-stroke engine. In this diagram the total
piston stroke has been divided into power stroke
and scavenging stroke (This division is arbitrary).
The area of the p-v diagram for the power stroke
depends very much on the scavenging efficiency.
With proper scavenging efficiency the pressure
rise due to combustion is lower and hence this
area is smaller and lower thermal efficiency is
obtained.
Fig. 2.14 Typical pressure-volume for a two-stroke
engine.
Theoretical scavenging processes

Fig. 2.15
processes.
Three
theoretical
scavenging
Fig.2.15 illustrates three theoretical

scavenging processes. They are
Perfect scavenging,
Perfect mixing and
Complete shortcircuiting.
mass of delivered air (or mixture) per cycle

, compares the actual
reference mass
scavenging air mass (or mixture mass) to that required in an ideal charging process.
(If scavenging is done with fuel-air mixture, as in spark-ignition engines, then mixture mass is used instead
of air mass.)
The reference mass is defined as displaced volume ambient air (or mixture) density.
Ambient air (or mixture) density is determined at atmospheric conditions or at intake conditions.
This definition is useful for experimental purposes. For analytical work, it is often convenient to use the
trapped cylinder mass mtr as the reference mass.
OR in other words the delivery ratio is a measure to
the air (mixture) supplied to the cylinder relative to the cylinder content.
If Rdel = 1, it means that the volume of the scavenging air supplied to the cylinder is equal to the
cylinder volume (or displacement volume whichever is taken as reference).
Delivery ratio usually varies between 1.2 to 1.5, except for closed crankcase-scavenged, where it is
less than unity.
mass of delivered air (or mixture) retained
The scavenging efficiency
,
sc =
mass of trapped cylinder charge
indicates to what extent the residual gases in the cylinder have been replaced with fresh air.
If sc = 1 , it means that all gases existing in the cylinder at the beginning of scavenging have been
swept out completely.}
The delivery ratio
Rdel =
13

(I)Perfect scavenging.
Ideally, the fresh fuel-air mixture should remain separated from the residual combustion products with
respect to both mass and heat transfer during the scavenging process. Fresh air pumped into the cylinder
by the blower through the inlet ports at the lower end of the cylinder pushes the products of combustion
ahead of itself and of the cylinder through the exhaust valve at the other end. There is no mixing of air and
products. As long as any products remain in the cylinder the flow through the exhaust valves consists of
products only. However, as soon as sufficient fresh .air has entered to fill the entire cylinder volume
(displacement plus clearance volume) the flow abruptly changes from one of products to one of air. This
ideal process would represent perfect scavenging with no short -circuiting loss.
(ii) Perfect mixing.
The second theoretical scavenging process is perfect mixing, in which the incoming fresh charge mixes
completely and instantaneously with the cylinder contents, and a portion of this mixture passes out of the
exhaust ports at a rate equal to that entering the cylinder. This homogeneous mixture consists initially of
products of combustion only and then gradually changes to pure air. This mixture flowing through the
exhaust ports is identical with that momentarily existing in the cylinder and changes with it. For the case of
perfect mixing the scavenging efficiency can be represented by the following equation:
Rdel
,
where sc and Rdel are scavenging efficiency and delivery ratio respectively.
sc = 1 e
This is plotted in Fig. 2.15. The result of this theoretical process closely approximates the results of many
actual scavenging processes, and is thus often used as a basis of comparison.
(iii)Short-circuiting.
The third type of scavenging process is that of short-circuiting in which the fresh charge coming from the
scavenge manifold directly goes out of the exhaust ports without removing any residual gas. This is a dead
loss and its occurrence must be avoided.
The actual scavenging process is neither one of perfect scavenging nor perfect mixing. It probably consists
partially of perfect scavenging, mixing and short-circuiting.
Fig. 2.16shows the delivery ratio and trapping efficiency variation with crankangle for three different
scavenging modes., i.e.,perfect scavenging (displacement), perfect mixing and intermediate scavenging.
Fig. 2.17shows the scavenging parameters for the intermediate scavenging. This represents the actual
scavenging process. It can be seen from this Fig. that a certain amount of combustion products is initially
pushed out of the cylinder without being diluted by fresh air. Gradually, mixing
and short circuiting causes the out flowing products to be diluted by more and more fresh air until
ultimately the situation is the same as for perfect mixing, i.e., the first phase of the scavenging process is a
perfect scavenging process which then gradually changes into a complete mixing process.
Fig,2.16 Delivery ratio and efficiency variation with

crankcase for three different scavenging modes.
` Fig. 2.17 Scavenging parameters for

intermediate scavenging
14

Scavenging parameters ..
The delivery ratio - The delivery ratio represents the ratio of the air volume, under the ambient
conditions of the scavenge manifold, introduced per cycle and a reference volume. This reference volume
has been variously chosen to be displacement volume, effective displacement volume, total cylinder
volume or total effective cylinder volume. Since it is only the quantity or charge in the remaining total
cylinder volume at exhaust port closure that enters into the combustion, the total effective cylinder volume
should be preferred. The delivery ratio is mass of fresh air delivered to the cylinder divided by a reference
mass,
i.e., Rdel =
,
reference mass
The delivery ratio compares the actual scavenging air mass (or mixture mass) to that required in an
ideal charging process. OR The delivery ratio is a measure to the air (mixture) supplied to the cylinder
relative to the cylinder content.
If Rdel = 1, it means that the volume of the scavenging air supplied to the cylinder is equal to the
cylinder volume (or displacement volume whichever is taken as reference).
Delivery ratio usually varies between 1.2 to 1.5, except for closed crankcase-scavenged, where it is
less than unity.
(If scavenging is done with fuel-air mixture, as in spark-ignition engines, then mixture mass is used
instead of air mass.) The reference mass is defined as displaced volume ambient air (or mixture) density.
Ambient air (or mixture) density is determined at atmospheric conditions or at intake conditions.
This definition is useful for experimental purposes. For analytical work, it is often convenient to use the
trapped cylinder mass mtr as the reference mass.
The trapping efficiency - The amount of fresh charge retained in the cylinder is not same as that
supplied to the cylinder because some fresh charge is always lost due to short-circuiting. Therefore, an
additional term, trapping efficiency, is used to indicate the ability of the cylinder to retain the fresh charge.
It is defined as the ratio of the amount of charge retained in the cylinder to the total charge delivered to the
engine, i.e., tr =
mass of delivered air (mixture)
Trapping efficiency indicates what fraction of the air (or mixture) supplied to the cylinder is
retained in the cylinder.. This is mainly controlled by the geometry of the ports and the overlap time.
Scavenging efficiency is the ratio of the mass of scavenge air
which remains in the cylinder at the end of the scavenging to the mass of the cylinder itself at the moment
when the scavenge and exhaust ports of valves are fully closed. It is given by
,
sc =
indicates to what extent the residual gases in the cylinder have been replaced with fresh air.
If sc = 1 , it means that all gases existing in the cylinder at the beginning of scavenging have been
swept out completely.
mass of air in trapped cylinder charge
The purity of the charge:
purity =
, indicates the
degree of dilution, with burned gases, of the unburned mixture in the cylinder.
The charging efficiency
,
indicates
sc =
displaced volume x ambient density
how effectively the cylinder volume has been filled with fresh air (or mixture)
Relative cylinder charge.- The air or mixture retained, together with the residual gas, remaining in
the cylinder after flushing out the products of combustion constitutes the cylinder charge. Relative cylinder
charge is a measure of the success of filling cylinder irrespective of the composition of charge. The relative
cylinder charge may be either more or less than unity depending upon the scavenging pressure and port
heights.
Excess air factor, - The value (Rdel-1) is called the excess air factor. If the delivery ratio is 1.4,
the excess air factor is 0.4.
15

Classification based on scavenging process
The simplest method of introducing the charge into the cylinder is to employ crankcase
compression as shown in Fig.2.7. This type of engine is classified as the crankcase scavenged engine.
In another type, a separate blower or a pump (Fig.2.8) may be used to introduce the charge through the
inlet port. They are classified as the separately scavenged engines.
Fig.2.16 Methods of Scavenging (a)Cross Scavenging

(c)Loop Scavenging Schnuerle Type,
(b) Loop Scavenging, M.A.N. Type

(d) Loop Scavenging, Curtis Type
Another classification of two-stroke cycle engines is based on the air flow.

Based on a transversal air stream, the most common arrangement is cross scavenging, illustrated in
Fig.2.16 (a). Most small engines are cross-scavenged. The cross scavenging system employs inlet and
exhaust ports placed in opposite sides of the cylinder wall. The incoming air is directed upward, to
combustion chamber on one side of the cylinder and then down on the other side to force out the exhaust
gases through the oppositely located exhaust ports. This requires that the air should be guided by use of
either a suitably shaped deflector formed on piston top or by use of inclined ports. With this arrangement
the engine is structurally simpler than that with the uniflow scavenging, due to absence of valves,
distributors, and relative drive devices. The inlet and exhaust of gases is exclusively controlled by the
.opening and closure of ports by piston motion. The main disadvantage of this system is that the
scavenging air is not able to get rid of the layer of exhaust gas near the wall resulting in poor scavenging.
Some of the fresh charge also goes directly into the exhaust port. The result of these factors is poor bmep
of cross-scavenged engines.
Based on a transversal air stream, with loop or reverse scavenging, the fresh air first sweeps across
the piston top, moves up and then down and finally out through the exhaust. Loop or reverse scavenging
avoids the short -circuiting of the cross-scavenged engine and thus improves upon its scavenging
efficiency. The inlet and exhaust ports are placed on the same side of the cylinder wall.
In the M.A.N. type of loop scavenge, Fig.2.16(b), the exhaust and inlet ports are on the same side, the
exhaust above the inlet.
In the Schnuerle type, Fig.2.16(c), the ports are side by side. the inlet ports are placed on both sides
of the exhaust ports so that the incoming air enters in two streams uniting on the cylinder wall opposite the
exhaust ports, flows upwards, turns under the cylinder head, then flows downwards the other side to the
exhaust ports. Such a system of air deflection reduces the possibilities of short-circuiting to minimum.
With this system flat-top pistons without deflectors are used. The speed of loop or reversed scavenged
engine is not restricted by mechanical limitations because valves are not used, the charging process being
controlled by the piston only. The speed can thus, exceed that of valve controlled two-stroke engines.
Owing to the absence of cams, valves and valve gear, engines are simple and sturdy. They have a high
16

resistance to thermal stresses and are, thus, well suited to higher supercharge. The major mechanical
problem with a loop scavenged two-stroke engine is that of obtaining an adequate oil supply to the cylinder
wall consistent with reasonable lubricating oil consumption and cylinder wear. This difficulty arises
because when the piston is at top dead centre there is only a very narrow sealing belt available to prevent
leakage of oil from crankcase into the exhaust ports. Since for loop scavenging greater cylinder distance is
necessary to accommodate scavenge-air passage between the cylinder, a strong connecting rod and
crankshaft need for supercharged engine can be used.
The Curtis type of scavenging, Fig.2.16(d), is similar to the Schnuerle type, except that upwardly
directed inlet ports are placed also opposite the exhaust ports.
The most perfect method of scavenging is the uniflow method, based on a unidirectional air stream.
The fresh air charge is admitted at one end of the cylinder and the exhaust escapes at the other end flowing
through according to parallel flow lines normally having a slight rotation to stabilize the vertical motion.
Air acts like an ideal piston and pushed on the residual gas in the cylinder after the blowdown period and
replaces it at least in principle, throughout the cylinder. The air flow is from end to end, and little shortcircuiting between the intake and exhaust openings is possible. Due to absence, at least in theory, of any
eddies or turbulence it is easier in a uniflow scavenging system to push the products of combustion out of
the cylinder without mixing with it and short circuiting. Thus, the uniflow system has highest scavenging
efficiency. Construction simplicity is, however, sacrificed because this system requires either opposed
pistons, poppet valves or sleeve valve all of which increases the complication.
The three available arrangements for uniflow scavenging are shown in Fig.2.17 A poppet valve is
used in (a) to admit the inlet air or for the exhaust, as the Case may be. In (b) the inlet and exhaust ports are
both controlled by separate pistons that move in opposite directions. In (c) the inlet and exhaust ports are
controlled by the combined motion of piston and sleeve. In an alternative arrangement one set of ports is
controlled by the piston and the other set by a sleeve or slide valve. All uniflow systems permit
unsymmetrical scavenging and supercharging.
Fig.2.17 Uniflow Scavenging

(a) Poppet Valve
(b) Opposed Piston
(c) Sleeve Valve
Reverse flow scavenging is shown in Fig.2.17 In this type the

inclined ports are used and the scavenging air is forced on to the opposite
wall of the cylinder where it is reversed to the outlet ports. One obvious
disadvantage of this type is the limitation on the port area. For long stroke
engines operating at low piston speeds, this arrangement has proved
satisfactory.
Fig2.17 Reverse Flow Scavenging
17

An interesting comparison of the merits
of two cycle engine air scavenging methods is
illustrated in Fig.2.18. In fact, specific output of
the engine is largely determined by the efficiency
of the scavenging system-and is directly related
to the brake mean effective pressure. As shown
in Fig.2.18 scavenging efficiency varies with the
delivery ratio and the type of scavenging. In this
respect cross scavenging is least efficient and
gives the lowest brake mean effective pressure.
The main reason for this is that the scavenging
air flows through the cylinder but does not expel
the exhaust residual gases effectively. Loop
scavenging method is better than the cross
scavenging method. Even with a delivery ratio of
1.0 in all cases the scavenging efficiencies are
about 53, 67 and 80 per cent for cross
scavenging, loop scavenging and uniflow
scavenging systems with corresponding values of
bmep as 3.5,4.5 and 5.8 bar.
Fig.2.18 Scavenging Efficiency
Comparison of different scavengingsystems

Fig.2.19 compares the scavenging efficiencies of three different types of scavenging system.
The cross-scavenging system employs inlet and exhaust ports placed in opposite sides of the cylinder wall.
In the loop scavenging system, inlet and exhaust ports are in the same side of the cylinder wall and in
uniflow scavenging system, the inlet and exhaust port are at opposite ends of the cylinder.
It can be seen that uniflow scavenging gives by far the best scavenging, that loop scavenging is good, and
that in .general, cross-scavenging is the worst.
The scavenging curve for the uniflow scavenging is very near to that of perfect scavenging that for
loop scavenging is near the perfect mixing. With good loop scavenging the scavenging curve is generally
above the perfect mixing curve and that of cross-scavenging engines it is, generally, below the perfect
mixing curve.
Table 2.2 compares the port areas available for different scavenging systems. Largest flow areas are
available with uniflow system. In such a case the whole circumference of cylinder wall is available and the
inlet port area can be as high as 35 per cent of the piston area. Due to the use of exhaust valve the exhaust
flow area is small - about 18 per cent. In cross-scavenging the size of the inlet and exhaust ports is limited
to about 25 and 18 per cent of piston area respectively because the ports are located on the opposite sides
of cylinder wall. Schurnle type of loop scavenging requires that both the ports must be located within about
three-quarters of the cylinder circumference. This limits the size of inlet and exhaust ports to about 18 and
14 per cent of piston area only. The data for a typical four-stroke engine are also given for comparison.
However, while comparing with the four-stroke engine it must be kept in mind that though the flow area is
small, the time available for flow is almost three times more than that available for the two-stroke engine.
18
Fig. 2.19 scavenging efficiency, versus delivery ratio of different scavenging system.
Table 2.2 Typical values for areas for different scavenging systems
Loop or cross-scavenged engines with their inlet ports limited half of the cylinder circumference
fall in low speed category. Uniflow scavenged engines with adequate air inlet port are and limited exhaust
port areas fall in medium speed category, whilst the opposed piston engine takes on to high speeds because
of its high rate of exhaust port opening, freedom from valve gear speed limits, good scavenging and perfect
balancing. Un-supercharged uniflow engine has a considerable higher mean effective pressure than the
loop-scavenged engine. There is more freedom in design of combustion chamber for loop scavenging. This
results in low fuel consumption and the engine is simple to make and easy to produce. Table 2.3 compares
the typical bmep values obtainable with different types of scavenging systems. The output of both uniflow
and loop scavenged engines is limited 'by the thermal stresses imposed. But the loop scavenged engine due
to its simple cylinder head can better withstand the thermal stresses.
19

Table 2.3 Typicalvaluesof bmep for the C.I. two-stroke oil engines
Table 2.4compares the representative port timings for different types of two-stroke engines.
Table 2.4. Port timings for different two-stroke engines
20

Port design
The Design of the inlet and exhaust ports for two stroke engines depends on various parameters. Some
of the important basic parameters are;
a) Scavenging method
b) Shape, inclination & width of ports
c) Amount of air/charge delivered
d) Scavenging pressure
e) Mean inlet velocity fn. Of pr. Ratio, temp. of scavenging & scavenging factor
f) Duration(crank angle) of port opening & average port height uncovered by piston
Blowdown time area (for exhaust)[which is a fn. of temperature of exhaust Gas, expansion end
volume(fn. of displacement volume), exhaust Gas pr., scavenging pr., & indicated mean effective
pressure]
g) Inlet duration, exhaust lead* & hence exhaust duration
h) Number of ports & height of ports
*
during exhaust Lead, only exhaust port is kept open, & during super charging only inlet port is kept open.
THE DIFFERENT SCAVENGING METHODS ARE AS FOLLOWS

BASED ONSCAVENGING PROCESS( AIR FLOW )
I. CROSS FLOW
-for low power o/p engines eg. Two wheelers,

Simple, but more short circuiting, hence more charge loss, super charging is
not possible. It is found that port position is limited with in 50% of
circumference.
-for medium o/p engines.

Air takes loop, less short circuiting, hence less charge loss
A. MAN type
-intake & exh. ports positioned one below the other. -Good
B. SCHNURLE type-intake & exh. ports positioned side by side.
-Better
C. CURTIS type -intake on one side & exhaust on the other side.
-Best
III. UNIFLOW
A comparison
II. LOOP FLOW
(BEST)
for very High o/p engines
Ex. large power marine engines, locomotive engines etc
As intake port is on one side & exhaust port on the other side. & the flow is
uni-directional, ports can be wider. Residual gases are low. Ports can be
located all around the circumference. Opposed piston engines also use this
type. Ports with poppet valves & Sleeve valves have been used.
BASED ONSCAVENGING METHOD

I.CRANKCASE SCAVENGED ENGINE (crank case compression)
-petroil lubrication is adopted. Hence lubricating oil is also burnt. So
pollution is more. Compression is bad, more petrol consumption, and more
residual gases. Generally used along with symmetrically scavenged engine,
but lower delivery ratio (generally 0.7), Simple and suitable for small
engines. Suitable for low o/p engines (5-20bhp)
II.SEPARATE BLOWER / PUMP SCAVENGED ENGINE
-higher scavenging pressure & delivery ratio is possible. Residual gases are
low. Used in bulky arrangements i.e. above 100 hp engines
21

BASED ON OVERALL PORT TIMING
I.SYMMETRICAL PORT TIMING
EPO-IPO-IPC-EPC
-Opening and closing of the ports by the piston is symmetrical.
Advantage-arrangement of the mechanism is very simple.
Disadvantage- more short circuiting, hence more charge loss, super charging
is not possible. Suitable for low power o/p engines up to 5bhp i.e. scooters /
moped engines.
II.UN-SYMMETRICAL PORT TIMING
EPO-IPO-EPC-IPC
-Opening and closing of the ports by the piston is un-symmetrical.
Mechanism is complex.
Advantages- super charging is possible - by the following ways
Supercharging valve-rotary valves,
Poppet valves by suitably designing the cam mechanism,
Using sleeve /slide valve, but it is mechanically complicated,
& using opposed piston
The common different Shapes of ports are as follows

Rectangular
-BEST
With rounded corners, which gives maximum flow area & smooth edges reduce friction
&
Rhomboidal & Oblong -good w.r.to ring entrance avoidance
Circular-only some applications (only for intake)
Inclination
Width
-is given for better mixing, scavenging, turbulence, swirl and combustion.
-for Uniflow scavenging
-0.6PD (entire circumference available for porting
-for lLoop scavenging
-0.2PD (both ports are on same side of the wall)
-for Crossflow scavenging -0.3PD (50% of circumference is available for porting)
Ports should be sufficiently wider for max. flow area, But should not create problem of piston ring entrance
into it.
Amount of air/charge delivered
The delivery ratio is a measure of the air (mixture) supplied to the cylinder relative to the cylinder content.
The delivery ratio
Rdel =
,
reference mass
If Rdel = 1, it means that the volume of the scavenging air supplied to the cylinder is equal to the cylinder
volume (or displacement volume whichever is taken as reference).
Delivery ratio usually varies between 1.2 to 1.5, except for closed crankcase-scavenged, where it is less
than unity.
Rdel = 0.7 to 0.8 for crank case scavenging
Rdel = 1.4 normal value
Rdel = 1.3 for fuel economy
For separately scavenged engines
Rdel = 1.5 for high o/p
22

,
sc =
Indicates to what extent the residual gases in the cylinder have been replaced with fresh air.
If sc = 1 , i.e. all gases existing in the cylinder at the beginning of scavenging have been swept out
completely}
Scavenging pressure
Proper scavenging pressures to be adopted for the respective scavenging method
Mean inlet velocity

Mean inlet velocity to be calculated, which is a function of pressure ratio, temp. of scavenging &
scavenging factor.
Duration(crank angle) of port opening & average port height uncovered by piston
With Duration (crank angle) of port opening, average port height & port timing can be calculated.
Number of ports & height of ports.
No. of ports are selected to ensure enough (max.) width, with sufficient bridge to sustain mechanical and
thermal load & to avoid piston ring failure i.e. entering in port area. After selecting no. of ports, width of
the ports may be calculated and adopted. The height of ports is a major factor in timing of ports.
The flow of gases through a two-stroke cycle engine is diagrammatically represented in fig. The
hatched areas represent fresh air or mixture and the cross hatched areas represent combustion gases. The
width of the channels represents the quantity of the gases expressed by volume at NTP condition.
Fig. Scavenging Diagram for Two-stroke Cycle SI Engine
23

Scavenging pumps
Since the pumping action is not carried out by the piston of a two-stroke engine, a separate
pumping mechanism, called the scavenging pump, is required to supply scavenging air to the cylinder.
Different types of scavenging pumps used range from crankcase compression, piston type blowers to roots
blower. The design of a two-stroke engine is significantly affected by the type of scavenging pump used;
hence a careful selection of the scavenging pump is a pre-condition to good performance.
Crankcase Scavenging. The most obvious and cheapest in initial cost is the use of crankcase for
compressing the incoming air and then transferring it to the cylinder through a transfer port. Fig.2.20
shows such a system. This system is, however, very uneconomical and inefficient in operation. This is
because the amount of air which can be used for scavenging is less than the swept volume of the cylinder
due to low volumetric efficiency of the crankcase which contains a large dead space. Thus, the delivery
ratio of a crankcase scavenged engine is
always less than unity.
Since the delivery ratio is less than unity it
is not possible to scavenge the cylinder
completely of the products of combustion
and some residual gases always remain in
the cylinder. This results in low mean
effective pressure for the crankcase
scavenged engine. Typical values are 3 to
4 bar. The output of the engine is strictly
limited because the amount of the charge
transferred through the transfer port is only
40-50% of the cylinder volume.
(a) two ports
(b) three ports
Fig. 2.20 Two-stoke crankcase scavenged engines
A further disadvantage is that the oil vapors from the crankcase mixes with the scavenging air. This
results in high oil consumption. Because of these disadvantages the crankcase scavenging is not preferred
and for high output two-stroke engines a scavenging pump is a must.
Piston, Roots, and Centrifugal blowers
Piston type blowers as shown in Fig.2.21(a) are used only for low speed and single or two cylinder
engines. For all other type of engines either roots or centrifugal blowers are used. The roots blower is
preferred for small and medium output engines. While the centrifugal blower, is preferred for large and
high output engines. From Fig. 2.22 it is clear that the centrifugal blower has a relatively flat characteristic
curve compared to the steep characteristic curve of the 'roots blower. An increase in the flow-resistance
due to deposits, etc., thus, has a much greater effect on the scavenging air; output of a centrifugal blower
than on that of a roots blower. If deposits accumulate, an engine having a centrifugal blower will start
smoking earlier than that having a roots blower. Therefore, roots blower is preferred due to its lower
sensitivity to flow resistance changes for systems where space for exhaust ports is limited.
The control of air delivery of centrifugal blowers can be done by throttling the air on the intake side. This,
however, would not reduce the scavenging power required by the centrifugal blower. In the roots blower
the air delivery is controlled by a throttle-actuated by-pass valve between blower inlet and outlet. Such a
control divides the air-flow into two parts and only half the flow passes through the engine. This saves a
substantial amount of scavenging power and hence results in lower specific fuel consumption.
24
Fig. 2.21 Scavenging-pump types.
Fig. 2.22 Pressure characteristics of centrifugal and roots blower.
25

Comparison of two-stroke SI and CI engines
The two-stroke SI engine suffers from two big disadvantages-fuel loss and idling difficulty. The
two-stroke CI engine does not suffer from these disadvantages and hence CI engine is more suitable for
two-stroke operation.
If the fuel is supplied to the cylinders after the exhaust ports are closed, there will be no loss of fuel
and the indicated thermal efficiency of the two-stroke engine will be as good as that of four-stroke engine.
However, in an SI engine using carburettor, the scavenging is done with fuel-air mixture and only the fuel
mixed with the retained air is used for combustion. To avoid the fuel loss instead of carburettor fuel
injection just before the exhaust port closure may be used.
The two-stroke SI engine runs irregularly and may even stop at low speeds when mean effect
pressure is reduced to about 2bar. This is because large amount of residual gas (more than in four-stroke
engine) mixing with small amount of charge. At low speeds there may be back firing due to slow burning
rate. Fuel injection improves idling and also eliminates backfiring as there is no fuel present in the inlet
system.
In CI engines there is no loss of fuel as the charge is only air and there is no difficulty at idling
because the fresh charge (air) is not reduced.
Advantages and disadvantages of two-stroke engines
Two-stroke engines have certain advantages as well as disadvantages compared to four-stroke
engines. In the following sections the main advantages and disadvantages are discussed briefly.
Advantages of Two-stroke Engines
(i) As there is a working stroke for each revolution, the power developed will be nearly twice that of a
four-stroke engine of the same dimensions and operating at the same speed.
(ii) The work required to overcome the friction of the exhaust and suction strokes is saved.
(iii) As there is a working stroke in every revolution, a more uniform turning moment is obtained on the
crankshaft and therefore, a lighter flywheel is required.
(iv) Two-stroke engines are lighter than four-stroke engines for the same power output and speed.
(v) For the same output, two-stroke engines occupy lesser space.
(vi) The construction of a two-stroke cycle engine is simple because it has ports instead of valves. This
reduces the maintenance problems considerably.
(vii) In case of two-stroke engines because of scavenging, burnt gases do not remain in the clearance space
as in case of four-stroke engines.
Disadvantages of Two-Stroke Engines
(i) High speed two-stroke engines are less efficient owing to the reduced volumetric efficiency.
(ii) With engines working on Otto cycle, a part of the fresh mixture is lost as it escapes through the exhaust
port during scavenging. This increases the fuel consumption and reduces the thermal efficiency.
(iii) Part of the piston stroke is lost with the provision of the ports thus the effective compression is less in
case of two-stroke engines.
(iv) Two-stroke engines are liable to cause a heavier consumption of lubricating oil.
(v) With heavy loads, two-stroke engines get heated due to excessive heat produced. Also at light loads,
the running of engine is not very smooth because of the increased dilution of charge.
26

SI and CI Engine application
We have seen that both SI and CI engines have certain advantages and disadvantages. The selection
of a type of engine for particular application needs consideration of various factors.
The SI engine offers the following advantages:
(1) Low initial cost.
(2) Low weight for a given power output.
(3) Smaller size for a given power output.
(4) Easy starting.
(5) Less noise.
(6) Less objectionable exhaust gas odor and less smoke.
The SI engine finds wide application in automobiles because passenger comfort and in small
airplanes because of low weight. Two stroke petrol engines finds extensive use in motor cycles, scooters,
mopeds, pleasure motor boats, etc., because of simplicity and low cost. The SI engine is also used for light
mobile duty like lawn movers, mobile generating sets, water pumps, air compressors, etc...
The CI engine offers the following advantages.
(1) Low specific fuel consumption at both full load and part load conditions.
(2) Utilizes less expensive fuels.
(3) Reduced fire hazard,
(4) Long operating life.
(5) Better suited for supercharging.
(6) Better suited for two-stroke cycle operating, as there is no loss of fuel in scavenging.
Because of fuel economy the CI engine finds wide usage in buses, trucks, locomotives, stationary
generating plants, heavy duty equipment such as bulldozers, tractors and earthmoving machinery. Because
of the reduced fire hazard the CI engine is also used for confined installations and marine use. The great
advantage of the CI engine is lower fuel consumption which counteracts the disadvantage of higher initial
cost, if the engine is used for long duties.
(Table 2.6a gives complete comparison of the two types of
engines.)
Comparison of two-stroke and four-stroke- engines (table 2.5)
The two-stroke engine was developed to obtain valve simplification and a greater output from the
same size of engine. Two-stroke engines have no valves but only ports (some two-stroke engines are fitted
with conventional exhaust valve). This simplicity of the two-stroke engine makes it cheaper to produce.
Theoretically a two-stroke engine will develop twice the power of a comparable four-stroke engine
because of one power stroke every revolution (compared to one power stroke every two revolutions of
four-stroke engine). This makes the two-stroke engine cheaper and more compact than a comparable fourstroke engine.
In actual practice power is not exactly doubled but is only about 30% extra because of (a) reduced
effective stroke, and (b) due to increased heating caused by increased power strokes. The maximum speed
is kept less than 4-stroke engine. The other advantages of the two-stroke engine are more uniform torque
on crankshaft and complete exhaust of products of combustion.
However, when applied to spark-ignition engine the two-stroke cycle has certain disadvantages
which have restricted its use to only small engines suitable for motor cycles, scooters, mopeds, lawn
mowers, out-board engines, etc. In spark-ignition engine (petrol engine) the charge consists of a mixture of
air and fuel. During scavenging, as both inlet and exhaust ports are open simultaneously for some time,
some part of the fresh charge containing fuel escapes with exhaust. This results in high fuel consumption
and hence lower thermal efficiency. The other drawback of two-stroke SI engine is the lack of flexibilitythe capacity to run with equal efficiency at any speed. If the throttle is closed below the best point, the
amount of fresh mixture entering the cylinder is not enough to clear out all the exhaust, some of which
remains to contaminate the fresh charge. This results in irregular running of the engine.
The two-stroke diesel engine does not suffer from these defects. There is no loss of fuel with exhaust gases
as the intake charge in diesel engine is air only. The two-stroke diesel engine is therefore used quite
widely. Many of the biggest diesel engines work on this cycle. They are generally bigger than 60cm bore
and are used in marine propulsion.
27

A disadvantage common to all two-stroke engines, petrol as well as diesel, is greater cooling and
lubrication requirements due to one power stroke in each revolution of crankshaft. Consumption of
lubricating oil is also high in the two-stroke engine due to higher temperatures.
Table 2.5 Comparison of four-stroke and two-stroke cycle engines
28

Fundamental differences between SI and CI engines
Both SI and CI engines are internal combustion engines and have much in common. However,
there are also certain fundamental differences that cause their operation to vary considerably. These are
given in Table 2.6
Table 2.6 Comparison of SI and CI engines
29

table 2.6a detailed comparison of SI & CI engines
30
References1. I C Engines By M L Mathur & RP Sharma

2. I C Engines By Ganesan
31
Chapter-3
Cylinder heads, Cylinders & liners
Most modern automotive engines have all of their cylinders and the greater part of their
crankcase poured in a single casting, so that cylinders and crankcase form a single unit. However,
cylinders and crankcase perform different functions.
Separate Vs. Integral Cylinder Heads.
Cylinder heads now almost always are made separate castings, which are secured to the
cylinder block with studs and nuts, with a gasket in between to ensure a gas-tight joint. The cylinder
head can be cast integral with the block, and at one period in engine development that was the
predominant practice.
With integral cylinder heads there is, of course, no machining of joint surfaces and no need
for a gasket, but the cylinder casting is much more difficult to produce, and. besides, with the design
which was usually employed, cooling of the combustion-chamber walls was less effective-the wall
temperature of each combustion chamber being less uniform-than in an engine with a detachable
head.
In the case of L-head engines with integral cylinder heads, the valves were introduced
through openings in the head which were closed by threaded plugs generally referred to as "valve
caps." These plugs presented to the hot gases in the cylinder a considerable surface which was not
water-cooled, and which therefore formed "hot spots." It was customary to screw the spark plug into
one of these "valve caps." Since the insulator of the plug
naturally is a poor conductor of heat, and the additional
threaded joint also formed an obstruction to heat flow,
this further aggravated the situation with respect to "hot
spots" and made it necessary to keep the compression
quite low.
With the valve-in-head type of cylinder there are
two alternate designs of integral heads. With one of
these, exemplified in Fig, 1, the valves seat directly on
the metal of the head, but this has the disadvantage that
when they are to be reground, the whole block has to be
removed from the car. With the other, use is made of socalled valve cages, that is, cylindrical sleeves which are
set into bores in the cylinder head and retained therein
between a shoulder and a ring nut. The valve seat is
fom1ed on the inner end of the cage, and there is a port
in the wall of the latter through which the gases flow
from or into a valve passage cast in the cylinder head.
The objection to valve cages is that they add another
"joint" to the path for heat flow from the valve head to
the jacket water, and therefore result in higher valve
temperatures (particularly of the exhaust valve), which
promotes detonation and makes the construction
unsuitable for high speed, high-compression engines.
Fig.1. Cylinder with integral head

When the cylinder head is a detachable casting, the cylinder and jacket cores can be more
securely supported in the mold, and the cylinder castings are likely to be more nearly true to pattern,
with the result that after the cylinder is finished, its walls will be more nearly uniform in thickness.
With an engine having a removable head it is possible to thoroughly clean the combustion
chamber of carbon, by scraping, after the head has been removed. If it is desired to locate the valves
in the head, they may be seated directly on a water-cooled surface.
One reason for the continued, limited use of integral heads is that they avoid trouble due to
distortion of the upper or outer end of the cylinder bore due to the drawing up of the cylinder-head
retaining nuts. Such trouble is experienced occasionally, with detachable cylinder heads (blow-by
past piston rings, leakage past valves, and excessive oil consumption), but it can be guarded against
by performing the final finishing operation on the bore with a dummy cylinder head in place~ This
produces a bore which is true when the retaining nuts are tightened.
Gaskets
Copper-Asbestos Gaskets.
Separate cylinder heads were rendered
practical by the introduction of the copperasbestos gasket. This consists of an asbestos
sheet cut or stamped to the required form,
which is armored with thin sheet copper.
There is a copper sheet on each side of the
asbestos sheet, and the two copper sheets lap
along the outer edges of the asbestos sheet, so
that the latter is completely encased. Copper
grommets are inserted in the waterway openings and sometimes also in the combustion-chamber
openings. In heavy duty engines the combustion-chamber grommet of the gasket may be reinforced
by a copper-wire loop or a copper washer. In these copper-asbestos gaskets the copper provides the
tenacity and the asbestos the compressibility needed in a packing. A gasket for a four-cylinder Lhead engine is shown in Fig.2.
Steel-Encased and Other Gaskets.
Cylinder-head gaskets are made also of asbestos sheet encased in steel instead of copper.
Cold-rolled, deep-drawing steel is used, and is rust-proofed to prevent trouble from corrosion.
Among the rust-proofing processes applied to sheet steel for gaskets are tinning, electrogalvanizing, and terne-plating. Steel, being harder, does not have as good sealing properties as
copper, and a sealing coat of some heat-resistant, non-hardening material is generally applied to the
gasket, either in the manufacturing process or during installation. The edges of the steel sheet, of
course, are not rust-proofed, and some steel-encased gaskets are fitted with copper grommets at the
waterways. The principal advantage of steel- over copper-encased gaskets is that the production
cost of the former is about 20 per cent less.
Another type of gasket comprises a central steel core with a layer of .coated and graphited
asbestos on each side thereof, the asbestos being bonded to the core by means of integral steel tangs
clinched into it. These gaskets, which are used chiefly in the engines of low-priced passenger cars,
generally are provided with steel grommets at the combustion-chamber and waterway openings, one
manufacturer is using a cylinder head gasket consisting of a sheet of SAE No. 1010 steel 0.015 in.
thick, which is corrugated around the openings therein, including those for the cylinder-head studs.
The corrugations have a spring action. and the sealing properties of the gasket are further improved
by applying a coating of a heat-resistant lacquer to both sides.

Cylinder-Head Studs.
To obtain a gas-tight permanent joint with a cylinder-head gasket it is necessary to make
provision for an adequate number of studs distributed as nearly uniformly as possible. With L-head
cylinders from 16 to 20 studs are used for a four-cylinder block, from 24 to 26 for a six-cylinder,
and from 30 to 32for an eight-cylinder. With , valve-in-head cylinders only two rows of studs are
required, instead of three, and the total number therefore is less, viz., 12 for a four-cylinder block,
16 for a six- cylinder, and 20 for an eight-cylinder. To prevent distortion of the casting by drawing
up the nuts, there must be plenty of metal in the bosses for the studs, and the studs must not be too
near the valve seats. In the design of the heads careful attention must be given to the avoidance of
pockets which might form steam traps. It is not necessary to use very large water ports. Moderatesized ports judiciously distributed, are better, as they make it easier to prevent leaks.
Cylinder Material.
In the past automobile-engine cylinders have been generally cast of close-grained gray iron
approximating the following composition.
Percent
Silicon
1.9 to 2.2
Sulphur
not over 0.12
Phosphorus
not over 0.15
Manganese
0.6 to 0.9
Combined carbon
0.35 to 0.55
Total carbon
3.2 to 3.4
The SAE has standardized five grades of cast iron, of which four are recommended for
cylinder blocks and cylinder heads as follows: No. 111 for small cylinder blocks; No. 120 for
cylinder blocks generally. No.121 for truck and tractor-, and No. 122 for diesel engine cylinder
blocks. Pistons also are cast of these irons.
It was determined from tests conducted, that to obtain the better physical properties the total
carbon & silicon contents must be reduced and the phosphorus content held to a lower limit.
Among other points usually covered in specifications for cylinder castings arc the following:
Castings must be smooth, well cleaned and free from shrinkage cavities, cracks and holes, large
inclusions, chills, excess free carbides and any other defects detrimental to machinability,
appearance, or performance. They must finish to the size specified. When tensile tests are provided
for, the portion of the casting from which the test piece is to be machined is usually specified. .
The use of steel for cylinders has often been suggested, and for racing and aircraft engines,
cylinders are sometimes made from hollow steel forgings. Several American manufacturers use
cylinder castings of semi-steel, more properly called high-test cast iron. This material is made by
adding a certain percentage of scrap steel to the melt of cast iron, which results in a finer grain and
in somewhat better tensile properties.
To make it possible to successfully cast a multiple-cylinder block with thin walls, the iron
must pour well and have a "long life" (as the foundry men call it). These characteristics are
strengthened, by high phosphorus content, but, unfortunately, this element tends to make the iron
soft and less resistant to wear.
Nickel-Chromium irons.
Certain iron ore mined in Cuba contains small percentages of nickel and chromium, and the
metal made from this are, known as Mayari iron, is sometimes added to gray iron for cylinder
castings: Mayan iron therefore is a natural alloy. It is claimed that it is free from oxidation & has a
lower solidification point, and that the "longer life" of the iron improves the "feeding" of castings
when they are properly gated, in spite of low phosphorus content. Castings when sectioned -show

sound metal even where there are heavy bosses and thick sections. Cylinder castings made of a
mixture containing 10 per cent of Mayari iron showed a tensile strength of 36,740 psi, according to
makers of the iron; a transverse strength of 4250 lb, and a Brinell hardness of 223-229. The same
iron is also used for cylinder heads and pistons. Results similar to those from Mayari iron are being
obtained by the addition of small quantities of nickel and chromium, and such alloy irons are now
used not only for cylinder blocks, but also for pistons, particularly for heavy duty, commercialvehicle engines.
The chief advantage of alloyed irons is that they possess greater hardness and wear
resistance, and that without being harder to machine. The machinability of grey iron is dependent
upon the absence of excess iron carbide of chilled or hard spots. Nickel acts to eliminate both, and
so to improve machinability. In many cases the alloyed iron, although having a Brinell hardness
from 30 to 40 points greater, is actually easier to machine than ordinary gray iron.
When nickel is used alone as an alloying element, the content usually ranges between 1.25
and 2.5%, whereas if it is used in combination with chromium, the nickel content ranges between
o.50 and 1.50 % and that of chromium between 0.25 and 0.50 % it is claimed that a combed content
of nickel and chromium of 1 per cent will give cast iron with a Brinell hardness of 207-217; of 2 per
cent, 223-235, and of 3 per cent, 241-255.
Chromium and nickel, however, are not the only alloying elements purposely added to
cylinder irons; others added to improve the fluidity of the molten iron, the resistance of the iron to
wear, its machinability, or both of the latter qualities, include, molybdenum, vanadium and titanium.
Copper and Molybdenum Additions.
Copper is of value in cylinder irons in that it tends to prevent chill in thin sections and to
give a finer grain structure in the heavier sections, thus acting the part of a stabilizer, It also
increases the fluidity of the iron and acts as a "graphitizer"; it hardens and tightens up the matrix so
that sponginess is reduced. The improvement due to copper is well shown in transverse tests, and
these additions are particularly effective in the presence of high manganese and of nickel or
chromium.
Molybdenum increases the resistance to wear of cast iron, especially at higher temperatures.
This results from the refining action it has on the grain, and from the finer division of graphite
which it brings about. It increases the Brinell hardness-although in this respect it is not as effective
as an equal proportion of chromium and it accomplishes this without rendering the metal less
machinable. It also increases the tensile strength and the toughness of the metal. Where there is a
tendency for the castings to crack owing to faults in either the design or the foundry techniquemolybdenum is often of benefit. It is mostly used in combination with either chromium alone or
with both nickel and chromium.
Heat Cracks in Cylinder Walls.
Cracks in L-head cylinder castings (especially in large ones) sometimes start at the sharp
edge formed by the cylinder bore and the valve-passage wall. This edge reaches a very high
temperature, because the hot gases pass over it during the exhaust period, and a crack naturally
starts easily at a sharp edge. Rounding off this edge has been found a good preventative against heat
fatigue cracks. Cracks may start also at either the inlet- or exhaust-valve seat. It was shown that
such cracks usually are the result of pre-ignition. The latter causes local overheating of the
combustion-chamber wall, and the crack forms when the overheated metal cools again. By
installing a "hot" spark plug in one cylinder and then running the engine under full load at from
3000 to 3500 rpm, cracks could be produced at will. The "hot" plug causes pre-ignition, and usually
one 10-minute run under these conditions resulted in the formation of a crack, though sometimes
several such runs were required.

Cylinder Wear.
The characteristic which is most important in judging cylinder irons is their resistance to
wear under engine- operating conditions. As the cylinder bore wears, the engine loses power,
consumes excessive quantities of oil, and gives off smoke in the exhaust. In fact, the rate of oil
consumption is usually taken as an index of the state of wear of the cylinder bore.
It was observed many years ago that the wear of cylinder bores is very non-uniform. It is greatest at
the top end of piston travel (under the topmost ring with the piston at the end of its up-stroke), and
decreases rather rapidly from there down. (Fig. 3.) It has been pointed out that cylinder wear is due
to three separate causes, viz.,
Abrasion, which is due to
foreign particles in the oil
film;
Erosion, which is due to
metal-to-metal
contact
between the cylinder wall
on the one hand and the
piston and rings on the
other; and
Corrosion, which results
from chemical action on
the cylinder walls by the
products of combustion.
The order of importance of the three causes varies with conditions of operation. That corrosion
may play an important part in the wear of cylinder bores, it was found that accelerated cylinder
wear occurs at low cylinder temperatures and is attributable to corrosion resulting from deposition
of acid-bearing moisture on the cylinder walls. The reasons for assuming corrosion to be
responsible were briefly as follows:
1. The pitted and discolored appearance of the cylinder walls and piston rings after lowtemperature operation.
2. The fact that increased wear begins just below the calculated dew point.
3. The detection of acids in the water of combustion.
4. A large reduction in the rate of wear obtained with hydrogen fuel.
5. A reduction in wear obtained when using corrosion-resisting materials.
The research work showed that corrosion is largely due to carbonic acid formed by the
solution of carbon dioxide, a product of combustion, in water condensed from the gases of
combustion. When hydrogen is used as fuel there is no carbon dioxide in the exhaust, so that no
carbonic acid can form.
Effect of Cylinder Material on Rate of Bore Wear.
The result of the Brinell test
is generally regarded as bearing
some relation to the rate of cylinder
wear. That hardness is a factor in
wear resistance is indicated by the
fact that heat-treated liners of
alloyed iron with a Brinell hardness
of slightly over 500, have been
found to require reconditioning of
the bore (by re-grinding) only one

third as often as the bores of gray-iron cylinder blocks with a Brinell hardness of around 200.
Cylinders with soft or "porous" spots which are readily detected by the Brinell test, usually show a
high rate of wear, but differences in hardness within the usual range specified for gray-iron cylinder
castings, say. 180 to 230 Brinell, have little effect on the resistance to wear.
Cylinder Stress and Wall Thickness.
With the usual compression ratio of between 7 and 8 (for passenger-car engines) a
maximum explosion pressure of about 700 psi may be figured with. Now consider a section of a
cylinder of b in. bore and 1 in. long, as represented in Fig. 4. The pressure developed in the cylinder
by the explosion tends to rupture the wall along lines parallel with the cylinder axis and at opposite
ends of a diameter. With a maximum combustion pressure of 700 psi the rupturing force on the
section of the cylinder considered is 700b lb. If the wall has a thickness t and the material has a
tensile strength of 35,000 psi, the resistance to rupture of the two sections 1 in. long and t in. thick is
70.000t lb and the. factor of safety then is
f
=70000t/700b =100t/b
For a factor of safety of 4 the ratio of wall thickness to bore then evidently must be 1/25
This rule when applied to cylinders of small bore gives values for the cylinder-wall thickness
which, while large enough so far as withstanding the stresses of a normal explosion is concerned,
would be too small from the standpoint of shop production. If the water jacket is cast integral, as it
usually is, the cylinder can be machined only on the inside, and the minimum thickness of the wall
then depends upon the accuracy with which the cores are set. Some allowance must be made for
inaccurate core work, and a good value for the wall thickness is
t
= (b/25) +0.10in
This formula can be safely applied to the whole range of sizes of automotive engines with
cast-iron cylinders.
The cylinder head must be quite stiff in order to resist the stresses of detonation. The wall
itself is usually made slightly thicker than the cylinder wall. In the case of an overhead-valve
engine, the Wall is normally stiffened by the vertical walls of the valve pockets. A similar stiffening
effect is usually obtained in the heads of L-head cylinders from the walls of spark-plug wells, but if
there are any extended flat surfaces in these heads, they should be stiffened by ribbing.
Details of Water Jacket.
For a long time it was the general practice to extend the water jacket down the cylinder wall
only to the level of the top of the piston when at the bottom of the stroke. As the lower part of the
cylinder is not contacted directly by the hot gases, it does not reach an excessive temperature, and
therefore does not seem to require water-jacketing. However, in modern high-speed engines the
crankcase oil often reaches an excessive temperature, which reduces the load-carrying capacity of
the oil film in the bearings, and may cause the latter to fail in hard service. It has been found that by
extending the water jacket all the way down the cylinder, the temperature of the oil in the crankcase
under extreme conditions may be lowered by as much as 50 Fahrenheit degrees, as compared with
an engine with "half-length" jackets, and "full-length" jackets have come into general use.
Some designers taper the jacket down from the top to the lower end, so as to place a larger
body of water around the compression chamber, where most of the heat must be absorbed. In most
engines, however, the depth of the water jacket is uniform from top to bottom. This depth varies
somewhat in different designs, but usually is equal to about one-eighth the cylinder bore. Certain
parts of the jacket which directly affect the over-all dimensions of the block can be made smaller in
depth, including the space between adjacent cylinders and that between a cylinder and a valve
pocket or a tappet housing. Liberal water spaces have the advantage that the core sand can be more

effectively removed from the casting. In engines of special design, such as those with "wet" liners,
the jacket depth can be made less.
The jacket wall generally is made as thin as the foundry process permits. It can be made
thinner, of course, in a small cylinder than in a big one, because in the former the area is smaller.
Average practice with regard to jacket-wall thickness is as follows:
Cylinder bore, inches
3
4
5
6
Thickness of jacket wall inches
5/32 3/16 7/32 1/4
Jacket walls must be made heavier when cylinder liners (especially the "wet" kind) are used
and the tensile stresses due to the force of explosion are sustained chiefly or wholly by these walls.
On the cylinder head the water jacket is usually made of somewhat greater depth than
around the cylinders, so as to provide adequate heat-storage capacity over the area where most of
the waste heat enters the cooling water. There should be water spaces between all adjacent valve
pockets (instead of common walls), and the water should come quite close to the valve seats, as it is
only in this way that uniform cooling of the valve seat can be assured, and distortion and
consequent leakage prevented. Cylinder heads must be so designed that no steam pockets can form
in them; that is, it must be possible for the water to flow from any part of the jacket to the outlet
along a continuously rising path. Trouble from overheating is most likely to arise at the exhaustvalve seats, and it is therefore desirable that the cooling effect of the circulating water be most
intense at the valve pockets. This can be assured by inserting a distributing header in the water
jacket, the header connecting with the water entrance to the jacket at the front of the block and
having an outlet adjacent to each exhaust-valve pocket. The header is usually made of sheet metal
and set into the mold. Two arrangements are illustrated in Fig. 5.
With valve-in-head cylinders the location of the water outlet presents some difficulty:
because the valve mechanism on top of the engine is usually provided with a cover. One solution of
the problem consists in forming a number of outlet bosses on the head over to one side, so they
come outside the valve cover, and using a water-return manifold. While this tends to promote
uniformity of circulation, it
makes for dissymmetry of
appearance, which is the more
objectionable because the
manifold is located very
prominently on top of the
engine. The more common
plan is to have an outlet at the
front end of the head, just
outside the valve cover, and
usually oblong in form, with
the long diameter across the
engine, so as to minimize the
overhang.
In cylinders provided
with "full-length" jackets, the central portion of the barrel lacks the reinforcement which with "halflength" jackets is provided by the flange that forms the bottom of the jacket. If the barrel also
happens to be of minimum thickness its central portion will have very little rigidity and will distort
easily, particularly if during machining operations the tool strikes a hard spot: This makes it
almost impossible to obtain a true cylindrical bore. Conditions can be improved in this respect by
providing the barrels of such engines with one or two circumferential ribs at intermediary points of
their length.

While the flange around the cylinder at mid-length in engines with half-length water jackets
has the advantage of affording the rigidity of structure desirable during machining operations it is
detrimental under certain operating conditions. For instance, when an engine is being run under full
load immediately after a cold start, the piston heats up much more rapidly than the cylinder block
and is apt to get tight in the cylinder and scuff. It has been observed that in engines with half-length
jackets such scuffing occurs particularly at the level of the water-jacket bottom flange, which latter
prevents the cylinder from expanding.
Guarding Against Cylinder Distortion.
It has been pointed out already that a frequent source of trouble
in operation is distortion of the cylinder bore which results in
blow-by overheating and excessive cylinder wear. Cylinder
distortion may he due to either mechanical or thermal causes.
Mechanical distortion is most likely to result from tightening of
the cylinder-head nuts, if the anchorages for the cylinder head
studs are not properly supported. It .has been suggested that
these anchorages be either located in a wall which extends
straight down to the cylinder bottom flange so that the pull of the
stud produces pure tensile stresses on the material of the block,
or else be cast on the jacket wall rather than on the cylinder wall,
as illustrated in Fig. 6. To further reduce cylinder-wall distortion,
this wall is thickened near the top, while the thickness of the
deck around the cylinder wall is reduced.
In valve-in-head engines the bases for the brackets
carrying the rocker arms must he well supported, so they will not
yield unduly under load which would make the engine noisy.
Removable Liners.
In most engines the pistons hear directly on walls
forming part of the cylinder block, hut in some-and
particularly in engines with large cylinders-removable liners
are used. There are two types of these liners:
A "dry" liner is one which is in contact with metal of the
block over its whole length, or nearly its whole length, while
a "wet" liner is one which is supported by the block over
narrow belts only, and is surrounded by cooling water
between these belts.
In the United States "wet" liners came into use first,
especially in the engines of farm tractors and commercial
vehicles. Aside from the fact that any liner when worn or
damaged can be replaced at relatively low cost, the
construction offers the advantage that because of their
uniform wall thickness (being machined inside and lout) and
because they are very little affected by the tension of
cylinder-head studs, separate liners distort less in service than
the integral barrels of conventional cylinder blocks.
Fig. 7 "Wet" cylinder liner with packing rings.

At first the liners were made of the same gray iron that was used for cylinder blocks, but in
the course of time materials of greater wear resistance were developed, and as most of these were
more expensive than ordinary gray iron, they lent themselves particularly to use in liners. One
method of installing a removable "wet" liner in a cylinder block is illustrated in Fig. 7. At the top
the liner is provided with an external flange which enters a counter bore in the cylinder. The top of
the liner is flush with the top of the block, and the joint is sealed by the cylinder-head gasket. In
some cases and especially in Diesel engines-the hole in the gasket is made slightly larger than the
cylinder bore, and a ring or loop of copper is inserted to reduce the pressure on the gasket.
At the bottom the liner is enlarged in diameter and has three grooves for packing rings cut in it.
Instead of in the liner, the grooves may be cut in the block. These packing rings are made of
synthetic rubber, which is more resistant to mineral oil and other petroleum products than natural
rubber. The packing rings may be made of circular section, of a diameter slightly larger than the
width of the grooves, and insertion of the liner then will deform them so that they substantially fill
the grooves. To permit easy insertion of the liner, either it or the bore of the block is chamfered,
depending on which part contains the packing rings.
Inaccuracies in the section diameter of these packing rings are said to have been the cause of
some trouble. If the diameter is too small there may be leakage, whereas if it is too large the
pressure exerted when the liner is forced into place may crack it. To overcome this difficulty, a
cork-synthetic rubber composition of greater elastic compressibility has been developed. Packing
ring of this material are molded with a square section, and when inserted project slightly above the
surface of the part in which the grooves are cut. Insertion of the liner compresses them flush with
that surface. Single and two packing rings also are used, and in the case of two rings, a third groove
sometimes is cut between the two containing the packing rings, to collect any oil or water that may
seep past the rings and allow it to drain off.
"Dry" liners, which in Great Britain
were used practically exclusively from the
beginning, seem to have gained the ascendancy
over the "wet" type in this country after World
War II. A typical "dry-liner" installation (in a
GMC engine) is shown in Fig. 8. In this engine
the cylinder block and crankcase are separate
castings, and the liner extends some distance
into the crankcase. It is held in position by a
flange. at the top. In some other engines with
dry liners and a separate crankcase the retaining
flange on the liner is near the bottom and is held
between the cylinder block and the crankcase. A
British manufacturer of Diesel truck engines
(Albion) copper-plates the dry liners on the
outside. The copper is said to act as a lubricant,
facilitating the insertion of the liner, and also to
improve the heat flow from liner to cylinder
wall.
Fig. 8 "Dry" cylinder liner in position.

Materials for Cylinder Liners
For the engines of public-service vehicles, which latter run up enormous mileages in the
course of a year, it has been found advisable to use alloy iron for the liners and to heat-treat them.
General Motors Truck & Coach Division, for instance, uses such hardened liners in all of its larger
engines, the material being a nickel-chromium iron of the following composition:
Percent
Total carbon
3.10-3.40
Combined carbon
0.75-0.90
Manganese
0.55-0.75
Phosphorus
0.20 max.
Sulphur
0.10 max.
Silicon
1.90-2.10
Nickel
1.80-2.20
Chromium
0.55-0.75
In the "as cast" condition the liners show a Brinell hardness of 212-241, a transverse strength
of 2400 lb on A.S.T.M. arbitration bars (bars of 1.2 in. diameter and 18 in. between supports), a
transverse deflection of 0.20-0.30 in., and a minimum tensile strength of 37,000 psi on test bars
machined from-the casting. A hydrostatic test also is applied to the liners, which must withstand
1500 psi for a wall thickness of l/8 in. and. bores of 4-5 in. To increase their wear resistance, the
liners are hardened, by being heated to. 1540- 1560 F for 30 to 40 minutes and quenched in still oil.
After this they must show a Brinell hardness of at least tensile 512 while the strength must range
between 28,000 and 36,000 psi and the transverse strength between 2700 and 2900 lb for the
arbitration bar. With these liners the mileage between cylinder overhauls is said to be practically
trebled, as compared. With solid cylinders of gray cast iron showing from 230 to 240 Brinell. A
minor disadvantage is that it takes up to 5000 miles for the piston rings to wear in fully, hence the
oil consumption is rather high during the early part of the life of the liner.
Nitrided Cylinder Liners.
A process for nitrogen hardening or nitriding cast iron was developed in Europe. The
process consists in exposing cast-iron objects to be case- hardened to a current of ammonia vapor at
about 900 F for a considerable length of time, and then quenching. At this high temperature the
ammonia breaks up into its constituents. Nitrogen and hydrogen, and the nitrogen penetrate into the
surface of the casting & combines chemically with the metallic elements, forming very hard
nitrides.
A Special alloy iron containing aluminum must be used. The liners are exposed to the
ammonia vapors for 65 hours at 950 F and then have a hardened case of 0.015 in. depth, the
hardness tapering off from the outside, where it is somewhere between 800 and 1000 Brinell.
A slight "nitride fuzz" produced on the surface of the liners during the process is removed
before they are shipped to engine builders. Some distortion is caused, and the effects of this are
eliminated by honing after the liners are inserted into the block, for which purpose an allowance of
0.002 in. on the diameter is made. Nitriding also produces a slight "growth," of the order of 0.001
in., and this, too, is allowed for in advance. Liners are installed in blocks with a press fit, an
interference of 0.0015 to 0.0025 in. being allowed, depending on the bore.
Chromium Plating.
Another method of reducing the rate of wear consists in chromium plating the bore. The
process differs radically from that of chromium plating for ornamental purposes. .It gives a "porous"
coating which holds oil, while the so called bright plating process gives a dense coating to which oil
will not adhere & which for this reason is readily is scored in service. From 200 to 500 times as
10

much chromium as in conventional decorative plating is deposited per unit of area. If slightly too
much should be deposited, so that the bore is undersize by from 0.0005 to 0.001 in., the excess can
be removed by honing.Wear tests made on a plain gray-iron cylinder of 241 Brinell hardness and a
similar cylinder plated indicated that chromium plating reduces the rate of cylinder wear
approximately in the proportion of 7:1 and that the wear on the top piston ring is coincidentally
reduced about 4:1.
Such methods as nitriding and chromium plating of cylinder bores are applicable
particularly to bus and railcar gasoline engines and to Diesel engines, which have a much longer
service life than passenger-car engines. Cylinder bores in plain cast iron must be reconditioned
about every 50,000 miles, and with either a nitrided or chromium-plated bore, if reconditioning is
required at all, it will be required only after a much longer interval.
Length of Bore
In most modem engines of both the L-head and I-head type the combustion chamber is
formed in the cylinder head and at the end of the up-stroke the top of the piston is flush with the
finished top surface of the cylinder block. One reason for not making the piston overrun the end of
the bore is that that would bring the top ring beyond the upper end of the water jacket at the end of
the up-stroke, where it would not be so effectively cooled, in the ring groove. The lower end of the
piston generally is made to overrun the end of the bore slightly.
The total length of the finished bore evidently is equal to the length of stroke plus the length
of the piston minus any overrun of the piston at both ends, the overrun being considered negative
when the piston does not come quite to the end of the bore. To facilitate getting the piston rings into
the cylinder, the bore is chamfered at the end from which the piston is entered
Production of Engine Blocks
In the design of engine block or cylinder block it is well to consult with the foreman of the
pattern shop, because a casting of this kind is a difficult piece of mold, and the advice of an
experienced mechanic may obviate trouble later.
Cylinders must be molded with the head downward, for the reason that blowholes, porous
spots, etc are most likely to occur near the top of the casting, & the head of the cylinder, which is
the working end, must of necessity be of sound metal.
When the castings have cooled the core sand is removed, the seams etc., are chipped off, &
the castings are then put through a cleaning process. [Either by pickling & neutralizing or by blast
cleaning (blast cleaning by sand or small granules of chilled iron or steel) & then normalizing &
cleaning]
Further the cast & cleaned blocks would undergo other operations in sequence like Milling,
Drilling, Cylinder boring, Precision boring, Finish of bore, Honing, Lapping, followed by
measurement of quality of surface finish, Water test Finishing of valve seats & guides & surface
broaching.
Transfer machines were adopted since world war-II to perform the operations automatically.
11

DESIGN OF CYLINDER AND CYLINDER HEAD
Cylinder should be
- designed to withstand the high pr. & temp. conditions.
- be able to transfer the unused heat effectively so that metal temp. does not approach the
dangerous limit.
The Cylinder wall is subjected to gas pressure & the piston side thrust.
-Piston side thrust tends to bend the wall but the stress in the wall due to side thrust is very
small & can be neglected.
-The gas pressure Produces 2 types of stresses;
-longitudinal and circumferential, which act at right angle to each other & the net stress in
each direction is reduced. The longitudinal stress is usually small & can be neglected.
D2
p max
force
4
f l =longitudinal stress=
=
area
D 2O D 2
4
D=cylinder diameter,
DO= cylinder outside diameter,
p max =max. gas pr.

f c =circumferential force=
p max D
2t
fc
, &
m
f
fc - l ,
m
Net f l = f l Net f c =
where 1 = poisions ratio= 1

m
4
12
CYLINDER WALL THICKNESS

The Wall Thickness is usually calculated by applying the formula for a thin cylinder,
p D
thus t = max
+k
2 fc
Where t=wall thickness, mm,
p max = max. gas pr.,N/mm2 (3.1 to 3.5N/mm2),
D=cy. bore, mm,
f c =max. hoop stress and is equal to 35 to 105 N/mm2 depending on the size and material, larger
values are used for smaller bores,
Cylinder bore, mm
75
100 150 200 250 300 350
400
450
500
1.5 2.3
4.0
6.0
7.5
9.5
10.5 12.5 12.5 12.5
k =reboring factor, mm
The thickness of the cylinder wall usually varies from 4.5mm to more than 25mm, depending upon
the cylinder size.
According to an empirical relation,
For liners of oil engines,
D
near the top portion & through 20% of the stroke.
t
15
For dry liners,
The total thicknesst is the thickness of the liner & that of the cylinder wall.
The thickness of the Dry liner is given as
t ' =0.03D to 0.035D
The thickness of the inner walls of the automobile engine cylinders is usually given empirically as
t =0.045D+1.6mm
3
1
The thickness of Jacket wall is given as
= to t , larger ratio for smaller cylinder
3
4
or
=0.032D+1.6mm
The water space between the outer cylinder wall & inner jacket wall is =10mm
for a 75mm cylinder to about 75mm for a 750mm cylinder
or
=0.08D+6.5mm
CYLINDER DIAMETER AND LENGTH

The o/p of a given cylinder can be written as - Power=
pLAn
,W
60
Where L=stroke in m,
A=piston area, mm2,
n=no. of working strokes per minute= N for 2 stroke engines and
N
for 4 stroke engines
2
p=imep-if power is indicated &

bmep if o/p is in brake power, N/mm2
* As a guide, the max. gas pr. can be taken as 9 to 10 times the bmep
13
CYLINDER FLANGES AND STUDS

The cylinder is either cast integral with the upper half of the crankcase or attached to it with the help
of flanges, studs and nuts.
The cylinder flange is made thicker than the wall of the cylinder.
Flange thickness should not be less than 1.1 to 1.25 t
Common value for flange thickness = 1.2 to 1.4 t
Or
=1.25 to 1.5 d where d =bolt diameter, nominal
The distance of the end of the flange from the center of the stud or bolt should not be < d +6mm,
and not > 1.5 d .
The use of studs decreases the bending stress at the flange root since the moment arm can be made
very small.
The material of the studs or bolts is usually nickel steel with a yield point of 630 to 945MPa.
The diameter of the bolt or stud is calculated by equation of the gas load to the area of all the studs
at the root of the threads multiplied by the allowable fibre stress.
Core
,
D 2 p max . = z
d c2 f t
4
D 2 p max . = z d c2 f t
dc = D
Diameter
Outside
p max
,
z ft
Diameter
where f t = allowable fibre stress, 35 to 70 N/mm2,

d c = core diameter
Low value of f t is taken since there is already high stress in the studs due to tightening of the nuts.
The number of studs ' z ' may be taken as
D
D
+ 4 to
+ 4 , D in mm
100
50
Or the pitch of the bolts may be taken as 19 d to 28.5 d , where d is in mm.

3
In practice d generally varies from ( to 1) times the thickness of the flange.
4
In no case d should be < 16mm
14
CYLINDER HEAD
Usually a separate cylinder cover or head is provided with all but the smallest engines. A box
type section is employed of considerable depth to accommodate ports. The general design of the
cover is governed by the following factors along with the strength consideration.
Air and gas passages
Accommodation of valves and their gear
Accommodation of the atomizer at the centre of the cover in the case of the diesel engines.
Cylinder head is the most difficult part to be designed and manufactured. The cylinder heads are
usually made of close grained cast iron or alloy cast iron containing nickel, chromium and
molybdenum, for small and medium sized engines, while for large engines, the material is low
carbon steel.
The thickness of the cylinder wall ranges from about 6.5mm for small engines to
proportionately larger values for large engines. The thickness depends on the shape of the head. If
the cylinder head is approximately a flat circular plate, the thickness can be determined by the
relation:
Cp max
t=D
ft
Where C=const., in this case equal to 0.1, f t =allowable stress, taken to be 35 to 56 N/mm2
A low value of ' f t ' is taken because both pr. & temp. stresses are induced in the cylinder
head and the above equation is based upon only the cylinder pressure. The heat transfer through the
head is about 5 to 13 times as much heat per unit area as the cylinder walls, depending on the design
and amount of cooling.
15

Example - 1
Determine the thickness of a cast iron cylinder wall & the stresses for a 300mm petrol engine,
with a maximum gas pressure of 3.5N/mm 2
Solution :
Given
D = cylinder bore = 300mm,
p max = max. gas pr. = 3.5N/mm2
Wall Thickness is usually calculated by applying formula for a thin cylinder,

p
D
Thus Wall Thickness, t = max
+ k,
2 fc
pmax = max. gas pr., N/mm 2 (3.1 to 3.5N/mm 2 ),
fc = max. hoop stress and is equal to 35 to 105 N/mm 2
where, D = cy. bore, mm,
depending on the size and material, larger values are used for smaller bores,
Cylinder bore, mm 75 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Reboring factor, mm 1.5 2.3 4.0 6.0 7.5 9.5 10.5 12.5 12.5 12.5
From above table k = 21.5mm,

Assume f c = 45 N / mm 2 ,
p max D
3.5 300
+k =
+ 9.5
2 45
2 fc
Now apparent longitudinal stress,
t=
Wall Thickness,
= 21.5mm
force [( D 2 / 4) p max ] p max D 2

fl =
=
=
area [ Do2 D 2 ] / 4 Do2 D 2
Where, D = cylinder diameter,

D o = cylinder outside diameter & p max = max. gas pr.
Now Do = D + 2t = 300 + 2t = 300 + (2 21.5) = 343mm
3.5 300 2
Apparent longitudinal stress f l =
343 2 300 2
= 11.45 N / mm 2
Now apparent circumferentinal stress,

force pmax D 3.5 300
= 24.4 N / mm 2
=
=
area
2t
2 21.5
f
1
1
Net
f l = f l - c , where = poision' s ratio =
4
m
m
24.4
= 11.45 6.1 = 5.35 N / mm 2
Net
f l = 11.45 4
11.45
= 24.4 2.86 = 21.54 N / mm 2
& Net f c = 24.4 4
fc =
16

Example 2
7 vertical 4 stroke CI 6ngine has the following specifications:
4rake power = 4.5kW, Speed = 1200rpm, imep = 0.35( / mm 2 , +mech = 0.80.
Detrmine the dimensions of the cylinder.
Solution :
Brake Power
Indicated Power
Since +mech =
Indicated Power =
Indicated Power =
[1Watt = 1N
n=
n
2
m
s
4.5
Brake Power
=
= 5.625kW
+mech
o.8
Pimep ( / mm 2 L m A mm 2 n rpm
60
Watt
for single acting 4 stroke Engine =
1200
2
= 600
0.35 L A 600
60
5.625 103 60
=
= 1.608 103
0.35 600
5.625 103 watt =

or
L m A mm 2
D2
mm 2 = 1.608 103
4
Stroke
L
Now assuming
i.e. ratio as 1.35 , or L = 1.35 D
Bore
D
or
L m
D2
mm 2 = 1.608 103
4
1.35 D
D2
or
mm
mm 2 = 1.608 103
1000
4
or Bore Diameter
D = 115mm,
Stroke Length
L = 1.35 D = 1.35 115 = 155mm
Now Length of Cylinder = Stroke + clearance on both sides
= Stroke + 10 to 15% of the stroke
Length of Cylinder
= 155 + (155 0.15)
= 178.5mm
1.35 D m
17
Example 3
Determine the thickness of a plain cylinder head for 0.3m cylinder.
The maximum gas pressure is approximately 3.2N/mm 2 . Design the studs also for the cylinder cover.
C pmax
ft
Thickness of cylinder cover = t = D
Solution :
whereD = 300mm,
pmax = 3.2 N / mm 2 {C = constant = 0.1, & f t = allowable fibre stress = 35 to 56 N / mm 2 }
assuming f t = 42 N / mm 2 , for good grade cast iron

t = 300
0.1 3.2
= 26.2mm
42
Studs
The gas will actually act upon the p. c. d . of the studs, but as the stud diameter is not known initially ,
the pressure may be assumed to be acting the cylinder diameter. Or , it is a common practice that the
centre of the stud should be 1.25d to 1.5d from the the inner wall of the cylinder.
(d = nominal bolt diameter , d c = core diameter )
Pitch circle diameter D p = D + 3d = 300 + 3d mm
D p2
Load on the stud =
max . gas pressure
(300 + 3d ) 2
3.2
4
d c2
But load = Z
ft ,
4
=
where ft = 35 to70 N / mm
& d c = core diameter , Z = No. of studs
let , core diameter , d c = 0.8 nominal diameter = 0.8 d

Now No. of studs Z =
Let Z = 8
D
100
+4
&
to
D
50
+4
300
ft = 63 N / mm
100
+4
to
300
50
+4
= 7 to 10 ,
(300 + 3d ) 2
( 0 .8 d ) 2
3 .2 = 8
63
4
4
By trial & error , we get , d = 43mm
D p = D + 3d = 300 + 3d = 300 + 3 43 = 429mm
Dp
429
= 168.5mm
8
Z
Now minimum pitch should be 3d = 3 43 = 129mm and maximum pitch lies between 19 d to 28.5 d
Pitch of the studs =
i.e.,
124.5mm to187 mm,
Both conditions are satisfied
References:
1. High Combustion Engines P M Heldt
2. M/C Design Sharma & Agarwal
18
Visveswaraya Technological University.
S.J.M. Institute of Technology. Chitradurga 577502 Karnataka.

Department of Automobile Engineering
Subject: Theory and Design of Automotive Engines
[Sub Code - AU51]
V Semester, Automobile Engineering
Syllabus Covered:
1. Piston, piston rings, piston pin, design analysis, methods of manufacture,
compensation of thermal expansion in pistons, heat treatment, piston ring
selection. Limits of fit for pistons.
By
Govindaraju.H.K.,
Assistant Professor and Head,
Department of Automobile Engineering,
SJM Institute of Technology,
Chitradurga - 577502
PISTON
Nicholas August Otto, (German) Inventor of Piston (1866)

Piston is considered to be one of the most important parts in a reciprocating
engine in which it helps to convert the chemical energy obtained by the combustion
of fuel into useful (work) mechanical power. The purpose of the piston is to provide
a means of conveying the expansion of gases to the crankshaft via connecting rod,
without loss of gas from above or oil from below.
Piston is essentially a cylindrical plug that moves up & down in the cylinder.
It is equipped with piston rings to provide a good seal between the cylinder wall &
piston.
FUNCTIONS:
1. To reciprocate in the cylinder as a gas tight plug causing suction,
compression, expansion and exhaust strokes.
2. To receive the thrust generated by the explosion of the gas in the cylinder
and transmit it to the connecting rod.
3. To form a guide and bearing to the small end of the connecting rod and to
take the side thrust due to obliquity of the rod.
2
The top of the piston is called head or crown and parts below the ring grooves
is called skirt. Ring grooves are cut on the circumference of the upper portion of
the piston. The portions of the piston that separate the grooves are called lands.
Some pistons have a groove in the top land called as a heat dam which reduces
heat transfer to the rings.
The piston bosses are those reinforced sections of the piston designed to hold
the piston pin or wrist pin.
MATERIALS:
The materials used for piston is mainly Alluminium alloy. Cast Iron is also
used for piston as it possesses excellent wearing qualities, co-efficient of
expansion. But due to the reduction of weight, the use of alluminium for piston was
essential. To get equal strength a greater thickness of metal is essential. Thus
some of the advantage of the light metal is lost. Alluminium is inferior to Cast iron
in strength and wearing qualities and hence requires greater clearance in the
cylinder to avoid the risk of seizure.
The piston made by the alloy of alluminium produces less inertia forces
there by rotating the crankshaft more smoothly. The heat conductivity of
alluminium is three-times that of cast iron and this combined with a greater
thickness necessary for strength, enables an alluminium piston alloy to run at
much lower temperatures than cast iron. As a result carbonised oil does not form
on the under side of the piston and the crank case keeps always clean. SAE has
recommended the following composition.
SAE 300 : Heat resistant aluminum alloy with the composition, Cu 5.5 to 7.5 %, Fe
1.5 %, Si 5.0 to 6.0 %, Mg 0.2 to 0.6 %, Zn 0.8 %, Ti 0.2 %, other Elements 0.8 %.
Advantages:
1. Maintain mechanical properties at elevated temperature
2. Heat conductivity about 4.4 times cast iron
3. Specific gravity 2.89
SAE 321 : Low expansion Alloy having the composition, Cu 0.5 to 1.5 %, Fe 1.3 %,
Si 11 to 13 %, Mn 0.1 %, Mg 0.7 to 1.3 %, Zn 0.1 %, Ti 0.2 %, Ni 2 to 3 %, other
Elements 0.05 %.
Y Alloy: (Developed by National Physical Laboratory, London.) it is also called
alluminium alloy 2285. This alloy is noted for its strength at elevated temperatures.
Also used for cylinder heads. Composition of Cu 4%, Ni 2%, and Mg 1.5%.
CONSTUCTION:
A piston is a cylindrical plug which moves up and down in the engine
cylinder. It is attached to the small end of the connecting rod by means of a piston
pin. Its diameter is slightly smaller than that of cylinder bore. The space between
the piston and the cylinder wall is called the piston clearance. The purpose of this
clearance is to avoid seizing of the piston in the cylinder and to provide a film of
lubricant between the piston and the cylinder wall. The amount of this clearance
depends upon the size of the cylinder bore and the piston material because the
different metals have different rates of contraction and expansion when cooled and
heat.
1. Crown,
2. Dish (or bowl),
3. Bowl lip,
4. Top land,
5. 2nd and 3rd ring lands
6. Compression ring grooves,
7. Oil ring groove,
8. Pin retainer ring groove
9. Pin boss,
10. Crown thickness,
11. under crown surface,
12. Oil return or drain holes,
13. Skirt, &14. Skirt tail,
15. Boss spacing, 16. Pin bore diameter,
17. Skirt length, 18. Lower skirt length, 19. Compression height, 20. Total length
5
PISTON CLEARANCE:
The two different metals having unequal coefficient of expansion which
causes engine slap (piston slap). The space between the piston and the cylinder
wall is called the piston clearance. This clearance is essential to provide a space
for a film of lubricant between the piston and cylinder wall to reduce friction. The
piston clearance is required for the piston to reciprocate in the cylinder. There are
different methods to maintain the proper clearance to dissipate the heat from the
piston. They are explained as below,
1. Providing Heat dam:
To keep the heat away from the piston skirt or lower part of the piston a
groove is cut near the top of the piston as shown in fig. This reduce the path of
heat transfer (travel) from the piston head to the piston skirt, there by cooling the
skirt and preventing it from expanding in excess.
Piston with heat dam
2. Providing slots:
This method is used to control the piston expansion that is by providing slots
in the lower portion of the piston. These slots may be horizontal, vertical or T-type
as shown in fig. These slots reduce the path for the heat traveling from the piston
head to the skirt. Thus the skirt does not become much hot and expands with in
limit.
Piston with T-slot

3. Cam Ground piston:
The pistons are finished so that they are slightly oval when cold. These
pistons are called Cam Ground pistons. When a cam ground piston warms up, it
assumes a round shape. Its area of contact with the cylinder wall increases. The
minor axis of the ellipse lievin the direction of the piston pin axis. Due to providing
the bosses for mounting the piston pin in the wall of the piston these is unequal
thickness or amount of material with the piston wall. When heated there will be
unequal expansion in the piston diameter which gives engine knocks. To overcome
this difficulty the pistons are made cam ground in elliptical section instead of
circular.
4. Wire wound pistons:

Some of the pistons such as split or cam ground type are provided with the
bonds of steel wire between the piston pin and the oil control ring as shown in fig.
There by controlling the expansion of the piston skirt to a certain limit.
5. Autothermic Pistons:
This type of pistons contains steel inserts at the piston pin bosses as shown
in the fig. Mostly this piston is cam ground type and the low expansion steel inserts
control the expansion of the bosses which are providing along the major diameter
of the piston.
Autothermic Pistons
6. Bi Metal pistons:
This piston is made from two metals alluminium and steel as shown in fig.
The skirt is made of steel in which alluminium is casted to form the bosses and the
piston of the head. The steel has very small expansion when heated thereby
obtaining a smaller cold clearance of the piston.
7. Special pistons:
The surface of the modern piston are anodized or treated with a coating of
zinc oxide or tin. Anodizing is a treatment given to the surfaces of the pistons to
resist wear in which the pistons also increase their diameters slightly thereby
obtaining a close cold clearance. The special constructions control, the clearance
as well as expansion of the pistons in addition to their own advantages. These
pistons are oil cooled pistons, pistons with inserted ring carrier, cast steel pistons,
tinned pistons etc.
Piston temperature distribution:
10
Piston Production
The first machining operations on a piston of conventional design consists in
center drilling the little boss generally provided on the piston head, facing the open
end, and boring and chamfering that end. Most of the following opens are located
from the center hole in the head end and the finished face and flange of the open
end. A no. of turning facing and chamfering operations usually are performed in an
automatic lathe in a single setting.
The piston is located from the inside chamfer at the open end and
supported by a revolving center mounted in a 4 in air operated tail stock ram. A
locating spindle fixture stands extends in to the piston and drives it through the
piston bosses. The skirt is cam turned to an elliptic form, from the center of the oil
rings grooves to the open end, by carbide tipped tool in a cam turning attachment
mounted on the carriage. This tool is mounted in a cam oscillated holder, the
movement of which is synchronized with that of the spindle.
Piston must have some desirable (properties) characteristics
1. It should be silent in operation both during warm-up and the normal running.
2. The design should be such that the seizure does not occur.
3. It should offer sufficient resistance to corrosion due to some properties of
combustion Ex : Sulphur dioxide.
4. It should have the shortest possible length so as the decrease overall
engine size.
5. It should be lighten in weight so that inertia forces created by its
reciprocating motion are minimum.
6. Its material should have a high thermal conductivity for efficient heat transfer
so that higher compression ratios may be used with out the occurrence of
detonation.
7. It must have a long life.
11
PISTON RINGS
Piston rings are fitted into the grooves of the piston to maintain good seal
between the piston and the cylinder wall.
Functions:
1. To prevent the leakage of the compressed and expanding gases above the
piston into the crankcase.
2. To control and provide the lubricating oil between piston skirt and cylinder
walls.
3. To prevent the entry of lubricating oil from crankcase to the combustion
chamber above the piston head.
4. To prevent the deposit of carbon and other materials (matter) on the piston
head caused by burning of lubricant.
5. To provide easy transmission of heat from piston to cylinder walls.
Materials: Piston rings are made of fine grained alloy cast iron. This material
possesses excellent heat and wears resisting quantities. The elasticity of this
material is also sufficient to impact radial expansion and compression which is
necessary for assembly and removal of the ring.
Types of Piston Rings: There are two types of piston rings.
1.
Compression rings or Gas rings.
2.
Oil control rings or Oil regulating rings.
1. Compression Rings:
Compression rings seal in the air fuel mixture as it is compressed and also
the combustion pressure as the mixture burns. The top two rings are called
compression rings Fig (a). They prevent the leakage of gases which are under
pressure, from the combustion chamber to the crankcase. Figure shows the
nomenclature of piston ring (compression ring).
12
Piston ring nomenclature

The outer diameter of the ring is some what longer than the cylinder bore
and the split joint is open.
Fig (a) Function of compression ring
13
Compression rings may have tapered, chamfered, counter bored, scraper,

plain or center grooved cross sections as shown in fig.
Types of cross sections of compression rings.

In modern engines there are two or three compression rings fitted into top
grooves. The number of compression rings tends to increase the compression
ratio. Generally the second and third rings are taper faced and supplied to improve
oil sealing. In many engines, counter bored and scraper rings.
Piston Ring Material:
For piston ring we require a material which must be elastic (or resilient),
have high ultimate strength, and have provided resistance to wear. Cast iron is the
material which meets the requirements. Earlier some CI as used for cylinder
blocks, but due to development and continued research special grades of Iron are
developed. The typical specification is given for C.I piston rings
Silicon - 2.5 to 2.8, Sulphur - Not over 0.10, Prosperous - 0.5 to 0.7, Manganese 0.6 to 0.8, Combined carbon - 0.6 to 0.8, Total Carbon - 3.5 to 3.8
Elastic property is required to impart radial expansion and compression which is
necessary for assembly and removal of the rings. Ultimate strength necessarily the
amount with which it can exert necessary strength against the cylinder wall.
Resistance to wear so that it may have satisfactory life.
Stresses in Piston Ring:
When a ring is inserted in the cylinder it is compressed to a radius which is,
of course, the radius of the cylinder bore. If the ring is subjected to plain bending
stresses, the compression on the inner fibers equals the tension on the outer fibers
and is given by the relationship.
2
Et r
D2
14
= Allowable stress for cast iron, E = Youngs modulus of elasticity for the ring
material, tr = Radial thickness of the ring, D = Bore size or cylinder bore dia or
Axial thickness of piston rings h = t a
(0.7to1.0)t r
The expression for approximate no. of rings h =

i=
D
10i
D
i = No. of rings
10 h
It is desirable to make the rings narrow, to reduce the loss of power due to friction
between them and the cylinder wall and probably there will be less wear on the
sides of the ring grooves. The disadvantage of having narrow rings lies in their
delicate handling equipment. are used for top and second compression ring.
During suction stroke the rings twist slightly due to the normal force produced by
cutting away a corner of the rings. Thus as the rings move down they scrape off
the oil that might have been left on the cylinder wall by the oil control rings.
During compression stroke when the rings move upward, they tend to skate over
the oil film on the cylinder wall. Thus less oil is carried up into the combustion
chamber. During power stroke because of the combustion pressure the ring
untwist and they have full face contact with the cylinder walls. During exhaust
stroke the same action takes place as in compression stroke.
3. Oil Control Rings:
Function of Oil Control Rings
15
Oil control rings scrape off excessive oil from the cylinder wall and return it
to the oil pan. Some connecting rods will have an oil split hole which splits oil from
the oil pan on to the cylinder wall during each revolution of the crankpin, for more
oil reaches on the cylinder wall than is needed. This must be scraped off and
returned to oil pan. Otherwise it will go the combustion chamber and burn. This
burned oil would foul the sparkplug and increase the possibility of knock. One
piece slotted cast iron type oil control ring has slots between the upper and lower
faces that bear on the cylinder wall. The oil scraped off the cylinder wall passes
through those slots in the back of the oil ring grooves in the piston and from there it
returns to the oil pan.
Why two Compression rings and One Oil Control ring?
Usually two compression rings are fitted on the piston. During the power
stroke the pressure increases and would be difficult for a single compression rings
to hold this pressure. If there are two rings, this pressure will be divided between
two rings. The loss of pressure past the upper ring is reduced. The load on the
upper ring is also reduced so that it doesnt press quite so hard on the cylinder
wall. Wearing of ring and cylinder is also reduced.
Because of two compression rings are necessary to withstand the high
combustion pressure, hence these remains only one oil control ring. It is quite
possible to use one oil control ring because of engineering and manufacturing
improvements and the more effective action of the modern oil control ring.
Piston Ring Gap:
Piston rings have gap so that they may be installed into the piston grooves
and removed when worn out by expanding them. The gap ensures radial pressure
against the cylinder wall thus having effective seal to prevent leakage of heavy
combustion pressure. This gap must be checked because if it is too great due to
cylinder bore wear, the radial pressure will be reduced. To check this gap clean the
carbon from the ends of the ring and then check it with feeler gauge. This gap is
0.178 0.50 mm governed by the dia of the bore but if it exceeds 1 mm per 100
mm of bore then, new rings must be fitted.
16
The gap between the ring and the groove in the piston should also be
checked by feeler gauge. This gap is usually 0.038 0.102 mm for compression
rings and a little less for the oil compression rings. Wear in the piston ring grooves
causes the rings to rise and fall during movement of the piston, so causing a
pumping action and resulting in heavy oil consumption. Excessive gas blow by,
loss of compression will also take place if this gap is too much.
Piston ring manufacture
17
PISTON PIN
Piston pin or gudgeon pin or wrist pin connects the piston and the small end
of the connecting rod. Piston pin is generally hollow and made from case
hardening steel heat treated to produce a hard wear resisting surface.
There are three methods of connecting piston and connecting rod by the
piston pin.
1. The piston pin is fastened to the piston by set screws through the piston boss
and has a bearing in the connecting rod, thus permitting the connecting rod end
to swivel as required by the combined reciprocal and rotary motion of the piston
and crank shaft.
2. The pin is fastened to the connecting rod with a clamp screw. In this case the
piston bosses from the bearing. A screw slot is made on the circumference of
the piston pin in which the clamp screw is fitted as shown in fig.
3. The pin floats in both the piston bosses and the small end of the connecting
rod. It is prevented from coming in contact with the cylinder wall by two lock
rings fitted in grooves in the outer end of the piston bosses and these rings are
called CIRCLIPS as shown in the fig. This method is widely used. In this case a
burning of Phosper Bronze or alluminium is used in the small end of the
connecting rod. The bush develops very little wear and requires replacing only
at long intervals. In very heavy loading of vehicles of CI engines, special care is
taken to avoid risk of fatigue failure cracks. The external bearing surface is
finished to a very high degree of accuracy to ensure correct fit in the piston and
connecting rod.
18
Piston pin and connecting rod arrangement

Design of a Piston for I.C Engines
Introduction :
The design of I.C engine piston is probably more subject to controversy than
any other machine part or engine mechanism, and any attempt to adhere to rigid
rules of design may lead to failure in the first instance.
The shape of the combustion chamber will fix the profile of the piston crown,
While, the amount of distortion to be expected and the stresses due to gas
pressure will be affected by the shape required.
19
The rating of the engine and efficiency of combustion will affect the thermal
stresses.
The ratio of the connecting rod length to the crank radius will determining
the amount of side thrust on the cylinder wall; While, Many factors including the
bottom end design (the presence of balance weights on the crank and so on, will
influence the no. piston rings and their type).
Procedure :
Piston Head or Crown :
The piston head or crown is designed keeping in view the following two
main considerations, i.e.
1. It should have adequate strength to withstand the straining action due to
pressure of explosion inside the engine cylinder.
2. It should dissipate the heat of combustion to the cylinder walls as quickly as
possible.
The top of the piston may be considered as a flat, fixed on the cylindrical portion of
the piston crown and subjected to uniformly distributed load of maximum intensity
of gas pressure.
The thickness of the piston top (head) based on the straining action due to fluid
pressure is given by (1st condition)
t1 = 0.43 D
p
t
eq. 18.18 (a) ..pg.361
t 1= thickness of the piston head

D = Diameter of the cylinder
P = Fluid pressure
t
= Allowable tensile stress

The empirical formula, recommended by Held and Favary for the thickness of
the piston head is given by,

t 1 = 0.032 D + 1.5 mm.eq. 18.18 (b) .pg.361
The thickness of the piston heat based on the consideration of heat dissipation (2nd
condition)
20
t1 =
D2q
1600 K (Tc Te )
q = Heat flow from gases .. J/Sec M2

=
K 1 C W BP
A
K1 = A constant representing the amount of heat absorbed by the piston

C = Calorific value of fuel KJ/Kg
W = Fuel consumption . Kg-hr / W
BP = Power KW
A = Cross sectional area
K = Heat conductivity
W mm
m2 0 C
Tc Te = Difference in temperature for that at the center and that at the edge
Design of Piston Rings :

Piston rings are provided at the head of piston. It is advisable to use many
narrow rings than using few wide shallow rings.
The radial thickness of the piston rings is given by,
tr = D
3Pr
.. mm .. eq. 18.27 ... pg.. 363
Pr= Magnitude of radial pressure on the piston rings . MPa

From T 18.6 . Pg. .. 366
= Allowable stress for cast iron.
The depth of the Piston ring (h)
h = 0.7 tr to 1.0 tr
The minimum axial thickness of the piston ring,
h=
D
10 i
i = No. of piston rings
Design of Piston pin :

The piston pin is designed for maximum combustion pressure. It is usually
hallow to reduce its weight. The center of the pin should be 0.02 D to 0.04 D above
21
the center of the skirt of offset the turning effect of friction. The pin is considered as
a simple beam uniformly loaded for a length which is in the connecting rod bearing
with supports at the centers of the bosses at both ends. The bosses are at least
1.5 times the outer diameter of the pin. The length of the pin is the connecting rod
bearing is about 0.45 D.
Diameter of piston pin (d)
d=
D 2 P max
18.24 ..... Pg. .362
4l1 Pb
P max = Gas pressure
Pb = Bearing pressure
l1 = K1 x d
K1 = 1.5 for petrol engine
= 2 for oil engines
22
Problems on PISTON
(Problem No.1)
Design a cast iron piston for a 4-stroke single acting engine from the following
data:
Cylinder bore dia = 100 mm (D), Stroke length = 120 mm (L), Gas pressure = 5
MPa, BMEP = 0.5 MPa, Fuel consumption = 0.15 Kg / BP (W), Speed = 2200 rpm.
(N)
Solution:
Step 1:
Brake power (BP) .in KW
BP =
PLAN
KW
1000 60
0.5 120
1000
100 2 2200
4
60
= 17.275 KW
Step 2:
The thickness of piston head is primarily found from its capacity of heat dissipation
or consideration of heat dissipation.
D2q
t1 =
1600 K (Tc
Te )
mm Eq. 18.19Pg 361
t1 = Thicknessofpistonhead .........mm , D = Cylinderboredia.......mm ,

q = Heatflowfromgases.......J / s M 2 , K = Heat conductivity .
W mm
m2 0 c
Tc Te = Difference in temperature for that at the center and that of edge.

q=
K 1 C W BP
.. J/s m2
A
K1 = Constant representing the part or amount of the heat absorbed by the

piston
= 0.05 or 5% [Assume if not provided in problem]
C = Calorific value of fuel [Assume if not provided in problem
= 42000 KJ/Kg
substitute in J/Kg inEq.
W = Fuel consumption = 0.15 Kg hr/KW
[Substitute in Kg-sec/KW in Eq]
23
[If either of or both of C or W are given, need to calculate q' or Take q directly from
mentioned values in DDHB]
BP = 17.278 . KW
D2
=
4
A=
(0.1)
4
= 7.854 x 10-3 m2 [Subs. In equ. In . m2]
q=
0.05 (42000 1000 )

7.854 10
0.15
17.278
3600
3
= 192491 J/s-m2
t1 =
D2q
1600 K (Tc Te )
Equ. 18.19..361
D = 100 mm = Bore dia of cylinder [Subs. In equ. in mm]

q = 192491 J/s-m2
W mm
from Pg. 362
m2 0 C
K = 460
Tc Te = 2220C... for C.I Engine from Pg. 362
t1 =
(100)2 192491
1600 460 222
= 11.78 mm
The thickness of piston head based on fluid pressure (stress)
t1 = 0.43 D
Equ. 18.18 (a) Pg. 361
P = Fluid pressure, MPa = .. M N/m2

= 5 MPa
t
= Allowable tensile stress MPa . M N/m2

= 38 .. MPa for close grained CI
D = 100 mm
= 0.43 x 100 x
5
38
= 15.597 mm P 16 mm
{Adopt great value of t1}
24
The thickness of piston head based on an Empirical Formula
t1 = 0.032 D + 1.5mm
Equ. 18.187 b Pg. 361
= 4.8 mm
Length of the piston (L)
L = D mm
Equ. 18.22 Pg. 362
L = 1.5 D
= 0.75 D mm
for aero engines
= 2.5 D mm
for stationary and marine engines
= 100 mm
Properties of Piston Rings :
The radial thickness of the C.I Snap ring (tr)
(from bending stress consideration)
tr = D
3Pr
Equ. 18.27 Pg. 363
D = Bore dia. = 100 mm

Pr = Magnitude of radial pressure on the piston rings MPa
= 0.02746 N/mm2 (MPa)
Table 18.6 Pg. 366
For petrol engines

= Allowable stress for Cast Iron
= 82.0 to 100 M N/m2 .. N/mm2
= 82 N/mm2
= 100
3 0.02746
82
= 3.167 mm
The depth of the piston ring (h)
h = 0.7 tr to 1.0 tr
Equ. 18.28 a
Pg. 363
= 0.7 x tr = 0.7 x 3.167

= 2.22 mm
The distance from top to the first groove (tg)
25
tg = 1.0 t1 to 1.2 t2
Equ. 18.30 Pg. 363
= 1.2 t1
= 1.2 t1
= 1.2 x 16
= 19.2 mm
The lands between the ring grooves (tland)
tland = h or slightly less than h (<h)
Equ 18.31 Pg. 363
= h
= 2.22 mm
The minimum depth of the piston ring
h=
D
10i
Equ. 18.28 b Pg. 363

i = No. of piston rings
i=
=
D
10h
100
10 2.22
= 4 nos.
The maximum thickness of the piston barrel (t3)
t3 = 0.03 D + b + 4.5 mm
Equ. 18.20
Pg. 363
b = depth of ring grooves.. mm

= tr + 0.4 mm
= 3.169 + 0.4
= 3.57 mm
= 0.03 x 100 + 3.57 + 4.5
= 11.07 mm
The wall thickness towards the open end of the piston (t4)
t4 = 0.25 t3 to 0.35 t3
= 0.3 t3
= 0.3 x 11.07
= 3.321 mm
Stroke length (L5)
26
L5 = 1.3 D to 1.4 D
Eqn. 18.23 Pg. 363
= 1.3 D = 1.3 x 100

= 130 mm
Diameter of the piston pin (d)
D 2 P max
4 l1 Pb
d=
Equ. 18.24
Pg. 362
Pmax = Gas pressure = 5 MPa

Pb = Bearing pressure = MPa = MN/m2 = .. N/mm2
l1 = K1d
= Length of the gudgeon pin bearing in mm
K1 = 1.5 for petrol and gas engines
= 2 for oil engines
d = Diameter of piston pin
l1 = 1.5 d
100 2 5
d=
4 (1.5 d ) 15.7
d2 =
100 2 5
4 (1.5) 15.7
d = 40.83 mm
Force on piston (Fp)
Fp = P x A
= 5
100 2
4
= 39.27 KN
Check for strength of the piston pin
The bending stress of piston pin (
b
Fp D
8Z
Fp = Force on the piston .. N
Z = Section modulus .. mm3

27
D3
=
32
=
=
100 3
= 98.18 10 3.........mm 3
32
(39.27 1000) 100

8 98.18 10 3
= 4.99 P 5 MPa < 62 MPa for carbon steel

(Problem No.2)
Determine the thickness of a trunk type piston for a single cylinder 4-stroke engine
developing 11 KW at 600 rpm. The diameter of the piston is 120 mm and
maximum explosion pressure is 4 N/mm2. Heat supplied to the engine is 9505
KJ/KW/hr (KJ/BP). About 6% of the heat is conducted through the piston crown
conduction factor for the piston material; material may be taken as 0.046 W/mm0
C. The temperature difference between the center of the crown and the edge of the
crown may be taken as 2500
BP = 11 KW N = 600 rpm D = 120 mm P = 4 MPa
Tc Te = 2500
K = 0.046 W/mm0C
K1 = 6%
Area of Bore,
A=
(0.120)2 = 11.31 10
m2
= 11.31 10 3 m 2
Thickness of piston head
D2q
t1 =
1600 K (Tc Te )
q=
K 1 (C W ) BP
A
K1 = 6% = 0.06
C x W = Calorific value of fuel x fuel consumption
= 9505
KJ hr
KW
= 9505
1
1000
3600
[1/3600 because fuel consumption subs. In Kg-
sec/KW]
BP = 11 KW
28
A = 11.31 x 10-3 m2
0.06 9505 1000
11.31 10
1
11
3600
= 154075 J / s m 2
120 2 154075
t1 =
1600 0.46 10 3 250
= 12.058 mm
(Problem No.3)
Determine the thickness of head of a Cast Iron piston for a single acting 4-stroke
engine for the following specification
Cylinder bore = 100 mm
Maximum gas pressure = 5 N/mm2
Stroke = 120 mm
Fuel consumption = 0.227 Kg/BP
BMEP (Pm) = 0.65 N/mm2
Speed = 2200 rpm

Calorific value = 41870 KJ/Kg
BP =
Pm LAN
KW
60 1000
Pm = Mean effective pressure in MPa

= 0.65 MPa
L = Stroke in M
= 0.120 mts.
A=
(100)2 M 2
4
N = 2200 rpm
=
0.65 0.120 7.854 10 3 2200

60 1000
= 22.46 KW
Thickness of piston head,
t1 =
D2q
1600 K (Tc Te)
Tc Te = 2220C
29
D = 100 rpm
K = 460
q=
W mm
m2 0 C
K 1 (C W ) BP
A
K1 = 0.05 or 5 % Assumption
Cv = 41870 KJ/Kg = 41870 x 103 J/Kg
W=
0.227 Kg sec
3600 KW
A = 7.854 x 10-3 m2
BP = 22.46 KW
q = 377498 J/s-m2
t1 =
(100)2 377498
1600 460 222
= 23.10 mm
30
References
1. Design Data Hand Book (DDH), K. Mahadevan and Dr. K. Balaveera Reddy
(B.S Publishers and Distributors)
2. Machine Design Exercises, S.N Trika, Khanna Publishers.
3. High Speed Combustion Engines, P.M. Heldt, Oxford and IBH Publishing Co.
4. Automotive Design, R.B. Gupta.
5. Automotive engine fundamentals F.E.PeacCock. T.E.Gaston Reston automotive
series Pub.
GLOSSARY
Bowl lip: Edge of the piston bowl as shown in the Figure .1.0.
Compression ring groove: A groove cut into the piston around its
circumference, in the upper part of the ring belt. The depth of groove
varies depending on piston size and types of rings used.
Compression height: dimension from the pin bore center to the crown
excluding any dish or pop up, shown in Figure .1.0.
Connecting rod length-Distance between the centers of the crank pin
and piston pin bores.
Cooling gallery: A cast channel in the piston ring belt area that receives
cooling oil from an oil nozzle attached to a pressurized oil gallery.
Dish or bowl: Recessed area on the crown. The dish adds clearance
volume to the combustion chamber reducing compression ratio. The shape
may also enhance combustion.
Groove pound out-A widening of piston ring groove caused by the lower
edge of the top ring gap embedded itself to the aluminum .conditions
leading
to
groove
pound
out
include
groove
wear
,high
piston
temperatures, and a lower silicon alloy to name a few.

Major thrust face: That portion of the piston skirt which carries the
greatest thrust load. This is on the right side when viewing the engine from
the flywheel end with the crankshaft rotating counterclockwise.
31
Minor thrust face: That portion of the piston skirt which is opposite the
major thrust face.
Oil ring groove: A groove cut into the piston around its circumference, at
the bottom of the ring belt or at the lower end of piston skirt. Oil ring
grooves are usually wider than compression ring grooves and generally
have holes or slots through the bottom of the groove for oil drainage to the
interior of the piston.
Piston crown: Top of the piston. This surface also referred to as the dome,
is part of the combustion chamber and some times includes a bowl, popup, or valve pockets.
Piston thrust side: The skirt side that absorbs the piston load on the
downward power stroke. In engines rotating clockwise this would be left
side when looking at the front of the piston.
Piston crown valve pocket: A machined or cast recess on the piston
crown to provide clearance to the open intake or exhaust valve.
Piston pins :( Wrist pins or gudgeon pins)
Connections between the upper end of the connecting rod and the piston.
Pins may be held in one of three ways:
1. Anchored in the piston with the bushing in the upper end of the
connecting rod oscillating on the pin.
2. Clamped in the rod with the pin oscillating in the piston.
3. Full floating in both connecting rod and piston with lock rings or other
devices preventing the pin from contacting the cylinder wall.
Piston skirt taper - The difference between the diameters of the piston at
the top of the skirt and at the bottom of the skirt with the diameters being
measured in the thrust direction.
Piston pin offset-refers to a condition where piston pin bore center does
not intersect with piston axial center .pin offset towards the thrust side of
32
piston can be used to reduce slap noise during piston cross-over in the
cylinder bore.
Ports: the inlet or exhaust ports allow air to flow into or out of the cylinder
head. Run from the manifold face to the valves.
Power: a measure of the rate at which an engine does work. Numerically,
torque multiplied by engine speed, and expressed in horse brake power
(bhp).
Ring lands: Section of the piston that supports the piston ring forces. The
width of these ring lands affects inters-ring volume.
Skirt: The portion of the piston that provides the bearing surface for side
load transfer to the cylinder walls.
Top land: The ring land above the upper compression ring.
Squish: action of forcing pockets of air within the combustion chamber
back towards the spark plug for better fuel distribution.
Stroke: the distance the piston moves up and down within the cylinder
bore.
Swirl: horizontal turbulent motion of air entering engine. Helps to give
good fuel distribution and improve combustion.
Under crown surface: The under side surface of the crown or dish.
33
34
Outer diameter of pin (based on bearing)

Outer diameter of piston pin is calculated based on bearing
pressure length of gudgeon pin bearing l1 =0.45D to 0.5D [9]
dp 0 =
F max
------------------------------------------------ (2.17)
l1Pb
The table 2.5 shows the bearing pressures for different engines
Bearing pressure
12.4
For gas engines
pb
15
For oil engines
For automotive
engines
Table 2.5: Bearing pressures for different engines
(MN/m2)
15.7
Inner diameter of pin (based on bending)

Inner diameter of pin is determined by considering bending stress
due to gas load when loaded uniformly over length and supported at
center of the boss [9].
Figure2.12: Bending stress due to gas load

Z=
But Maximum bending moment M=
F max D
8
There fore, by substituting in the above equation

Z=
F max D
------------------------------------------------- (2.18)
8 b
1
And also,
d=
32 M 3
b
There fore from above equation
35
Z=
dpo 4 dpi 4
32
dpo
-------------------------------------- (2.19)
The pin inner diameter can be found by equating Z
Requirements of piston pin are
Adequate rigidity to keep stressing of the piston pin bore and pin
bore support at an acceptable level. This rigidity consists of bending
deflection and ovalization.
Adequate rigidity to provide uniform bearing loads in pin bore area.
Sufficient bearing area from the length and diameter to keep bearing
pressure in the piston pin bore and connecting rod bore at an
acceptable level.
Light weight to reduce the effects of inertia forces.
Good outer diameter and surface finish enhancing lubrication with

piston and connecting rod mating surfaces.
Adequate material and heat treat to provide structural strength and

good wear characteristics [3].
36
Visveswaraya Technological University.
S.J.M. Institute of Technology. Chitradurga 577502 Karnataka.

Department of Automobile Engineering
Subject: Theory and Design of Automotive Engines

[Sub Code - AU51]
V Semester, Automobile Engineering
Syllabus Covered:
1 Connecting rod design, effects of whipping, bearing materials, lubrication
Govindaraju.H.K.,
Assistant Professor and Head,
Department of Automobile Engineering,
SJM Institute of Technology,
Chitradurga -577502.
CONNECTING RODS
Definition: A Connecting rod is the link between the reciprocating piston and
rotating crank shaft. Small end of the connecting rod is connected to the piston by
means of gudgeon pin. The big end of the connecting rod is connected to the
crankshaft.
Function: The function of the connecting rod is to convert the reciprocating motion
of the piston into the rotary motion of the crankshaft.
Materials: The connecting rods are usually forged out of the open hearth steel or
sometimes even nickel steel or vanadium steel. For low to medium capacity high
speed engines, these are often made of duraluminium or other alluminium alloys.
However, with the progress of technology, the connecting rods these days are also
cast from malleable or spheroidal graphite cast iron. The different connecting rod
steels are (4OC8, 37Mn6, 35Mn6 MO3, 35Mn6 Mo4, 40Cr4, 40Cr4 Mo3,
40NiCr4MO2) etc.
In general, forged connecting rods are compact and light weight which is an
advantage from inertia view point, whereas cast connecting rods are comparatively
cheaper, but on account of lesser strength their use limited to small and medium
size petrol engines.
Construction: A typical connecting rod is shown in fig1. A combination of axial
and bending stresses act on the rod in operation. The axial stresses are product
due to cylinder gas pressure and the inertia force arising on account of
reciprocating motion. Where as bending stresses are caused due to the centrifugal
effects. To provide the maximum rigidity with minimum weight, the cross section of
the connecting rod is made as and I section end of the rod is a solid eye or a split
eye this end holding the piston pin. The big end works on the crank pin and is
always split. In some connecting rods, a hole is drilled between two ends for
carrying lubricating oil from the big end to the small end for lubrication of piston
and the piston pin.
Classification: The classification of connecting rod is made by the cross sectional

point of view i.e. I section, H section, Tabular section, Circular section.
In low speed engines, the section of the rod is circular, with flattened sides.
In high speed engines either an H section or Tabular section is used because of
their lightness. The rod usually tapers slightly from the big end to the small end.
Forces acting on the Connecting Rod:

1. The combined effect (or joint effect) of,
a) The pressure on the piston, combined with the inertia of the
reciprocating parts.
b) The friction of the piston rings, piston, piston rod and the cross head.
2. The longitudinal component of the inertia of the rod.
3. The transverse component of the inertia of the rod.
4. The friction of the two end bearings.
Design of Connecting Rod:
In designing a connecting rod the following dimensions are required to be
determined.
1. Dimension of cross section of connecting rod
2. Dimension of the crank pin at the big end and the piston pin at the small
end.
3. Size of the bolts for securing the big end cap and
4. Thickness of the big end cap.
According to Rankines Gordon formula,
F about x-axis =
fc A
1+ a
l
K xx
Let,
A = C/s area of connecting rod, L = Length of connecting rod
fc = Compressive yield stress, F = Buckling load
Ixx and Iyy = Radius of gyration of the section about x x and y y axis
respectively
and Kxx and Kyy = Radius of gyration of the section about x x and y y
axis respectively.
for both ends hinged or free, l = 1l data from Pg. 5, Eq. 1.29
fc A
F about y-axis =
1+ a
l
K yy
l
data from Pg. 5, Eq. 1.29
2
In order to have a connecting rod equally strong in buckling about both the axes,
for both ends fixed, l =
the buckling loads must be equal,

fc A
ie.
l
1+ a
K xx
l
K xx
or
2
K xx = 4 K yy
fc A
l
1+ a
2 K yy
l
=
2 K yy
Or I xx = 4 I yy
Design a connecting rod for a semi diesel engine with the following data.
Diameter of the piston = 88 mm
Weight of the reciprocating parts = 1.6 Kg
Length of the connecting rod = 30 cm = 300 mm (center to center)
Stroke = 125 mm
RPM = 2200 when developing 70 HP i.e. 52.2 KW
= 3000 is possible over speed
Compression ratio = 6.8:1
Probable maximum explosion pressure = 35 Kgf/cm2 = 3.44 N/mm2
1. Cross section of the Connecting Rod:
Since in all high speed engines connected rods,
i.
Lightness is essential in order to keep the inertia forces as small as

possible and
ii.
Ample strength is required to withstand the momentary high gas

pressure in the cylinder.
Therefore, the I section is generally found most suitable for this type of
connecting rod.
The connecting rod is under alternating tension and compression and since
compression corresponds to the power and compression strokes, the compressive
stress is much greater numerically than the tensile stress. The connecting rod is
therefore, designed mainly as a strut. The inertia force due to change of motion of
the reciprocating parts will be considered and checked later.
In the plane of motion of the connecting rod, the ends are direction free at the
crank and the gudgeon pins, and the strut is therefore, Hinged for buckling about
neutral axis (x-x Axis)
In the plane perpendicular to the motion plane (NA), (i.e. y-y axis) when buckling
tends to occur about y y axis, the strut has almost fixed ends due to the
constraining effect of the bearing at crank and gudgeon pins.
For buckling about y y axis,
The connecting is therefore 4 times as strong about y y for buckling as for, the
buckling about x x due to constraining effect of the fixed ends.
i.e. 4 I yy = I xx
The result is a convincing evidence of the suitability of I section.
It can be noticed that, a circular section connecting rod, is un-necessarily strong for
buckling about the y y axis.
The proportions given in the figure are assumed for the section as representing a
typical connecting rod. It is needed to check the relationship of the equation ------ 1.
Area A = (4t2+4t2)+ 3t2 = 11t2
I xx =
1
BD 3
12
bd 3
1
3
4t (5t )
12
3t (3t )
= 10.91 t4
I xx
= 3.2 approx.
I yy
So, in the case of this section (assumed section) proportions shown above will be
satisfactory.
(Problem No.1)
Design a connecting rod for a petrol engine for the following data,
Diameter of the piston (d)= 110 mm, length of the connecting rod(2L) = 325 mm
Stroke length(L) = 150 mm, Speed (n) = 1500 rpm, Over speed = 2500 rpm
compression ratio = 4 : 1, Maximum explosion pressure = 2.5 MPa.
Solution:
Step 1. Dimensions of cross section of the connecting rod:
Let us consider an I section of the connecting rod as shown in figure, with the
following proportions, so that the connecting rod to be equally resistant to buckling
in either plane, the relation between moment of inertia must be,
I xx = 4 I yy .
From pg. 431,

Moment of inertia of the I cross section abut x-x is given by,
Ixx =
1
BD 3
12
bd 3 =
1
3
4t (5t )
12
3t (3t ) = 34.91t 4
3
Moment of inertia of the I cross section about yy is given by,

I yy =
1
bD 3
12
Bd 3 =
1
3
3
2t (4t ) + 3t (t ) = 10.91t 4
12
Ratio of Ixx to Iyy i.e.
I xx 34.91t 4
=
= 3 .2
I yy 10.91t 4
The section chosen is quite satisfactory

Area of cross section (A)
A = (5t x 4t) (3t x 3t) = 11 t2
Radius of gyration Kxx (K) is given by,
I
34.19t 4
=
= 1.78 t
A
11t 2
K=
w.k.t.
Stroke length = L = 150 mm

crank radius r =
n1 =
storkeofpiston L 150
= =
= 75mm
2
2
2
l lengthofconnectingrod 325
=
=
= 4.33
r
crankradius
75
w = angular speed =
2 N 2 1500
=
= 157.1 rad / sec.
60
60
Step 2. Inertia force of Reciprocating Parts (F) :

F=
Cos 2
1000WrV 2
Cos
gr
n1
19.8 (a), 370
Wr = mg = Weight of reciprocating parts N

= 2 x 9.81 = 19.62 N
r = Crank radius = 75 mm
= Crank angle from the dead center
= 0 considering that connecting rod is at the TDC position
n1 = 4.33
g = Acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/s2
V = Crank velocity m/s
= rw = 75 x 10-3 x 157.1
= 11.78 m/s
Substituting,
F=
1000 19.62 (11.78)

9.81 75
Cos 0 +
Cos 20
4.33
= 4555 N
Step 3: Total force on the connecting rod :
Fc = F p
F j = Fp
= 23.76 x 103 4555

= 19205 N
Step 4: To find the thickness of the connecting rod flange and web:
By using Rankines Gordan formula, The stress due to axial load,
fcr =
Fc
=
A
fc
l
1+ K
k
Fc =
Eq. 19.5 Pg. 369
fcA
l
1+ K
k
Fc = Total force on the connecting rod i.e. axial load on the rod
= 19205 N
K = Constant
=
4
25000
for steel rod, pin connected at both ends, so that the

rod is free to bend in any plane.
A = Area of cross section

= 11 t2
l = Length of connecting rod
= 325 mm
k = Radius of gyration about x x axis
= 1.78 t
fc = Allowable unit stress for designing n/mm2
=
Yieldpoint stress
Assume FOS = 4
FOS
= 378/4
Yield point stress, from T 19.1 Pg. 371
10
= 94.5 MPa
378 MPa
Substituting,
Fc =
19205 =
94.5 11t 2
4
1+
25000
325
1.78t
1.39.5t 4
t 2 + 5.34
1040t 4 = 19205t 2 + 102554.7
==> 1040t 4 19205t 2 102554.7 = 0

t =
2
19205 +
(19205)2 + (4 1040 102554.7 )

2 1040
=> t 2 = 22.8
t = 4.775
Say 5 mm
Take t = 10 mm
Note the dimensions, width = 4t = 40 mm
Depth = 5t = 5o mm
Flange and web thickness = t = 10 mm
Step 5: Design of small end:
We know that,
Load on the piston pin or small end bearing (Fp) = Projected area x Bearing
pressure
Fp = dplp Pbp
Fp = 23760 N force or load on the piston pin, dp = Diameter of piston pin

Pbp = Bearing pressure . From Pg. 362
= 12.4 for gas engines.
= 15.0 for oil engines.
= 15.7 for automotive engines.
We assume
Pbp = 10 MPa
lp = length of piston pin
= 1.5 dp from Pg. 362
11
Substituting,
23760 = 1.5 dp . dp x 10
d p = 39.79
40mm
l p = 1.5d p = 60mm
Step6: Design of Big end:

w.k.t
load on the crankpin or big end bearing (Fp)
= Projected Area x Bearing pressure
F p = d c l c Pbc
Fp = 23760 N forces or load on the piston pin

dc = diameter of crankpin
lc = length of crankpin
= 1.25 dc
Pbc = 7.5 MPa Assume
Substituting,
23760 = 1.25 dc dc 7.5
d c = 50mm
l c = 62.5mm
Step 7: Design of Big end Bolts:
w.k.t.,
Force on the bolts =
(d cb )2
nb
dcb = Core diameter of the bolts

t
= Allowable tensile stress for the material of bolts

= 12 MPa assume
nb = Number of bolts usually 2 bolts are used

=
12 2 (d cb )
= 18.85 dcb2
Also,
12
The bolts and the big end cap are subjected to a tensile force which corresponds
to the inertia force of the reciprocating parts at the TDC on the exhaust stroke.
We Know that inertia force on the reciprocating parts
F=
1000WrV 2
Cos 2
Cos
gr
n1
As calculated earlier
F = 4555 N
Equating the Inertia force, to the force on the bolts,
4555 = 18.85 dcb2
d cb = 15.55mm
Normal diameter of the bolts (dcb)
d cb
= 18.50mm
0.84
say 20mm
d cb =
use M20 sized bolts

Step 8: Design of Big end cap:
The big end cap is designed as a beam freely supported at the cap bolt
centers and loaded by the inertia force at the TDC on the exhaust stroke (Fj at
H=0)
Since load is assumed to act in between the UDL (Uniformly distributed load) and
the centrally concentrated load,
Maximum Bending moment is taken as,
M max =
Fi l o
6
Fi = Magnitude of Inertia force

= 4555 N
lo = Distance between bolt centers.
= Dia of crank pin or Big end bearing + Nominal dia of bolt
+ (2 x thickness of bearing liner) + Clearance
= dc + db + (2 x (0.05 dc + 1)) + 3
= 80 mm
13
Substituting,
Mmax =
4555 80
6
= 60734 N-mm
Section modulus for the cap,
bh 2
6
Z=
Z = Section modulus
b = width of the big end cap
it is taken equal to the length of the crankpin or Big end bearing (lc)
lc = b = 62.5 mm
Substituting,
h = thickness of big end cap
62.5 h 2
=
6
= 10.42 h2
We know that bearing stress
b
M max
Z
= Allowable bending stress for the material of the cap

= 120 MPa Assume
Substituting,
120 =
60734
10.42h 2
h = 6.97 say 7 mm
Step 9: Check for stresses:

The magnitude of Inertia force (Fi)
Fi =
W A w 2 r l 10
2g
W = Weight density per unit volume of the rod N/m3

= 7800 x 9.81 N/m3
assume
14
l = length of connecting rod = 325 mm
A = Area of cross section (I section)
w = Angular speed = 157.1 rad / sec
g = Acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/sec2
Substituting,
7800 9.81 1100 (157.1) 75 325 10
2 9.81
2
Fi =
12
Fi = 2580.8 N
The max. bending moment (Mmax)
M max =
ZFi l
9 3
2 2580.8 325
9 3
= 107612.95 N-mm
The maximum Inertia bending stress or whipping stress (
b
M max
Z
From Eq. 19.3 Pg. 369

b
0.2854 10
12
n2 r A w l 2
Z
Z = I/y
I = 34.91 t4 = 34.91 x 104 mm4
y = D/2 = 50/2 = 25 mm
n = rev/sec = Speed of crank = 2200/60 = 36.67 r/sec
Substitute,
b
0.2854 10
12
= 18.32 MPa
(36.67 ) 75 1100 7800 9.81 325 2

34.91 10 4 / 25
2
Which is Safe
Maximum compressive stress in the connecting rod,

i.e.
= Stress due to axial load + The max. Inertia bending stress or whipping
stress
15
= fcr +
=
Fc
+
A
19205
+ 18.32
1100
= 35.78 MPa
Which is safe
(Problem 2)
Design the connecting rod of a steam engine to the following data
Length of the connecting rod = 825 mm, Dia of the crankpin = 155 mm
Dia of the cross head pin = 95 mm, Maximum load on the pin = 15160 Kg =
148720 N, The rod is to be made of circular cross section and made hallow by
boring a central hole of 28 mm dia, throughout the length.
Calculations should be made for,
1.
External dia at the centre
2.
Length of the cross head pin
3.
Diameter of the big end bolts
4.
Length of the crankpin
5.
Width and thickness of the cap
1. Calculation of External dia at the center.

Let us assume that, at the middle of the connecting rod,
D = Outside dia = ?
d = Inside dia = 28 mm
cross section area A =
MOI
I xx =
[D
d4
[D
4
1
4
(D
+d2
d2
Kxx = Radius of Gyration =

=
I xx
=
A
4 D2
64
)(
d 2 D2 + d 2
D2 d 2
By using Rankine Gordon formula,

Eq. 19.5, Pg. 369
16
Crippling load i.e. Axial load on the rod due to steam or gas pressure
fc A
Fc =
l
k
1+ K
fc = Yield point stress / FOS
Yield point stress = 324 MPa
= 324 / 7
for forged M.S rod connecting rod material
= 46.3 MPa
Assume FOS as 7
K=
1
7500
for M.S when both ends are rounded
Fc = 148720 N
k=
D2 + d 2
4
l = length of the connecting rod = 825 mm

A=
(D
d2)
Substituting in Rankine Gordon equation

148720 =
148720 =
46.3 0.7854(D 2
+d2)
36.4(D 2 d 2 )
1452
1+ 2
(D + d 2 )
(825)2 16
1
1+
7500
d2)
(D
36.4 D 2 d 2
36.4 D 4 d 4
=
D 2 + d 2 + 1452
D 2 + d 2 + 1452
D2 + d 2
148720 D2 + 148720 d2 + 215.94x106 = 36.4 D4 36.4 d4

Substitute, D2 = C,
148720 C + 148720 x (28)2 + 215.94x106 = 36.4 C2 36.4 x (28)4
148720 C + 116.6 x 106 + 215.94x106 = 36.4 C2 223.74 x 106
36.4C2 148720 C 223.74 x106 116.6 x 106 215.94 x 106 = 0
36.4 C2 148720 C 556.3 x 106 = 0
x=
b + b2
2.a
4ac
148720 +
(148720)2 + 4(36.4)(556.3 10 6 )
2 36.4
17
148720 + 321.115 10 3 469.84 10 3

=
72.8
72.8
C = 6454
D=
6454
= 80.33mm s
2. Calculation for length of the cross head pin (Gudgeon pin)
W.K.T, force on the piston (Fp) = lp dp Pbpin
Fp = 148720 N
dp = 95 mm
Pb = 8.25 MPa
lp =
Assume
148720
= 190mm
95 8.25
3. Calculation for length of the crank pin

W.K.T., Force on the piston (Fp) = lc dc Pb crank
Fp = 148720 N
dc = 155 mm
Pb = 6.2 MPa
lc =
Assume
148720
= 155mm
155 6.2
4. Diameter of Big end Bolts :

As the bearing length of the big end is 155 mm,
Assuming 4 nos. of bolts, these 4 bolts have to take this load i.e.
Fp
Fb = load on each bolt =
148720
= 37180 N
4
Magnitude of load Fb =
db
37180 = 0.7854 x 69 x db2

db = 26.2 mm
Full dia =
27
= 32mm
0.84
The nearest standard size is 33 mm and may be adopted.

18
5. Calculations for width and thickness of cap

The effective width of the cap will be equal to,
The length of the big end } {2 x thickness of the flange of the brass
brasses
length of the big end brasses = 155 mm
Thickness of the flange of the brass = 6 mm
b = 155 (2 6) = 143 mm
l o = d c + d b + (2 x thickness of the liner)

= 155 + 33 + (2 x 6) = 200 mm
Mmax = Moment of Resistance = Z x
w.k.t.,
Mmax =
Z=
b
Fil o
(Check)
6
l c h 2 bh 2
=
6
6
= 68.67
69 MPa
Substituting,
148720 200 143 h 2
=
69
6
6
h = 55 mm
(Problem No.3) Determine the maximum stress in the connecting rod of I

section, as shown in fig., due to inertia. The length of the connecting rod is 360 mm
and the piston stroke is 180 mm. The speed is 200 rpm. Density of the material of
the connecting rod may be taken as 7800 Kg/m3
Solution:
Ans. Cross section Area of I section,
A = 2 x 6 x 30 + (45 12) x 6
19
= 558 mm2
The maximum inertia bending stress or whipping stress
b
0.2854 10
12
( b)
n2 r A w l 2
Z
n = Speed of crank in rev/sec

= 200/60 = 3.34 rev/s
r = Crank radius =
Storkelength 180
=
= 90 mm
2
2
w = 7800 x 9.81 76518 N/m3

= weight density of rod material
l = length of connecting rod
= 360 mm
Z = section modulus of mean section in mm3
I MoIaboutxx
= =
=
y
y
1 BD 3
2
45
1
30 45 3 24 333
= 2
22.5
bd 3
= 6930.6 mm3
Substituting,
b
0.2854 10
12
3.34 2 90 558 76518 360 2

6930.6
= 0.228 MPa
(Problem No.4) Find the diameter of a connecting rod 250 mm long for a stroke
speed diesel engine. Cylinder diameter is 100 cm = 1000 mm and stroke is 125 cm
= 1250 mm. Maximum combustion pressure is 4.905 N/mm2, FOS = 20, E = 2.06 x
105 N / mm2
Solution:
Max. load on the piston
20
Fp =
D 2 Pmax =
1000 2 4.905 = 3.85 10 6 N
We neglect the Inertia effect of the reciprocating mass as for the slow speed
engine.
Let d be the diameter of the connecting rod. Then by EULERS FORMULA
Eq. 1.29 Pg. 5,
Fcr =
n
l
EI
n = Constant = 1 for both ends hinged

E = 2.06 x 105 N/mm2
I = MOI =
=
d4
for circular section (Solid)
64
d4
64
Fcr = F p FOS = 3.85 10 6 20 N

Substituting,
3.65 x 106 x 20 =
2.06 10 5 d 4
(250)2 64
d = 83.33 mm
(Problem No.5.) A reciprocating pump is used to raise the water against a heap of
165 Kg. Pump diameter is 450 mm and piston rod is 1400 mm long. Calculate the
diameter of the piston rod. Use Rankine constant a=1/7500, FOS = 10,
pressure on the piston = 1.61 N/mm2
Solution:
Load on the piston =
(450)2 1.61 = 256.06 KN
Design load = load on the piston x FOS

= 256.06 x 103 x 10
= 2560.6 x 103 N
21
From equation,
fc A
F=
1+ K
A=
l
k
d2
4
2560.6 x 103 =
323.73 0.7854 d 2
d = dia of connecting rod
1 1400 2
1+
7500 d 2
K = d Assume
261.4
d2
254.25 d 2
2560.6 10 3 = 2
d + 261.4
d2
1+
K = 1/7500
l = 1400 mm
fc = 323.73 N/mm2
2560.6 x 103 d2 + 669.34 x 106 = 254.25 d4

254.25 d4 - 2560.6 x 103 d2 - 669.34 x 106 = 0
6
b + b 2 4ac 2560.6 10 +
d =
=
2a
= 10325
d = 201.61mm
2
(2560.6 10 ) + (4 254.25 669.34 10 )

3 2
2 254.25
(ProblemNo.6) Design a connecting rod for a petrol engine for the following data
Diameter (d) = 110 mm, Mass of reciprocating die of piston (M) = 2 Kg
Length of connecting rod = 325 mm, Stroke length L = 150 mm, Speed n = 1500
rpm, Over speed = 2500 rpm, Connecting rod = 4 : 1, Max. Exp. Pressure = 2.5
MPa
Solution:
1. Stroke length = L = 150 mm
2. Crank radius = L/2 = 150/2 = 75 mm
3. n = length of connecting rod / crank radius = 325/75 = 4.33 = l/r
4. Angular speed =
2 N 2 1500
=
= 157.07
60
60
22
Inertia force of reciprocating parts
100Wr v 2
Cos 2
Cos
gr
n1
19.8 (a) 370
W = Mxg = Weight of reciprocating parts

v = Crank velocity m/sec
r = crank radius mm
= Crank angle from the dead center
g = 9.81 m/s2
n1 = l/r
v = rw
= 75 x 10-3 x 157.1 = 11.78 m/s
take,
= 0, Considering that connecting rod is at the TDC.
Inertia force
F=
1000 (2 9.81) (11.78)

9.81 75
Cos 0
Cos 20
4.33
1
4.33
= 3700.49(1.230 )
= 3700.49 1
= 4555 N
Force on the piston (Fp)

Fp = P x A
= 2.5 x
(110 )
= 23758.3 N
Total force on the connecting rod :
FT = FP Fi = FP F
= 23758.3 4555
= 19203.3 N
Cross section of the connecting rod :
In order that connecting rod to be equally resistant to buckling in either plane, the
relation between the moment of inertias must be,
23
I xx = 4 I yy 19.6
Now the cross section satisfying the condition is the I section as shown in fig.
b = 4t t = 3t
B = 4t
d = 5t 2t = 3t
D = 5t
About x x axis.
From Pg.-431,
Moment of inertia Ixx for the above I section about x x is given by,
1
BD 3
12
I xx =
bd 3
Moment of Inertia Iyy ' for the above I section about yy is given by,
I yy =
1
bD 3 + Bd 3
12
Substituting the values in Ixx,

I xx =
1
3
4t (5t )
12
((
) (
3t (3t )
)
))
1
4t 125t 3
3t 27t 3
12
1
(500 81)t 4 = 34.91t 4
=
12
1
3
2t (4t ) + 3t t 3
I yy =
12
1
131 4
=
128t 4 + 3t 4 =
t = 10.91t 4
12
12
=
( ))
Ratio of Ixx to Iyy

I xx 34.19t 4
=>
=
= 3.197
I yy 10.91t 4
I xx
4 I yy
Area of cross section

A = (5t x 4t) (3t x 3t)
= 20t2 9t2
= 11 t2
24
To find t
By using Rankine Gordon formula,
The stress due to axial load (Crippling load or buckling load)
f cr =
Fc
=
A
fc
2
l
1+ K
k
Eq. 19.5 Pg. 369
K = Constant = 4/25000 for steel rod pin connected at both ends rod is free to
bend in any plane
Kxx = radius of gyration
I xx
34.91t 4
=
=
A
11t 2
Kxx = 1.78t
F
f cr = c
A
F
fc
also, c =
A 1+ K l
3.17t 2
( k)
Fc =
fc
( 2)
1+ K l
Also fc = Allowable unit stress for designing MN/m2

= Yield point stress / FOS (assume) = 378/4
= 94.5 MPa
Yield point stress from table
T 19.1 pg. 371
25
94.5 11t 2
19203.3 =
1+
19203.3 =
19203.3 =
4
325
25000 1.78t
1039.5t 2
1039.5t 2
= 2
5.33
t + 5.33
1+ 2
t
t2
1039.5t 4
t 2 + 5.33
19203.3t + 1022535 = 1039.5t 4

2
1039.5t 4 19203.3t 2 102253.5 = 0

t 4 18.47t 2
98.37 = 0 ax 2 + bx + c = 0
w.k.t.
b b2
2a
roots, i.e. x =
x =>
4ac
18.47 18.47 + (4 1 98.37 )

2 1
18.47 18.47 (4 1 98.37 )

= 19.38
2
t = 19.38
t2 =
= 4.78
5mm
Take t = 10 mm
Note the dimensions
width = 4t = 40 mm
Depth = 5t = 50 mm
Flange and web thickness = 10 mm
Area = 11 t2 = 11 x 102 = 1100 mm2
26
Check for stresses.

From equation 19.1 Pg. 369
The magnitude of inertia force (Fi)
(Max. force in the crank pin) x L/2

i.e. Resultant normal force on the CP
=
WA 2
w r l 10 12
g2
1 W
= A w 2 r l 10
2 g
1
Fmax R
2
Fi =
12
=> W = weight per unit volume of rod in N/m3

= density in Kg/m3
= 7800 Kg/m3
Assume
r = Crank radius mm = 75 mm
A = Area of cross section = 1100 mm2
w = Angular speed = 157.1 rad/sec
g = Acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/s
Substituting the values,
7800 9.81 1100 (157.1) 75 325 10
9.81 2
Fi = 2580.8 N
2
Fi =
12
From equation 19.2 Pg. 369

The max. bending moment (Mmax)
M max =
=
2 Fi l
9 3
2 2580.8 325
9 3
= 107612.95 N
mm
The maximum inertia bending stress or whipping stress, (MPa) N/mm2

b
M max
Z
27
From equation 19.3, Pg. 369

b
0.2854 10
12
Z=
W.K.T.
=
n2 r A w l 2
Z
349.1 10 3
25
I
y
Equation
y=
depth 5t
= = 25mm
2
2
I = I xx = 34.91t 4 = 349.1 10 3 mm4
= 13964 mm3
n = Speed of crank =
2200
= 36.67 rev/sec
60
A = Area in mm2 = 1100 mm2
w = density of rod material = 7800 x 9.81 N/m3
l = length of the rod = 325 mm
36.67 2 75 1100 7800 9.81 325 2
b
13964
Which is Safe
255894
=
= 18.32 MPa
13964
=
0.2854 10
12
Maximum compressive stress in the connecting rod

i.e. = stress due to axial load + The max. Inertia bending stress or whipping
stress
= f cr +
Fc
+ 18.32MPa
A
19203.3
=
+ 18.32
1100
= 35.78MPa
=
Which is safe.
28
Design of small end

Force on piston Fp = lp dp Pb
23758.3 = 1.5 dp x dp x 10
dp2
= 1583.9
dp = 39.79
Fp = 23758.3 N
lp = length of piston pin
40 mm
dp = dia of piston pin

Pb = bearing pressure
lp = 1.5 dp = 60 mm
From Pg. 362
l1 = K1d
d = dia of piston pin
K1 = 1.5 for petrol and gas ends
lp = 1.5 dp
from Pg. 362
Pb = 12.4 for gas engine

15.0 for oil engine
15.7 for automotive engine
Here we take,
Pb = 10 MPa
from Pg. 362
Design of Big end

Fp = lc dc x Pb
From Pg. 45
Equation 3.17,
Pb = 7.5 MPa
assume
Also assume, lc = 1.25 dc

Where,
dc = diameter of crank pin
lc = length of crank pin
Pb = bearing pressure
Fp = force on the piston
= 23758.3 N
23758.3 = 1.25 dc x dc 7.5
29
dc = 50 mm
lc = 62.5 mm
Design of Big end Bolts
Magnitude of Inertia force Fi = 2
db
2
t
Fi = 4555 N
db = dia of the bolts
t
= tension stress assume as 12 MPa
As this inertia force is supported by 2 bolts which hold the big end side,
4555 = 2
d b 12
d b = 15.50mm
Use M20 sized bolts.
Design of big end cap
M max =
Fi l o
6
Fi = Magnitude inertia force = 4555 N

lo = dc + (2 x thickness of liner) + db + Clearance (say 1.5 mm)
= 50+2x(0.05x50+1) + 21.5
= 50 + 7 + 21.5
= 78.5 mm
Mmax = 78.5 mm
M max =
4555 78.5
= 59595 N-mm
6
To find Cap thickness

w.k.t.,
M max
Z
lc h 2
Z=
6
Z = Section modulus
lc = length of crankpin = 62.5 mm
30
Assume
= 120 MPa
Substituting,
5721
59595
= 2
2
62.5 h
h
6
5721
= 6.9 7 mm
h=
120
References
120 =
1. Design Data Hand Book (DDH), K. Mahadevan and Dr. K. Balaveera Reddy
(B.S Publishers and Distributors)
2. Machine Design Exercises, S.N Trika, Khanna Publishers.
3. High Speed Combustion Engines, P.M. Heldt, Oxford and IBH Publishing Co.
4. Automotive Design, R.B. Gupta.
5. Automotive engine fundamentals F.E.PeacCock. T.E.Gaston Reston automotive
Series Pub.
31
32
33
34
35
Theory and Design of Automotive Engines [AU51]
Chapter No:06, Crank Shaft

Objective:
The student will learn that crankshaft design is the estimation of the shaft diameter,
crankpin dimensions to ensure satisfactory strength and rigidity when the crankshaft is
transmitting power under various operating conditions.
Outcomes:
The student should be able to design crankshafts for various operating and loading
conditions.
Prerequisites:
This topic requires the student to know about, the fundamentals of Engineering
Mathematics, Engg physics, Strength of Materials, Engineering Drawing, Workshop
Processes, Theory of Machines, Material Science and fundamentals of Machine Design.
Number of Question/s expected in examination: 01 [20Marks]
INTRODUCTION:
Before studying the actual crankshaft and design details, we shall study briefly the basics
of Power Transmission of shafts.
6.1 Power Transmitting Shaft:
Shaft Design consists primarily of the determination of the correct shaft diameter to
ensure satisfactory strength and rigidity when the shaft is transmitting power under
various operating and loading conditions. Shafts are usually circular in cross section, and
may be either hollow or solid.
Design of shafts of ductile materials, based on strength, is controlled by the maximum
shear theory. And the shafts of brittle material would be designed on the basis of the
maximum normal stress theory.
Various loads subjected on Shafting are torsion, bending and axial loads.
6.1.1 Basics of Design for solving Shaft problems:
6.1.1a. Maximum Principal Stress:(1)
1 =
x + y
2
x y
2
+
+ xy ..(1.11a/2)
2
2
Here 1.11a and 2 refers to the formula number and page number from Design data handbook by K
Mahadevan and K Balaveera Reddy, CBS Publications, INDIA, 1989.
Same Data handbook and similar procedure is adopted in further discussion.
Where,
x --- Stress in x direction, in MPa or N/mm2
y --- Stress in y direction, in MPa
Krishnaraja G. Kodancha, Assistant Professor, Automobile Engineering Department, B.V.B.College of
Engineering and technology, HUBLI-31; Session 24 to 28, Oct 18 to 30 -2007

xy ---Shear stress, in MPa.
6.1.1b.Minimum Principal Stress: (2)
2 =
x + y
2
x y
2

+ xy ..(1.11b/2)
2
6.1.1c. Maximum Shearing Stress:(max)

x y
2
=
+ xy ...(1.12/2)
2
2
max
6.1.1d.Torsional stresses: ()
The Torsional formula is given by,
T G
=
= ..(1.15/3)
J
l
r
Here T=torque or Torsional moment, N-mm
J=polar moment of inertia, mm4
=
32
d 4 , Where d is the solid shaft diameter.
(d
32
4
o
d i , Where do and di are outer and inner diameter of the hollow shaft
4
respectively.
G=Modulus of elasticity in shear or modulus of rigidity, MPa
=Angle of twist, radians
l= Length of shaft , mm
r= Distance from the Neutral axis to the top most fibre, mm
d
(For solid shaft)
=
2
d
= o (For hollow shaft)
2
6.1.1d.Bending Stresses:(b)
The bending equation is given by
M E b
= =
..(1.16/3)
I
R
c
Here M=bending moment, N-mm


I= Second moment of area, mm4
=
64
d 4 (For solid shaft)
(d
64
4
o
di ,
4
(For hollow shaft)
E=modulus of elasticity or Young modulus for the material, MPa

=Angle of twist, radians
R= radius of curvature, mm
c= Distance from the Neutral axis to the extreme fibre, mm
d
(For solid shaft)
=
2
d
= o (For hollow shaft)
2
6.1.2 Methods of obtaining the Twisting moment and Bending Moment.
6.1.2a Twisting Moment:
i)
Power transmitted :
2nT
P=
kW
60000
Where T - twisting moment in N-m= (103) N-mm
n speed of the shaft, rpm
3
60000( P)(10 ) 9.55(10 6 )( P)
=
..(3.3a/42)
Hence T =
n
2n
ii)
In case of belt drives

Power transmitted
(T T2 )v
P= 1
kW .(14.9a/239)
1000
Where T 1- tension of belt on tight side, N
T 2- tension of belt on slack side, N
v- velocity of belt, m/s [Student should take care of units here, it is in
m/sec not in mm/sec]
T1
= e (14.6a/238)
T2
---arc of contact, rad
---coefficient of friction between belt and pulley.
From equation (14.9a/239) and (14.6a/238) get T 1 and T 2.
R
T1
Figure 1
Pulley
T2


Knowing the value of radius of the pulley (R) twisting moment can be found by using the
following equation:[Refer Figure 1]
T= (T 1 - T 2) R, N-mm.
In case of Gear drives.
Power transmitting capacity of gears is given by
Fv
P = t kW. ..(12.14a/163)
1000
Ft = driving force or tangential load at pitch line, N
d
The torque is given by, T = Ft ( ) , N-mm..(12.22/165)
2
Where d is the pitch circle diameter of Gear.
iii)
6.1.2b Bending Moment.

i)
Cantilever, end load [Figure 2]
W
Figure 2
Maximum Bending Moment, M=W(l), N-mm ..[Table 1.4/1/10]

Where W is the concentrated load, N
l is the length of the beam, mm
ii) Simply supported beam [End support, center load] [Figure 3]
W
l/2
A
B
RA
Figure 3
RB
To find the reactions RA and RB
= 0,
For the convenient of calculations, Clock Wise direction is taken as positive bending
moment and Counter Clockwise as negative bending moment.
l
W ( ) RB (l ) = 0
2


Hence R B =
W
,N
2
F = 0,
, Upward force is taken as positive and downward is
taken as negative.
RA+RB W=0
Hence RA = W RB
l
Wl
Maximum bending Moment, M = R A ( ) =
.[Table 1.4/4/10].
2
4
iii) Simply supported beam [End support, Intermediate][Figure 4]

W
b
a
A
B
l
RA
RB
Figure 4
To find the reactions RA and RB
= 0,
W (a ) RB (l ) = 0
W (a)
Hence R B =
,N
l
F = 0,
RA+RB W=0
Hence R A = W RB , N
W (a)
a
la
W (b)
RA = W
= W (1 ) = W (
)=
,N
l
l
l
l
W (a )(b)
[Table 1.4/5/10].
l
For different kinds of loading and support students are advised to refer Table 1.4 from
page no 10-12 of the Design Data Book.
Maximum bending Moment, M = R A (a ) =

6.2. Crank Shaft:

A crankshaft is used to convert reciprocating motion of the piston into rotary motion or
vice versa. The crankshaft consists of the shaft parts, which revolve in the main bearings,
the crank pins to which the big ends of the connecting rod are connected, the crank arms
or webs, which connect the crankpins, and the shaft parts. The crankshaft, depending
upon the position of crank, may be divided into the following two types.
The crankshaft is the principal member of the crank train or crank assembly, which latter
converts the reciprocating motion of the pistons into rotary motion. It is subjected to both
torsional and bending stresses, and in modern high-speed, multi-cylinder engines these
stresses may be greatly increased by resonance, which not only renders the engine noisy,
but also may fracture the shaft. In addition, the crankshaft has both supporting bearings
(or main bearings) and crankpin bearings, and all of its bearing surfaces must be
sufficiently large so that the unit bearing load cannot become excessive even under the
most unfavorable conditions. At high speeds the bearing loads are due in large part to
dynamic forces-inertia and centrifugal. Fortunately, loads on main bearings due to
centrifugal force can be reduced, and even completely eliminated, by the provision of
suitable counterweights. All dynamic forces increase as the square of the speed of
rotation. (i.e. FDynamicSpeed2)
6.2.1 TYPES OF CRANKSHAFT
A crankshaft is composed of the crankpins, crank arms, crank journals, and driving ends.
As a rule, crankshafts are forged in a single piece, but occasionally they are built up.
Built-up crankshafts are used in small single- and double-cylinder motorcycle engines.
The enclosed flywheels of these engines take the place of the crank arms, the crankpin
and crank journals being bolted to the flywheels, which latter are cast with solid webs.
The built-up construction also has advantages when it is desired to support the crankshaft
in three or more ball bearings, as with a one-piece shaft all intermediate bearings would
have to be stripped over the crank arms, and therefore would have to be made extraordinarily large.
A crankpin together with the two crank arms on opposite sides of it is frequently referred
to as a "throw." In some crankshafts there is only a single throw between a pair of main
journals or supporting bearings, while in others there are two and even three or four
throws between main bearings.
6.2.1a Based on the position of the crank pin
i) Side crankshaft or overhung crankshaft. (Figure. 5)
ii) Centre crankshaft (Figure. 6)
Crank
Crank
Shaft
Main Bearing
Figure.5 Side Crank


Crank Pin
Crank arm
Main Bearing
Figure.6 Centre Crank Shaft
6.2.1b Based on the number of throw

The other classification is based on the number of cranks in the shaft are:
I. Single throw crankshafts
II. Multi throw crankshafts
A crankshaft with only one side crank or centre crank is called a single throw crankshaft.
A crankshaft with two-side cranks, one on each end or more centre cranks is called as
multi throw crankshaft.
6.2.2. FEW TYPICAL CRANKSHAFTS
Figure 7. Proportions of four cylinder Crank Shaft in 1911
Figure 8. Proportions of four cylinder Crank Shaft in 1948

Figure 9.Four cylinder, three bearing Crank Shaft
Figure 10.Crank shaft for Four cylinder opposed engine
Figure 11.Crank shaft of Volkswagan Four cylinder-opposed engine

6.2.3 Materials
For the proper functioning, the crankshaft should full fill the following conditions:
1. Enough strength to withstand the forces to which it is subjected i.e. the bending
and twisting moments.
2. Enough rigidity to keep the distortion a minimum.
3. Stiffness to minimize, and strength to resist, the stresses due to torsional
vibrations of the shaft.
4. Sufficient mass properly distributed to see that it does not vibrate critically at the
speeds at which it is operated.
5. Sufficient projected areas of crankpins and journals to keep down the bearing
pressure to a value dependent on the lubrication available.
6. Minimum weight, especially in aero engines.

The crankshafts are made much heavier and stronger than necessary from the strength
point of view so as to meet the requirements of rigidity and vibrations. Therefore the
weight cannot be reduced appreciably by using a material with a very high strength. The
material to be selected will also depend upon the method of manufacture i.e. cast, forged,
or built up. Built up crank shafts are sometimes used in aero engines where light weight
is very important.
In industrial engines, 0.35 Carbon steel of ultimate tensile strength 500MPa to 525 MPa
and 0.45 Carbon steel of ultimate tensile strength of about 627 to 780 MPa are commonly
used.
In transport engines, alloy steel e.g. manganese steel having ultimate tensile strength of
about 784 to 940 MPa is generally used.
In aero engines, nickel chromium steel having ultimate tensile of about 940 to 1100 MPa
is generally used. Heavy duty Cast iron is being successfully used for crankshafts,
especially for industrial engines of comparatively low speed and it can replace easily the
plain carbon steels. Cast iron usually used for crankshafts is nickel cast iron with ultimate
tensile strength ranging from 350 to 525 MPa. Cast steel is also used as material for
crankshafts, its ultimate tensile strength ranging from 560 to 600 MPa.
Students are requested to go through the Table3.2/47, Table3.3/48, Table 3.5b/48, and
page no 412 to 430 of the data handbook for different material properties.
Medium-carbon steel is the material most extensively used. The blanks from which the
crankshafts are machined are produced by the drop forging process. This process requires
several heatings to a good red heat, which impairs the physical qualities of the steel; and
the latter have to be restored and the latter have to be restored by suitable heat treatment,
consisting of normalizing, reheating and quenching. The carbon steel generally used for
crankshafts is S.A.E. steel No. 1045 [Refer T 1.18/428] which has the following
composition and physical properties:
Chemical Composition
PerCent
Carbon
0.43-0.50
Manganese
0.60-0.90
Sulphur
Not over 0.050
Phosphorus
Not over 0.040
A suitable heat treatment for drop forgings of this grade of steel is as follows: Normalize
at 5710C to 9270C, reheat to 7890C to 8430C, quench in oil and draw at 8420C. When thus
heat-treated the steel has approximately the following physical properties:
Tensile strength
Elastic limit
Elongation in 50mm
Reduction of area
Brinell hardness
759MPa
517MPa
18 per cent
45 per cent
225-235


In some of the higher-grade automotive engines, chrome-nickel steel (S.A.E. 3140) is
used for the crankshaft. The composition and the approximate mechanical properties of
this steel (after heat treatment) are as follows:
Chemical Composition
Percent
Carbon
Manganese
Phosphorus
Sulphur
Nickel
Chromium
0.38-0.43
0.70-0.90
Not over 0.040
Not over 0.040
1.1 0-1.40
0.55-0.75
Mechanical Properties (After Heat Treatment)

Tensile strength
Elastic limit
Elongation in 50mm
Reduction of area
Brinell hardness
1069MPa
910MPa
16 per cent
50 per cent
295-305
The heat treatment for this steel consists in normalizing at 8710C -9270C, annealing to the
desired structure or machinability; heating to 7880C - 8160C, quenching in oil, and
tempering at 4830C
Other materials used for crankshafts include chrome-vanadium and chrome-molybdenum
steels. All of these binary alloy steels have excellent mechanical properties, the tensile
strength in the heat-treated condition usually running above 1034MPa
6.2.4 Manufacturing:
Great care must be observed in the manufacture of crankshafts since it is the most
important part of the engine. Small crankshafts are drop forged. Larger shafts are forged
and machined to shape. Casting of the crankshafts allows a theoretically desirable but
complicated shape with a minimum amount of machining and at the smallest cost. These
are cast in permanent moulds for maximum accuracy and a minimum of machining.
While machining, the shaft must be properly supported between centers and special
precautions should be taken to avoid springing. The journals and crankpins are ground to
exact size after turning. After this, the crankshaft is balanced. Large shafts of low speed
engines are balanced statically; Crankshafts of high-speed engines are balanced
dynamically on special balancing machines. Most crankshafts are ground at the journals
and crankpins. In some cases grounding is followed by hand lapping with emery cloth.
6.2.6. Bearing pressures:
The bearing pressures are very important in the design of crankshafts. The allowable
bearing pressure depends upon the journal velocity, change of direction of bearing
Krishnaraja G. Kodancha, Assistant Professor, Automobile Engineering Department, B.V.B.College of 10

pressures, amount and method of lubrication and the maximum gas pressures and space
limitations. Maximum allowable bearing pressures are given below Table 1.
6.2.6.Stresses:
The stresses induced in the crankshafts are bending and also shear stresses due to
torsional moment of the shaft. Most crankshafts fail due to progressive fracture due to
repeated bending or reversed torsional stresses. Thus the type of loading on the
crankshafts is fatigue loading therefore, the design should be based on endurance limit.
To avoid stress concentration and fatigue failure, abrupt changes in the section of shaft
connection should be avoided. Two different cross sections must be blended with a large
fillet r, if possible, r should not be less than 0.2d. [d is the diameter of the shaft]. If
there is no space for fillet, the crank web should be under cut to obtain the fillet. This will
make the web weak and to compensate for it, the width is increased. (Figure12)
Since the failure of the crankshaft is serious for the engine, and also because of the
inaccuracy in determining all the forces and stresses, a high factor of safety based on
endurance limit from 3 to 4 should be used. To be on the safe side, the endurance limits
for complete reversal of bending and torsional stresses are taken.
For chrome nickel and other alloy steels, the endurance limit is about 525 N/mm2 in
bending and about 290 N/mm2 in shear.
Table 1.
DESIGN DATA FOR BEARING *
* The above table is extracted from Design Data Book , K Mahadevan and K Balaveera Reddy, CBS Publications, INDIA, 1989,
TABLE 15.11, Page No 314
* Refer Table 3.6/49 for Allowable Bearing pressures

r
r
d
(a)
(b)
Figure 12, Use of Fillets
(c)
For carbon steel and cast steel, the endurance limit is about 220 N/mm2 in bending and
about 120 N/mm2 in shear. For alloy cast iron, the endurance limit is about 140 N/mm2 in
bending and in shear.
Thus the allowable stress is:
For Carbon steel: bending = 55 to 75 N/mm2
Shear = 30 to 40 N/mm2
1
Combined stress = (elastic limit in tension)
2
For alloy Cast Iron:
Bending= shear = 34 to 45 N/mm2
Combined stress = elastic limit in pure tension.
For Chrome nickel and other alloy steel:
Bending = 130 to 175 N/mm2
Shear = 70 to 97 N/mm2
1
Combined stress = (elastic limit in pure tension)
2
6.2.7 Balance Weights:
In a single-cylinder crankshaft the centrifugal force on the crank arms, crankpin, and part
of the connecting rod forms an unbalanced rotating force, which would cause the engine
to vibrate if no means were provided to balance it. Therefore, balance weights are applied
to the crank arms.
In a high-speed engine the balance weights are preferably forged integral with the crank
arms. If made separate, they must be very securely applied, since the stresses on the
fastenings due to the centrifugal force at "racing" speeds are very considerable, and if one
of the weights should come loose, it would be sure to do serious damage. Alloy steel
bolts or studs should be used, or the counterweights should be fitted to the crank arms in

such a way that the centrifugal force produces shearing stresses in the parts, instead of
tensile stresses in the bolts.
In a double-cylinder opposed engine the crankshaft is always made with two throws set at
1800 relative to each other. One set of reciprocating parts then always moves in
opposition to the other set, and at exactly the same speed, so that the reciprocating parts
are perfectly balanced, except for the fact that the two sets are not quite in line with each
other. The rotating parts also are very nearly balanced, since the centrifugal force acting
on one throw is equal and opposite in direction to the centrifugal force acting on the other
throw, and there is only a small rotating couple due to the centrifugal forces acting at the
ends of an arm equal in length to the distance between the centers of the two. This
rotating couple can be balanced by applying balance weights to the two short crank arms.
In a four-cylinder vertical engine the four throws are always in the same plane, the two
outer throws being on the same side of the crankshaft axis, and the two inner throws on
the opposite side. The centrifugal force acting on each throw is a radial rotating force,
which may be considered to act at the center of that throw. The centrifugal forces F on
the two outer throws (Figure 13) naturally are always in the same plane, and. as they are
equal, their resultant R is a force equal to twice that acting on the individual throw, acting
at a point midway between the two throws. The resultant Rl of the centrifugal forces F1
acting on the two inner throws is exactly equal to the resultant of the centrifugal forces
acting on the two outer throws, and acts at the same point but in the opposite direction to
the latter; consequently it neutralizes or balances it.
Figure 13 Centrifugal forces on four throw crankshaft

6.2.8 Local Balance:
But while a crankshaft of this type is perfectly balanced as a whole, its individual throws
are unbalanced, and since the crankshaft is more or less flexible, the centrifugal force
acting on the individual throw presses the crank journals adjacent to it against their
bearings, adding to the loads on these bearings.
To reduce this bearing load it is now customary to provide crank arms of high-speed
engines with balance weights. A rather serious degree of local unbalance occurs in a fourcylinder, two-bearing crankshaft, because in the conventional design there is nothing to
balance the two inner crank pins and the intervening portion of the crankshaft. Sometimes

balance weights are welded to crankshafts of this type, as well as to others, but the
majority of all crankshafts for high-speed engines have balance weights forged on all
crank arms that are not symmetrical with relation to the crankshaft axis, which balance
weights either completely or partly balance the rotating parts of the crank throw. A
crankshaft of such design that the centrifugal forces acting on it would vanish if all acted
in the same plane perpendicular to the crankshaft axis is said to be in static balance.
In a six-throw crankshaft the throws are arranged in pairs, the two inner ones being in
line with each other, as are also the two outer ones and the two intermediate ones,
respectively. Each pair of throws is located at an angular distance of 1200 from the other
two pairs. By reference to Figure 14, which is an end view of a six throw, seven-bearing
crankshaft, it can be seen that if all of the throws are identical, such a crankshaft is in
static balance. The resultant F of the centrifugal forces on the two throws of each pair
acts at the middle of the length of the crankshaft. The three resultants therefore all act in
the same plane radially outward from the center of the crankshaft, at angles of 1200, and
they exactly balance each other. The highest degree of balance, of course, is obtained if
each throw is balanced separately, which involves the use of a balance weight on each
arm.
Six-cylinder crankshafts with either three or four main bearings are not inherently
balanced. In fact, as sometimes made, they are not even in static balance. In the most
primitive form, the long crank arms extend straight across from one crankpin to another
at angular distance of 1200 therefrom. This crank arm then lies wholly to one side of the
axis of rotation, and in operation produces an unbalanced rotating force whose direction
is at all times along a line through the axis of rotation and the center of gravity of the
crank arm. The magnitude of this unbalanced force is proportional to the distance of the
center of gravity of the crank arm from the axis of rotation, and therefore can be reduced
by reducing this distance, by curving the crank arm inward, as shown in Figure 15. The
rotating force, of course, can be entirely eliminated by bolting a balance weight against
the side of the long crank arm.
Figure 14. End view of Six-throw, seven-bearing crankshaft.

Figure 15. Curved long arm of six-throw, three or four-bearing crankshaft.
6.2.9 Empirical Rules for Crankshaft Dimensions
In making a preliminary lay-out, all dimensions of the crankshaft can be made

proportional to the cylinder bore. Of course, the proportion between any given dimension
of the crankshaft and the cylinder bore varies with the number and arrangement of
cylinders and with the type of crankshaft as defined by the number of its main bearings.
In all drop forged crankshafts in which the arms are left unfinished, the arm section, of
course, is not a rectangle, as draft has to be allowed on the two long sides, usually about
70. In applying the rules for arm thickness the calculated thickness can be taken as the
mean between the minimum and maximum actual thicknesses.
6.2.10 Six Cylinder Crankshafts
Crankshafts for six-cylinder in line engines are made with three, four, or seven main
journals. The greater the number of main journals the better the support for the crankshaft
and the smoother the operation of the engine at high speeds. On the other hand,
manufacturing costs increase somewhat with the number of main bearings. Whatever the
number of main journals, the angular spacing of the throws is the same; that is, throws
Nos. 1 and 6 are in line, as are throws Nos. 2 and 5, and throws Nos. 3 and 4. [Firing
order 1-6-2-5-3-4] Both the three-bearing and the four-bearing crankshafts have short
arms connecting a crankpin with the adjacent main journal, and long arms connecting two
crankpins spaced 120 apart. In Figure 16 is shown sides view of the rear half of a fourbearing, six-cylinder crankshaft (the front half being omitted because it is an inverse
duplicate of the rear). At the center between crankpins Nos. 3 and 4 there is a balance
weight, of which a transverse section is shown. The short crank arms have the usual
integral counterweights, while the long crank arm is in the form of a disc, of which a side
view is shown at the right in the illustration. Back of the junction with the crankpins the
disc is rounded off so as to eliminate unnecessary weight. Long crank arms of the same
general form are used in three-bearing crankshafts for six-cylinder engines, which latter

have four of them. Seven bearing, six-cylinder crankshafts usually are finished all over;
at least the crank arms, which are all similar in shape, are finished on both sides, so as to
make the engine as compact as possible length wise.
Figure 16. Rear half of four bearing, six-cylinder crankshaft

6.2.11 Eight Cylinder Crankshafts
Crankshafts for eight-cylinder in line engines are designed with either five or nine main
journals. In the first case there are two crank throws between supports, while in the last
there is only one. Here, too, the angular spacing of the various throws is the same,
regardless of the number of main journals, cranks Nos. 1 and 8 being in line, also Nos. 2
and 7, 3 and 6, and 4 and 5, and the angular spacing between one pair of cranks and the
next is always 90. The crankshaft of an eight-cylinder in-line engine consists essentially
of two conventional four-cylinder crank shafts, one of these being cut in halves, and each
half joined to one end of the other crankshaft, in a plane at right angles to it. Figure is a
side view of such a crankshaft. The center bearing is made considerably longer than the
two intermediate bearings, be cause it carries the inertia loads from two sets of
reciprocating parts that are in phase, while in the case of the intermediate bearings the
two sets of reciprocating parts on opposite sides of them are 90 out of phase.
Figure 17 Five bearing crankshaft for eight cylinder crankshaft in line engine
6.2.12 Oil Holes Drilled in Crankshafts
In engines provided with pressure lubrication, oil holes are drilled through the crankshaft
journals and arms to permit oil to flow from the main to the crankpin bearings.
Sometimes radial holes are drilled through the crank arms, and communicating axial and
radial holes through the journals, the holes through the crank arms and the axial holes
through the journals later having their ends plugged. However, the preferred practice is to
drill single inclined holes through the main journals, crank arms and crankpins, as

illustrated in Figure 18. In the illustration, a second hole is shown drilled halfway through
main journal, so that there are two oilcrankshaft inlets, but this practice is not common.
Figure 18 Inclined Oil holes in crankshaft

6.2.13 Balancing Crankshaft
Crankshafts, after they are completely machined, must be balanced both statically and
dynamically. A crankshaft is in static balance if, when placed on horizontal steel balance
ways or their equivalent, it will remain in any position to which it is turned. A simple
static balancing machine consists of two pairs of discs freely supported either on
hardened centers or on ball bearings (Figure 19), the two pairs being sufficiently far apart
so the crankshaft can be placed upon them with its end main bearings. If the center of
gravity of the crankshaft does not lie in the mechanical axis, then the crankshaft will turn
until the center of gravity is directly underneath the mechanical axis. By removing
material from the heavy side, with a drill or emery wheel, until the crankshaft will remain
in any angular position in which it is placed on the discs, static balance may be attained.
Dynamically the shaft may still be unbalanced. For instance, there may be excess weight
on one side of the shaft at one end, which is balanced statically by an equivalent weight
on the other side at the opposite end. In that case, when the engine is running, there is
what is known as a centrifugal couple, and this must be eliminated before the crank can
be expected to run without vibration at high speeds. Unbalance of this kind can be
determined only in a dynamic balancing machine.
Figure 19 One end of static balancing machine

6.3 Design Procedure:
1. Determine the magnitudes of the various loads acting on the crankshaft.

2. Determine the distance between supports. The distances will depend upon the
lengths of the bearing. The lengths & diameters of the bearings are determined on
the basis of maximum permissible bearing pressures, l/d ratios and the acting
loads. (TABLE 1 and Table 3.6/49)
3. For the sake of simplicity and safety, the shaft is considered to be supported at the
centers of the bearings.
4. The thickness of the crank webs is assumed, about 0.5d to 0.6d, where d is the
shaft diameter, or from 0.22D to 0.32D, where D is the cylinder bore.
5. Now calculate the distance between supports.
6. Assume allowable bending and shearing stresses.
7. Compute the necessary dimensions of the crankshaft.
The above procedure is general design procedure. It may change as per the requirements
and definition of the given problem.
Note: All the forces and reactions are assumed to be acting at the centers of the bearings.
6.3.1
DESIGN CALCULATIONS:
In the design of the crankshafts, it is assumed that the crankshaft is a beam with two or
more supports. Every crankshaft must be designed or checked at least for two crank
positions, one when the bending moment is maximum, and the other when the twisting
moment is a maximum. In addition, the additional moments due to the flywheel weight,
belt tension and other forces must be considered.
To make the calculations simpler, without loosing accuracy, it is assumed that the effect
of the bending forces does not extend two bearings between which a force is applied.
There are two considerations, which determine the necessary dimensions of the crankpin.
One is that its projected bearing area (diameter times length) must be large enough so it
will safely sustain the bearing loads imposed upon it by gas pressure, inertia and
centrifugal force; the second, that the crankshaft as a whole must be sufficiently rigid so
that it will not vibrate perceptibly under the periodic forces to which it is subjected in
service. When the crankshaft of a given engine is made more rigid, the so-called critical
speeds-that is, speeds at which there is synchronous vibration-are raised, and in this way
at least the most important critical speeds can be moved outside the normal operating
range.

6.4 Analysis of Center Crank Shaft:
The crank shaft is to analysed for two positions:

i) Crank on Dead Center: and ii) Crank at angle of maximum Twisting Moment
6.4a Crank at Dead Center
When the crank is on dead center, maximum bending moment will act in the crankshaft.
The thrust in the connecting rod will be equal to the piston gas load (F), W is the weight
of the flywheel acting downward and T1 and T2 is the belt pull acting horizontally.
R3
RV3(W)
RH3(BELT)
3
y
T1+T2
RV2(W)
R2
W
RH2(BELT)
RH2(F)
2
b
F
a
RH1(F)
Figure 20. Force Analysis of Crank at Dead

Center
In between bearings 1 and 2, Gas Load F, acts as shown in Figure 7
Now Gas Load,
F=
D 2 * p max
, Where D is the diameter of the piston in mm and

4
pmax is the maximum gas pressure


Due to this there will be two horizontal reactions, RH1(F) at bearing 1, and RH2(F) , at
bearing 2, so that,
To find the reactions RH1(F) and RH2(F)
= 0,
Clock Wise direction is taken as positive bending moment and Counter Clockwise as
negative bending moment.
F (a) RH 2( F ) (a + b) = 0 .(1)
Hence R H 2 ( F ) =
F (a)
, N ...(2)
( a + b)
= 0,
taken as negative.
RH1(F) + RH2(F) -F =0.(3)
By substituting equation 2 in equation 3 we get,
F (a)
F (b)
=
,N
( a + b) ( a + b)
F
,N
If a=b, then, R H 1( F ) = RH 2( F ) =
(2)
In between bearings 2 and 3, we have two loads
i)
Belt pull (T1 + T2 ), acting horizontally as shown in Figure 8
ii)
Weight of the Flywheel (W), acting vertically as shown in Figure 8
R H 1( F ) = F
Reactions at bearing 2 and 3 due to Belt Pull,

Due to this there will be two horizontal reactions, RH2(belt) at bearing 2, and RH3(belt) at
bearing 3, so that ,
To find the reactions RH2(belt) and RH3(belt)
= 0,
(T1 + T2 )( x) RH 3(belt ) ( x + y ) = 0
Hence R H 3(belt ) =
(T1 + T2 )( x)
, N ...(4)
( x + y)

= 0,
taken as negative.
RH2(belt) + RH3(belt) (T1+T2) =0.(5)
By substituting equation (4) in equation(5) we get,
(T + T2 )( x) (T1 + T2 )( y )
R H 2b (elt ) = (T1 + T2 ) 1
=
( x + y)
( x + y)
If x=y, then, R H 2 (belt ) = R H 3(bel )t =
(T1 + T2 )
(2)
Reactions at bearing 2 and 3 due to Weight of the Flywheel,

Due to this there will be two Vertical reactions, Rv2(W) at bearing 2, and Rv3(W), at bearing
3, so that,
To find the reactions Rv2(W0 and Rv3(W)
= 0,
(W )( x) Rv 3(W ) ( x + y ) = 0
Hence Rv 3(W ) =
(W )( x)
( x + y)
= 0,
, N .(6)
taken as negative.
Rv3(W) + RV2(W) (W) =0.(7)
By substituting equation (6) in equation (7) we get,
(W )( x) (W )( y )
Rv 2 (W ) = (W2 )
=
( x + y) ( x + y)
(W )
If x=y, then RV 2(W ) = RV 3(W ) =
(2)
In this position of the crank, there will be no twisting moment, and the various parts will
be designed for bending only.


6.4a.1 CRANKPIN:
The bending moment at the centre of the crankpin is,
M = RH 1( F ) (a ) , N-mm
We know that,
M
= ..(1.16/3)
I
c
Substituting the values of C =
get,
M =
M =
b
c
(I ) =
b
dp
64
dp
2
and I =
d p 4
64
in Equation 1.16 and solving for M we
)(d p )
d p ( b ) , N-mm
3
32
Knowing the value of Bending moment M and allowable stress in bending, b, diameter
of the Crankpin dp can be obtained.
Length of the crankpin (lp) can be obtained by suitably choosing/assuming the value of
allowable bearing pressure and using the following formula;
F
, MPa
Bearing pressure, pb =
(l p )(d p )
F
, mm
(d p )( pb )
Or we can use empirical relation as lp=(0.8 to 1.3) dp (Page No 50)
Length of the crankpin, l p =
6.4a.2 Left Hand Crank Web:

The crank web is designed for eccentric loading. There will be two stresses on it, one
direct compressive stress and the other bending stress due to the gas load F.
The thickness h=0.22D to 0.32 D or
=0.5 dp to 0.9 dp .(Page No 50)
=0.65 dp + 6.35mm(Page No 50)
The width wmay be assumed to be as follows:
9
w = d p + 12.7, mm
8
= (1.1 to 1.2) dp, mm(Page No 50)
Since the empirical relations are used it is advised to check the developed stresses against
the given values.


Direct stresses(d)
R
d = 1H ( F ) , MPa
( w)(h)
Bending stresses: (b)
M b
=
; ..(1.16/3)
I
c
lp h
M = R1H ( F ) (a )
2 2
wh 3
h
And c =
12
2
Substituting the values of M, c and I in bending equation (1.16/3) we get
lp h 6
b = R1H ( F ) (a )( 2 ), MPa
2 2 wh
Superimposing the direct and bending stresses we get total stress on the web, which must
not exceed the allowable stress in bending. Otherwise increase the value of thickness
and width and recheck the design.
I=
6.4a.3Right Hand Crank Web:

Since the bearing 1 and 2 are usually of the same length and symmetrical to the cylinder
centerline, therefore RH1(F) and RH2F() are equal. Hence normally same dimensions are
adopted for both crank webs.
Otherwise, providing the dimensions empirically as used in Left hand crank web and
check is made as follows:
M = R1 H 1( F ) ( a +
lp
h
)
2 2
lp
h 6
)( 2 ), MPa
2 2 wh
Superimposing the direct and bending stresses we get total stress on the web, and check
against the allowable stresses. To avoid the manufacturing difficulties keep the same
dimensions for both Webs by taking higher h and w values.
b = RH 1( F ) (a +
6.4a.4 Shaft Under the Flywheel: [Diameter of the shaft between bearing 2 and 3]
Bending moment due to flywheel weight is M FLY = ( RV 3(W ) )( y )
Bending moment due to the belt pull is M belt = ( RH 3( BELT ) )( y )
Since these bending moments act at right angles to each other, the combined bending
moment is given by;
2
2
M Total = M FLY
+ M belt

We know that M Total =
M total =
b
c
(I ) =
d W 64
)(d W )
d W ( b ) , N-mm,
3
32
Where dW is diameter of the shaft under flywheel and
b is allowable stress in bending. Its value should be taken low to take care of
reversal of stresses in each revolution and to ensure necessary rigidity.
6.4b Crank at an angle of maximum twisting moment
The twisting moment on the crankshaft will be maximum, when the tangential force Ft is
maximum and this can be calculated graphically by taking pressures from the net effort
diagram for different crank angles. The angle usually lies between 250 to 350from the
dead center for a constant volume combustion engines and between 300 to 400 for
constant pressure combustion engines. At this angle, the gas pressure will not be
maximum. If Fp is the gas load along the cylinder centerline, then the thrust FC along the
connecting rod is given by (Ref Figure 21 or same as FIG 3.1/50 in design data book)
Ft
FC
FP
FC
Fr
Figure 21. Forces on crank

Arm
The force on the connecting Rod or thrust force
FP
FC =
.(3.12/45)
cos( )
The tangential force or the rotative effort on the crank
FP sin( + )
.(3.13/45)
cos( )
The radial force along the crank
F cos( + )
Fr = FC cos( + ) = P
..(3.14/45)
cos( )
Ft = FC sin( + ) =

RH3(BELT)
3
y
T1+T2
RV2(W)
x
RH2FR
RH2(BELT
RH2FT
Ft
FP
Fr
R
a
RH1FR
RH1FT
Figure 22. Force Analysis of Crank at angle of

maximum twisting Moment
Tangential force Ft will have two reactions RH1FT and RH2FT
respectively.
at bearing 1 and 2
Radial force Fr will have two reactions RH1FR and RH2FR at bearing 1 and 2 respectively.
The reactions at the bearings 2 and 3 due to belt pull (T1+T2) and Flywheel W will be
same as before.
In this position of the crankshaft, the different sections will be subjected to both bending
and torsional moments and these must be checked for combined stress. At this point,
Shear stress is taken as failure criteria for crankshaft.
The reactions due Radial force (Fr):
To find the reactions RH1FR and RH2FR
= 0,
Fr (b) + RH 1FR (a + b) = 0

R H 1FR =
Fr (b)
( a + b)
= 0,
taken as negative.
Fr + RH 1FR + RH 2 FR = 0
R H 2 FR = Fr RH 1FR = Fr
RH 2 FR =
Fr (b)
( a + b)
Fr (a)
(a + b)
The reactions due tangential force (Ft):

To find the reactions RH1FT and RH2FT
= 0,
FT (b) + RH 1FT (a + b) = 0
F (b)
R H 1FT = T
( a + b)
Fy = 0 ,
taken as negative.
FT + R H 1FT + RH 2 FT = 0
R H 2 FT = FT R H 1FT = FT
R H 2 FT =
FT (b)
( a + b)
FT (a )
( a + b)
The reactions at the bearings 2 and 3due to Flywheel weight (W) and resultant belt pull
(T1+T2) will be as discussed earlier.
6.4b.1 Crank pin:
The bending moment at the centre of the crankpin is, M b = RH 1FR (a ) , N-mm
The Twisting moment is, T = RH 1FT ( R) , N-mm
Equivalent twisting moment, Te = T 2 + M b2 , N mm


We know that
Te
= ..(1.15/3)
J
r
Here Te=torque or Torsional moment, N-mm
J=polar moment of inertia, mm4
=
d p , Where dp is the solid shaft diameter.
32
= allowable shear stress, MPa
dP
2
Substituting the values of J and r in equation 1.15 and simplifying we get,
r= Distance from the Neutral axis to the top most fibre, mm =
Te =
d P ( ) , N-mm
3
16
From this equation the diameter of the crank pin can be obtained.
Length of the crankpin (lp) can be obtained by suitably choosing/assuming the value of
allowable bearing pressure and using the following formula;
F
, MPa
(l p )(d p )
F
, mm
(d p )( pb )
Or we can use empirical relation as lp=(0.8 to 1.3) dp (Page No 50)
6.4b.2 Shaft under the Flywheel: [Diameter of the shaft between bearing 2 and 3]
The collective bending moment due to flywheel and the belt pull will be the same as
earlier.
moment is given by;
2
2
M Total = M FLY
+ M belt
, N-mm
In addition to this moment there will be a twisting moment because of tangential force Ft.
The twisting moment, T = Ft (R) , N-mm
Therefore Equivalent twisting moment,
2
Te = T 2 + M Total
, N mm
We have, Te =
16
d W ( ) , N-mm, Diameter of the shaft under flywheel dW can be

3
obtained.


6.4b.3 Right hand Crank Web:
We have used empirical formulae to obtain the values of crank web dimensions. And also
we know that the Right hand Crank Web is severely stressed. In order to find the
correctness of the dimensions of the web it is necessary to check the developed stresses
against the allowable stresses. This web is subjected to bending stresses in two planes
normal to each other, due to radial and tangential components of FP; to direct
compression; and to torsion.
The bending moment due to radial component is
lp h
M rad = RH 2 FR (b ) , N-mm
2 2
6
rad = M rad ( 2 ), MPa ..(8)
bh
The bending moment due to tangential component is maximum at the juncture of the
crank and shaft.
M Tang = Ft (R) , N-mm (Since here shaft diameter at junction is not considered for
calculation. By doing so the bending moment increases and hence the stresses, which
leads to safer side.)
6
Tang = M Tang ( 2 ), MPa .(9)
w h
F
The stress due to direct compression, d = r , MPa ..(10)
2bh
Superimposing the stresses (At the upper left corner to the cross section of the crank) will
be equal to (Addition of equation 8,8 and 10)
total = rad + Tang + d , MPa .(11)

Now the twisting moment, on the arm is
lp
lp
lp
T = RHIFT (a + ) FT ( ) = R H 2 FT (b ), N mm
2
2
2
We know that,
Shear stress,
T
T
...(12)
(c ) =
J
Z
bh 2
Where Z polar section modulus, =
, mm 3
4.5
Therefore maximum combined stress is given by,
Where, Zp=polar section modulus
Total combined stress,
x + y
x y
2
+
1 =
+ xy ..(1.11a/2)
2
2
Here 1= max; xy= ; x= total; y= 0;
2


Calculated max must be within limits. If it exceeds the safe limit, b can be increased
since it does not affect any other dimension.
6.4b.4 Left hand Crank Web:
This crank web is less severely stressed than the right hand crank since it is not to
transmit any power while the right hand crank transmits the power to the flywheel and to
the power take off. Hence there is no need to check the left hand crank and its
dimensions may be taken as that of the right hand crank.
6.4b.4 Crankshaft bearings:
The distance between bearing 1 and bearing 2 may be assumed to be equal to twice the
cylinder diameter. From the length of the crankpin and the thickness of the arm, the
lengths of the bearings can be found out. Bearing 2 is the most heavily loaded, therefore,
only this bearing may be checked for the safe bearing pressure.
We know that the total reaction at the bearing 2,
R2 =
Fp
2
W T1 + T2
+
,N
2
2
Therefore bearing pressure pb =
R2
, MPa
( L)(d )
Where L and d are the length and diameter of the bearing. The bearing design details are
not discussed here, as it is beyond the scope of this subject.
6.5 Analysis of side Crank Shaft:
The analysis of the side crankshaft is on the same lines as for centre crankshaft. Before
the crankshaft is checked for the positions of maximum bending moment and that of
maximum twisting moment, the approximate dimensions for the crank pin and the
journals may be found.
The side or overhung crankshafts are used for medium size and large horizontal engines.
Their main advantage is that it requires only two bearings in either the single or two
crank constructions.
The analysis of the shaft is done at two positions:1. When the crank is at dead centre (maximum bending moment)
2. When the crank is at angle of maximum twisting moment.
dp
r
lp
ds
ls
Figure.23 Simple Side Crank Shaft

6.5.1 When the crank is at dead centre
Consider a side crankshaft at dead centre with its loads and distances of their
application.(Ref Figure 12). The notations used are same as that of center crank shaft.
We know that
F=
D 2 * p max , Where D is the diameter of the piston in mm and

4
pmax is the maximum gas pressure
Gas Load,
Due to this piston gas load there will be two horizontal reactions, RH1(F) at bearing 1, and
RH2(F) , at bearing 2.
= 0,
F (b) + RH 2( F ) ( x + y ) = 0 ..(13)
R2
RV2(W)
RH2(F)
RH1(BELT)
2
y
T1+T2
RV1(W)
R1
W
RH1(BELT)
RH1(F)
1
b
F
Figure 24. Force Analysis of side Crank at Dead Center


Hence R H 2( F ) =
F (b)
, N ...(14)
( x + y)
= 0,
taken as negative.
RH1(F) - RH2(F) -F =0.(15)
By substituting equation 14 in equation 15 we get,
R H 1( F ) = F +
F (b)
F (b + x + y )
,N
=
( x + y)
( x + y)
Besides gas load, in between bearings 1 and 2, we have two loads

iii)
iv)
bearing 2.
To find the reactions RH2(belt) and RH3(belt)
= 0,
(T1 + T2 )( y ) + RH 1(belt ) ( x + y ) = 0
Hence R H 1(belt ) =
(T1 + T2 )( y )
, N .....(16)
( x + y)
= 0,
taken as negative.
RH1(belt) + RH2(belt) (T1+T2) =0.(17)
By substituting equation (16) in equation(17) we get,
(T + T2 )( y ) (T1 + T2 )( x)
R H 2b (elt ) = (T1 + T2 ) 1
=
( x + y)
( x + y)
If x=y, then, R H 2 (belt ) = R H 3(bel )t =
(T1 + T2 )
(2)


Reactions at bearing 1 and 2 due to Weight of the Flywheel (W),
Due to this there will be two Vertical reactions, Rv1(W) at bearing1, and Rv2(W), at bearing2.
To find the reactions Rv1(W) and Rv2(W)
= 0,
(W )( y ) + Rv1(W ) ( x + y ) = 0
Hence Rv1(W ) =
(W )( y )
( x + y)
, N ..(18)
= 0,
taken as negative.
Rv2(W) + RV1(W) (W) =0...(19)
By substituting equation (18) in equation (19) we get,
(W )( y ) (W )( x)
Rv 2(W ) = (W )
=
( x + y) ( x + y)
If x=y, then RV 1(W ) = RV 2 (W ) =
(W )
(2)
If the student choose a wrong direction for RH2(F) due to gas force F, then after solving we
get negative value of RH2(F). It clearly indicates that the chosen direction is wrong and
further calculations are carried out by changing the direction of the reaction.
6.5.1a CRANKPIN:
The dimensions of the crankpin are obtained by considering the crankpin in bearing and
then checked for bending stress.
F
..(20)
(l p )(d p )
Where lp and dp are length and diameter of the crankpin respectively.
pb is the allowable bearing pressure on the pin, MPa
We know that bearing pressure pb =
The value of Allowable bearing pressure is available in Table 3.6/49 for various class of
work. For example pb = 2.5 to 2.75 MPa for Automobile Engines.

The length of the crankpin is approximately taken as (0.8 to 1.1) diameter of the
crankpin.[Refer page no 50 of the data hand book]
By taking suitable ratio of length to crank pin, and using equation (20), length and
diameter of the pin can be obtained.
The crankpin is now checked for bending stress. If it is assumed that the crankpin acts as
a cantilever and the load on the crankpin is uniformly distributed, then maximum bending
moment will be
M =
( F )(l p )
. But in actual practice, the bearing pressure on the crankpin is not

2
uniformly distributed and may, therefore, give a greater value of bending moment
( F )(l p )
and M = ( F )(l p ) .
ranging between M =
2
3
So a mean value of bending moment i.e. M = ( F )(l p ) may be used.
4
We know that,
M b
=
..(1.16/3)
I
c
dp
d p 4
Substituting the values of c =
and I =
in Equation 1.16 and solving for b we
2
64
get,
M =
b
c
(I ) =
dp
64
)(d p )
32M
, MPa.
d 3 p
This induced bending stress should be within the permissible limits.
( b ) =
6.5.1b Design of Bearing:

The bending moment at the center of the bearing 1 is given by
M = F (b) , N-mm, (Assuming that the gas force is acting at 0.75 times of the crankpin
length from the crank web.)
We know that,
M b
=
..(1.16/3)
I
c
d
d 4
Substituting the values of c = 1 and I = 1 in Equation 1.16 and solving for d1 we
2
64
get,
M =
M =(
(I ) =
d1 64

2
)(d1 )
) b (d1 ) (21)
3
32
From equation (21) the diameter of the bearing can be obtained. Length of the bearing
can be found by taking, l1=1.5d1 to 2d1.
The bearing 2 is also made of the same diameter. The length of the bearing is found on
the basis of allowable bearing pressure and maximum reactions at the bearings.
6.5.1c Design of Shaft under the flywheel
The total bending moment at the flywheel location will be the resultant of horizontal
bending moment due to gas load and belt pull and the vertical bending moment due to the
flywheel weight.
Horizontal Bending Moment due to ;
i)
Piston Gas load
M Gas = F (b + x) R H 1( F ) ( x)
ii)
Belt Pull
M Belt = R H 2 ( BELT ) ( y )
Therefore total horizontal bending moment is
MHOR=MGas+MBelt(22)
Vertical Bending Moment due to ;
i)
Flywheel
M Vert = Rv 2(W ) ( y )
Resultant Bending Moment
2
M R = ( M HOR
+ M 2 Vert
We know that,
MR = (
) b (d S ) (23)
3
32
From equation diameter of the shaft dS can be obtained.
6.5.1d Design of Crank Web:

When the crank is dead centre, the crank web is subjected to a bending moment and a
direct compressive stress.
The thickness and width of the crank web is fixed by empirical relations and checked for
induced stresses.
Thickness of crank web t=(0.5 to 0.9) dp

Width of crank web b=(1.1 to 1.2 )ds
Where dp and ds are diameter of crankpin and crank shaft respectively.
Check:
Maximum bending moment on the crank web
M = F (0.5t + 0.75 * l p )
bt 3
t
And c =
12
2
We know that
M
( b ) =
(c) ..(22)
I
Substituting the values of M,c and I in the equation (22), we get
6M
( b ) = 2 ..(23)
bt
F
Direct stress ( d ) = ...(24)
bt
I=
Superimposing the stresses we get,

( Total ) = ( b ) + ( d ) ( allowable )
6.5.2 When the crank is at an angle of maximum twisting moment:
Consider a position of the crank at angle of maximum twisting moment as shown in
Figure 25.
RV2(W)
RH2FT
RH2(BELT)
RH2FR
2
y
T1+T2
RV1(W)
x
RH1FR
RH1(BELT)
RH1FT
Ft
FP
W
1
b
Fr
R
Figure 25. Force Analysis of Side Crank at angle

of maximum twisting Moment


The twisting moment on the crankshaft will be maximum, when the tangential force Ft is
maximum and this can be calculated graphically by taking pressures from the net effort
diagram for different crank angles. The angle usually lies between 250 to 350from the
dead center for a constant volume combustion engines and between 300 to 400 for
constant pressure combustion engines. At this angle, the gas pressure will not be
maximum. If Fp is the gas load along the cylinder centerline, then the thrust FC along the
connecting rod is given by (Ref Figure 8 or same as FIG 3.1/50 in design data book)
Ft
FC
FP
FC
Fr

Arm
FP
FC =
.(3.12/45)
cos( )
FP sin( + )
.(3.13/45)
cos( )
Ft = FC sin( + ) =
Fr = FC cos( + ) =
FP cos( + )
..(3.14/45)
cos( )
Tangential force Ft will have two reactions RH1FT and RH2FT

respectively.
at bearing 1 and 2
same as before.
= 0,


Fr (b + x + y ) + R H 1FR ( x + y ) = 0
F (b + x + y )
RH 1FR = r
( x + y)
Fy = 0 ,
taken as negative.
Fr + RH 1FR RH 2 FR = 0
R H 2 FR =
Fr (b + x + y )
( x + y)
Fr (b)
( x + y)

= 0,
FT (b + x + y ) + RH 1FT ( x + y ) = 0
F (b + x + y )
R H 1FT = T
( x + y)
Fy = 0 ,
taken as negative.
FT + R H 1FT RH 2 FT = 0
R H 2 FT = FT RH 1FT = FT
R H 2 FT =
FT (b + x + y )
( x + y)
FT (b)
( x + y)
The reactions at the bearings 1 and 2 due to Flywheel weight (W) and resultant belt pull
(T1+T2) will be same as discussed earlier.


6.5.2a Design of Crank Web:
The dimensions of the crank pin and Crank web are taken same as obtained in crank at
dead centre.
The most critical section is where the web joins the shaft. This section is subjected to the
following stresses:
Bending stress due to the tangential force FT
i)
ii) Bending stress due to the radial force Fr
iii) Direct compressive stress due to radial force Fr and
iv) Shear stress due to the twisting moment of FT.
Bending moment due to tangential force, M bT = FT ( R
Therefore bending stress due to tangential force bT
dp
), N mm
2
6 M bT
=
hw 2
Bending stress due to the radial force Fr

Bending moment due to the radial force, M bR = FR (0.75l p + 0.5h)
Therefore bending stress due to radial force bT =
6 M bR
hw 2
Direct compressive stress due to radial force Fr

We know that, direct compressive stress, d =
FR
wh
Shear stress due to the twisting moment of FT.

Twisting moment due to the Tangential force, T = FT (0.75l p + 0.5h)
Therefore shearing stress due to Tangential l force =
T
I
r=
T 4.5T
=
= xy
Z wh 2
wh 2
Where Z-Polar section modulus, =
4.5
Total compressive stress, C = bT + bR + d = x
Now the total or maximum normal and maximum shear stresses are given by,
max =
x + y
2
x y
2
+
+ xy ..(1.11b/2)
2
2

x y
2
=
+ xy ...(1.12/2)
2
2
max
Here y=0;
This total maximum stress should be less than the maximum allowable stress.
6.5.2b Design of Shaft under the flywheel:

Horizontal bending moment acting on the shaft due to piston gas load,
2
2
M H 1 = FP (b + x) (RH 1FR ) + (RH 1FT ) x
Horizontal bending moment acting on the shaft due to belt pull,

M Hbelt = ( RH 2 ( BELT ) )( y )
Therefore total horizontal bending moment, M H = M H 1 + M Hbelt
Vertical bending moment due to flywheel,
M VFLY = ( RV 2(W ) )( y )
moment is given by;
2
2
M Total = M VFLY
+ M Ht
, N-mm
2
Te = T 2 + M Total
, N mm
We have, Te =
16
d W ( ) , N-mm, Diameter of the shaft under flywheel dW can be

3
obtained.

Problems:
Problem No 1
Design an overhung crank pin for an engine having the following particulars:
Cylinder diameter
=300mm
Stroke
=500mm
Maximum explosion pressure in the cylinder
=1.8MPa
Engine Speed
=200rpm
Permissible bending stress for pin
=1000MPa
Permissible Bending stress
=85MPa
Given data:
Cylinder diameter
D=300mm
Stroke
L=500mm
Maximum explosion pressure in the cylinder
Pmax=1.8MPa
Engine Speed
N=200rpm
Permissible bending stress for pin
b=800MPa
Permissible Bearing stress
pb=85MPa
Solution:
F
------------------------------(P1.1)
(l p )(d p )
Let us take lp=1.1dp
We know that gas load
F=
F=
D 2 * p max
300 2 *1.8 = 127234.50 N
Substituting the values in equation (P1.1) we get

85 =
127234.50
(1.1d p )(d p )
Diameter of the crank pin = dp=36.88mm


Referring the table 3.5a/48, standard diameter of dp=40mm is taken.
Length of the crankpin lp=(1.1)(40)=44mm
Check:
3
M = ( F )(l p )
4
We know that,
M b
=
..(1.16/3)
I
c
dp
d p 4
and I =
2
64
get,
( b ) =
32M
, MPa.
d 3 p
( b ) =
32(127234.50)(44)(0.75)
(40) 3
= 668.25MPa <800MPa, hence safe.
Problem No 2
A force of 120kN acts tangentially on the crank pin of an overhang crank. The axial
distance between the centre of the crankshaft journal and the crank pin is 400mm and the
crank is 500mm long. Determine
a) Diameter and length of the crankpin journal.
b) Diameter of the shaft journal
Given that:
Safe bearing pressure
: 5MPa
Bending stress
: 65MPa
Principal stress in the shaft journal
: 65 MPa
FEB 2005, [12M] VTU
Given Data:
Referring to Figure 24,
b=400mm and R=500mm
pb=5MPa, b=65MPa, max =65MPa, F=120(10)3N


Solution:
a) We know that, Bearing pressure pb =
F
lp *d p
And assuming ratio of length to diameter of the crank pin as 1.3,

5=
120(10) 3
1.3(d p ) * d p
Solving we get, diameter of the crank pin dp= 135.87mm

Adopting the standard diameter dp= 140mm [ T3.4/48]
Minimum length of the crankpin,
120(10) 3
F
=
= 171.4mm
lp =
5 *140
pb * d p
Check:
M b
3
M = ( F )(l p ) ; We know that,
=
(1.16/3)
I
c
4
dp
d p 4
and I =
in Equation 1.16 and solving for b we get,
2
64
32(120)(10) 3 (171.4)(0.75)
32M
= 57.26MPa < 65MPa ,hence safe.
( b ) = 3 , MPa; ( b ) =
d p
(140) 3
b) Bending moment at the shaft journal

M=F(b)=120(10)3(400)=48(10)6, N-mm
Twisting moment at the shaft journal,
T=F(R)=120(10)3(500)=60(10)6, N-mm
According to maximum normal stress theory,
1
3
16
1
dS =
(M + M 2 + T 2 ) X
-----------------------------(3.5a/42)
1 K 4
max
Here, because of solid shaft, K=0,
Substituting the values of M, T and max in equation 3.5a we get
1
16
2 3
dS =
(48(10) 6 + (48(10) 6 ) 2 + 60(10) 6 )
(65)
= 213.85mm
Taking ds=220mm as standard diameter (T3.4/48)

Problem No 3
Determine the maximum normal stress and the maximum shear stress at section A-A for
the crank shown in Figure 15 when a load of 10kN is assumed to be concentrated at the
center of the crank pin.
25
R25
10kN
125
R37.5
25
A 40
Figure.27
100
Bending moment M=10(10)3(40+25+25)=9(10)5, N-mm

Twisting moment T=10(10)3(125)=12.5(10)5, N-mm
M ( y ) 9(10) 5 (37.5)(64)
x =
=
= 21.73MPa
I
(75) 4
xy =
T (c) 12.5(10) 5 (37.5)(32)

=
= 15.10MPa
J
(75) 4
Maximum Principal Stress:(1)
1 =
x + y
2
x y
2
+
+ xy ..(1.11a/2)
2
2
21.72 0
21.73 + 0
2
+
1 =
+ 15.10 =29.46MPa
2
2
Maximum Shearing Stress:(max)
max
x y
2
=
+ xy ...(1.12/2)
2
max
21.72 0
=
+ 15.10 2 =18.60MPa


Problem No 4
Design a plain carbon steel centre crankshaft for a single acting four stroke single
cylinder engine for the following data:
Bore = 400 mm; Stroke = 600 mm; Engine speed = 200 rpm.; Mean effective
pressure = 0.5 N/mm2; Maximum combustion pressure = 2.5 M/mm2; Weight of
flywheel used a pulley = 50 kN; Total belt pull = 6.5 kN.
When the crack has turned through 350 from the top dead centre, the pressure on the
piston is 1N/mm2 and the torque on the crank is maximum. The ratio of the
connecting rod length to the crank radius is 5. Assume any other date required for the
design.
Given Data:
D=400mm, L=600mm or R=300mm, pmean=0.5MPa, pmax=2.5MPa, W=50(10)3 N,
T1+T2=6.5(10)3 N, =350, p35=1MPa, (l/R)=5
Crankshaft is designed for the two positions:
a) Crank is at dead center; b) Angle of maximum twist;
a) Design of the crankshaft when the crank is at the dead center
R3
RV3(W)
RH3(BELT)
3
y
T1+T2
RV2(W)
R2
W
RH2(BELT)
RH2(F)
2
b
F
a
RH1(F)
Figure 28. Force Analysis of Crank at Dead Center


Piston Gas load
F=
D 2 * p max =
400 2 * 2.5 =314.16(10)3 N
Assume that the distance between bearing 1 and 2 is equal to twice the piston
diameter (D) and distance a=b.
2 * D 2 * 400
Therefore a = b =
=
= 400mm
2
2
Due to gas load, there will be two horizontal reactions, RH1(F) at bearing 1, and RH2(F) , at
bearing 2, so that,
Since a=b, then, R H 1( F ) = RH 2( F ) =
RH 1( F ) = RH 2( F ) =
F
,N
(2)
314.16(10) 3
, N = 157.08(10) 3 , N
(2)
In between bearings 2 and 3, we have two loads

i)
ii)
bearing 3, so that ,
Taking x=y; Its value is computed after calculating the crankpin length.
(T + T2 )
Since, x=y, then, R H 2 (belt ) = R H 3(bel )t = 1
(2)
R H 2(belt ) = RH 3(bel )t =
(6.5(10) 3 )
= 3.25(10) 3 , N
( 2)
Reactions at bearing 2 and 3 due to Weight of the Flywheel,

Since, x=y, therefore RV 2(W ) = RV 3(W ) =
then RV 2(W ) = RV 3(W ) =
(W )
(2)
(50(10) 3 )
= 25(10) 3 , N
( 2)


CRANKPIN:
The bending moment at the centre of the crankpin is,
M = RH 1( F ) (a ) , N-mm
=157.08(10)3(400)
= 62832(10)3, N-mm
We know that,
M b
=
..(1.16/3)
I
c
b=allowable bending stress for the crankpin. It may be assumed as 83MPa. (Refer
T3.5b/48)
get,
M =
M =
b
c
(I ) =
32
b
dp
64
dp
2
and I =
d p 4
64
in Equation 1.16 and solving for M we
)(d p )
d p ( b ) , N-mm
3
62832(10) 3 =
d p (83)
32
We get dp=197.56mm.
Standard value of diameter dp=200mm is adopted. (Refer T3.5a/48)
Length of the crankpin (lp) can be obtained by suitably choosing the value of allowable
bearing pressure.
We know that bearing pressure for the given type of engine is between 9.6 MPa to
12.4 MPa. Let us take pb=10MPa. (Refer T15.11/314)
F
, MPa
(l p )(d p )
314.16(10) 3
F
, mm =
=157mm
(200)(10)
(d p )( pb )
6.4a.2 Left Hand Crank Web:

The crank web is designed for eccentric loading. There will be two stresses on it, one
direct compressive stress and the other bending stress due to the gas load F.
The thickness h=0.65 dp + 6.35mm(Page No 50)
=0.65(200)+6.35
=136.35mm

Let us take
h=137mm
The width wmay be assumed to be as follows:

9
w = d p + 12.7, mm ..(Page No 50)
8
9
= 200 + 12.7, mm
8
w=237.7mm
Let us takew=238mm
Since the empirical relations are used it is advised to check the developed stresses against
the given values.
Direct stresses (d)
R
d = 1H ( F ) , MPa
( w)(h)
157.08(10) 3
d =
, MPa =4.82MPa
(238)(137)
Bending stresses: (b)

M b
=
; ..(1.16/3)
I
c
lp h
M = R1H ( F ) (a )
2 2
bh 3
h
And c =
12
2
Substituting the values of M, c and I in bending equation (1.16/3) we get
lp h 6
b = R1H ( F ) (a )( 2 ), MPa
2 2 bh
157 137
6
b = 157.08(10) 3 (400
)(
), MPa
2
2 238(137) 2
=53.38MPa
I=
Superimposing the direct and bending stresses, we get

Total stress on the crank web=d+b=4.85+53.38=58.23MPa<83MPa,
Hence Design is safe.

Right Hand Crank Web:

From the balancing point of view, the dimensions of the right hand crank web h=137mm
and w=238mm are taken equal to the dimensions of the left hand crank web.
Shaft Under the Flywheel: [Diameter of the shaft between bearing 2 and 3]
l
Length of the bearing, l1 = l 2 = l3 = 2 a p h
157
137 =369mm
l1 = l 2 = l3 = 2 400
2
Assuming width of the flywheel as 300mm, we have

x+y=369+300+clearance=369+300+131(to make it round off)
=800mm.
Taking x=y, we have x=y=400mm
=25(10)3(400)
=10(10)6, N-mm
=3.25 (10)3(400)
=1.3(10)6, N-mm
moment is given by;
2
2
M Total = M FLY
+ M belt
= (10 *10 6 ) 2 + (1.3 *10 6 ) 2

=10.08(10)6, N-mm
b
b
4
We know that M
(I ) =
( )(d W )
Total =
c
M total =
d W 64
d W ( b ) , N-mm,
3
32
For plain carbon steel taking b=65MPa
[Ref T1.8/418, taking FOS n=4, Yield stress=196MPa]
10.08(10) 6 =
32
d W (65)
Diameter dW=116.46mm, Use standard diameter as dW=125mm [Ref. T3/48]

b. Crank at an angle of maximum twisting moment
We know that piston gas load F p =
D 2 * p35 =
400 2 *1 =125.66(10)3 N
Ft
FC
FP
FC
Fr

Arm
sin( )
We know that, sin( ) =
--------------------------<Remember>
L
R
Where is the angle of inclination of the connecting rod with the line of stroke.
sin(35)
=0.1147
5
Therefore =6.580
sin( ) =

FP
.(3.12/45)
FC =
cos( )
125.66(10) 3
=126.50(10)3 N
cos(6.58)
Ft = FC sin( + ) ...(3.13/45)
FC =
Ft = 126.50(10) 3 sin(6.58 + 35) =83.95(10)3, N

Fr = FC cos( + ) ....(3.14/45)
Fr = 126.50(10) 3 cos(6.58 + 35) =94.63(10)3, N
Tangential force Ft will have two reactions RH1FT and RH2FT at bearing 1 and 2
respectively.
same as before.

RV3W
RH3(BELT)
3
y
T1+T2
RV2(W)
x
RH2FR
RH2(BELT)
RH2FT
Ft
FP
Fr
R
a
RH1FR
RH1FT
Figure 30. Force Analysis of Crank at angle of

maximum twisting Moment
R H 1FR = RH 2 FR =
Fr 94.63(10) 3
=
=47.315(10)3, N
( 2)
2

F
83.95(10) 3
RH 1FT = RH 2 FT = T =
=41.975(10)3, N
( 2)
( 2)
The reactions at the bearings 1 and 2 due to Flywheel weight (W) and resultant belt pull
(T1+T2) will be as discussed earlier.

Crank pin:
The bending moment at the centre of the crankpin is, M b = RH 1FR (a ) , N-mm
M b = 47.315(10) 3 (400) =18.926(10)6, N-mm

The Twisting moment is, T = RH 1FT ( R) , N-mm
T = 41.975(10) 3 (300) = 12.60(10)6, N-mm
Equivalent twisting moment, Te = T 2 + M b2 , N mm
Te = (12.60 * 10 6 ) 2 + 18.926 * 10 6 , N mm =22.737(10)6, N-mm
We know that Te =
22.737(10) 6 =
16
d P ( ) , N-mm
3
d P (42) (The value of =0.4 to 0.6)

3
16
Solving we get, dp=139.1mm.
Since this value of crankpin is less than the already calculated value of dp=200mm,(i.e
higher among the two).
We shall take dp=200mm and lp=157mm
Shaft under the Flywheel: [Diameter of the shaft between bearing 2 and 3]
The collective bending moment due to flywheel and the belt pull will be the same as
earlier.
moment is given by;
2
2
M Total = M FLY
+ M belt
, N-mm
= (10 *10 6 ) 2 + (1.3 *10 6 ) 2

=10.08(10)6, N-mm
The twisting moment, T = Ft ( R) , N-mm
T = 83.95(10) 3 (300) =25.185(10)6, N-mm

2
Te = T 2 + M Total
, N mm
Te = (25.185(10) 6 ) 2 + (10.08(10) 6 ) 2 , N mm =27.13(10)6, N-mm


We have, Te =
d W ( ) , N-mm,
3
16
=(0.5 to 0.6)*=(0.5 to 0.6)*65=32.5MPa to 39MPa.
Let us take =35MPa
27.13(10) 6 =
16
d W (35)
dW=157.25mm
Standard value of dW=160mm is adopted.
Earlier value of dW is 125mm is less than dW=160mm.
Hence dW=160mm
6.4b.3 Right hand Crank Web:
We have used empirical formulae to obtain the values of crank web dimensions. And also
we know that the Right hand Crank Web is severely stressed. In order to find the
correctness of the dimensions of the web it is necessary to check the developed stresses
against the allowable stresses. This web is subjected to bending stresses in two planes
normal to each other, due to radial and tangential components of FP; to direct
compression; and to torsion.
The various dimensions obtained are
w= 238mm; h=137mm; lp=157mm; dp=200mm;
The bending moment due to radial component is
lp h
M rad = RH 2 FR (b ) , N-mm
2 2
157 137
M rad = 47.315(10) 3 (400
) =11.97(10)6, N-mm
2
2
Bending stress in radial direction
6
), MPa
wh 2
6
rad = 11.97(10) 6 (
), MPa =16.08MPa
238(137) 2
The bending moment due to tangential component is maximum at the juncture of the
crank and shaft.
M Tang = Ft ( R) , N-mm (Since here shaft diameter at junction is not considered for
calculation. By doing so the bending moment increases and hence the stresses, which
leads to safer side.)
M Tang = 83.95(10) 3 (300) =25.185(10)6, N-mm
rad = M rad (
6
, MPa
2
w h
Tang = M Tang


6
), MPa =19.47MPa
238 (137)
F
The stress due to direct compression, d = r , MPa
2 wh
3
94.63(10)
d =
, MPa =1.45MPa
2(238)(137)
Superimposing the stresses (At the upper left corner to the cross section of the crank) will
be equal to
Tang = 25.185(10) 6 (
total = rad + Tang + d , MPa

total = 16.08 + 19.47 + 1.45, MPa =37MPa
Now the twisting moment, on the arm is
lp
lp
lp
T = RHIFT (a + ) FT ( ) = R H 2 FT (b ), N mm
2
2
2
157
T = 41.975(10) 3 (400
), N mm =13.49(10)6
2
We know that,
Shear stress,
T
T
xy = (c) =
J
Z
Where Z polar section modulus, =
wh 2
, mm 3
4.5
T
T 13.49(10) 6 (4.5)
=13.60MPa
(c ) = =
J
Z
238(137) 2
Therefore maximum combined stress is given by,
xy =
Total combined stress,
x + y
x y
2
+
1 =
+ xy ..(1.11a/2)
2
2
Here 1= max; xy= ; x= total; y= 0;
1 =
37 + 0
2
37 0
2
+
+ 13.60 =41.46MPa<83MPa, Design is safe.
2
Left hand Crank Web:

This crank web is less severely stressed than the right hand crank since it is not to
transmit any power while the right hand crank transmits the power to the flywheel and to

the power take off. Hence there is no need to check the left hand crank and its
dimensions may be taken as that of the right hand crank.
Crankshaft bearings:
The distance between bearing 1 and bearing 2 may be assumed to be equal to twice the
cylinder diameter. From the length of the crankpin and the thickness of the arm, the
lengths of the bearings can be found out. Bearing 2 is the most heavily loaded, therefore,
only this bearing may be checked for the safe bearing pressure.
We know that the total reaction at the bearing 2,
F p W T1 + T2
+ +
, N here FP to taken as maximum, i.e.
R2 =
2
2
2
314.16(10)3 N instead of 125.66(10)3 N
R2 =
314.16(10) 3 50(10) 3 6.5(10) 2

+
+
=185.33(10)3, N
2
2
2
Therefore bearing pressure pb =

pb =
R2
, MPa here d=dw=160mm, L=369mm
( L)(d )
185.33(10) 3
, MPa =3.14MPa<10MPa, hence the design of bearing is safe.
(369)(160)


Problem No 5
Design a side or overhung crankshaft for a 250mm X 300 mm gas engine. The weight of
the flywheel is 30kN and the explosion pressure is 2.1 MPa. The gas pressure at the
maximum torque is 0.9 MPa, when the crank angle is 350 from I.D.C. The connecting rod
is 4.5 times the crank radius.
Given Data:
D=250mm, L=300mm, or R=150mm, W=30(10)3N, pmax=2.1MPa and p35=0.9MPa,
l/r=4.5
Material taken: b=allowable bending stress for the crankpin= 83MPa. (Refer T3.5b/48)
Solution:
Crankshaft is designed for the two positions:
a) Crank is at dead center;
b) Angle of maximum twist;
a) Design of the crankshaft when the crank is at the dead center
RV2(W)
RH2(F)
2
y
RV1(W)
x
W
RH1(F)
1
b
F
Figure 31. Force Analysis of side Crank at Dead Center
Gas Load, F =
F=
D 2 * p max
250 2 * 2.1 =103.1(10)3, N


Crankpin:
The dimensions of the crankpin are obtained by considering the crankpin in bearing and
then checked for bending stress.
F
(l p )(d p )
Let us take, lp=dp And solving for the dimensions of crankpin, we get
10 =
103.1(10) 3
(d p )(d p )
Diameter of the crankpin dp=101.54mm

Standard diameter dp= 110mm is adopted (Refer T3.5a/48)
Length of the crankpin lp=110mm
Check:
Bending moment M = 3 ( F )(l p ) may be used.
4
6
3
M = (103.1(10) 3 )(110) =8.51(10) , N-mm
4
We know that,
M b
=
..(1.16/3)
I
c
dp
d p 4
and I =
2
64
get,
32M
( b ) = 3 , MPa.
d p
32(8.51)(10) 6
( b ) =
=65.13MPa.<83MPa.
(110) 3
This induced bending stress should be within the permissible limits, Hence design is safe.
Design of bearings:
Let d1 be the diameter of the bearing 1.

Thickness of web t=h=(0.5 to 0.9) dp ..(Page No 50)
Let us take h=0.6dp=0.6(110)=66mm
Length of the bearing l1=1.7dp=1.7(110)=187mm

We know that bending moment,
M = F (0.75l p + h + 0.5(l1 ), N mm
M = 103(10) 3 [0.75(110) + 66 + 0.5(187)], N mm

M=25(10)6, N-mm
32 M
We know that bending stress, ( b ) =
d 31
Assuming bearing material as Phosphor bronze, b=68.65MPa [Refer T15.2/309]
Solving for d1, we get
32(25(10) 6 )
(68.65) =
d 31
The diameter of the bearing d1=154.72mm
Let us take d1=155mm
The bearing dimensions are taken same for bearing 2. i.e l1=l2=187mm
Design of crank web
w=Width of the crank web, mm
We know that bending moment,
M = F (0.75l p + 0.5(h), N mm
M = 103(10) 3 [0.75(110) + (0.5)66], N mm

M=11.9(10)6, N-mm
6
, MPa
Bending stress b = M
2
w h
6
16.39(10) 3
b = 11.9(10) (
), MPa =
, MPa
w
w(66) 2
6
The direct Stress, d =
Fp
, MPa
wh
103(10) 3
1.56(10) 3
d =
, MPa =
, MPa
( w)(66)
w
Superimposing the stresses and equating to allowable stress we get
all = b + d , MPa
83 =
16.39(10) 3 1.56(10) 3
+
w
w
The width of crank web w=216.3mm


Design of shaft under the flywheel
Let dS be the Diameter of shaft under the flywheel.
Assuming the width of the flywheel as 250mm
l l
Length ( x + y ) = 250 + 1 + 2 + Clearance
2 2
187 187
( x + y ) = 250 +
+
+ 23 = 460mm
2
2
l
b = 0.75l p + h + 1
2
187
=242mm
b = 0.75(110) + 66 +
2
Taking x=y=230mm
Reactions:
Reactions at bearing 1 and 2 due to Weight of the Flywheel (W),
Due to this there will be two Vertical reactions, Rv1(W) at bearing1, and Rv2(W), at bearing2.
(W )
Here x=y, then RV 1(W ) = RV 2 (W ) =
(2)
(30(10) 3 )
= 15(10) 3 , N
( 2)
Reactions at bearing 1 and 2 due to Piston Gas Load(F),
Due to this piston gas load there will be two horizontal reactions, RH1(F) at bearing 1, and
RH2(F) , at bearing 2.
RV 1(W ) = RV 2 (W ) =
= 0,
F (b) + RH 2( F ) ( x + y ) = 0
F (b)
103(10) 3 (242)
RH 2(F ) =
=
= 54.2(10) 3 , N
(230 + 230)
( x + y)
Fy = 0 ,
taken as negative.
RH1(F) - RH2(F) -F =0
R H 1( F ) = F +
F (b)
F (b + x + y )
,N
=
( x + y)
( x + y)


103(10) 3 (242 + 230 + 230)
, N = 157.2(10) 3 , N
(230 + 230)
Since there is no belt tension, therefore the horizontal reactions due to the belt tension are
not taken.
R H 1( F ) =
Horizontal Bending Moment due to Piston Gas load
M Gas = F (b + x) R H 1( F ) ( x)
M Gas = 103(10) 3 (242 + 230) 157.2(10) 3 (230) = 12.46(10) 6 , N mm

MBelt=0;
Therefore total horizontal bending moment is
MHOR=MGas+MBelt=12.46(10)6+0=12.46(10)6, N-mm
Vertical Bending Moment due to ;
Flywheel
M Vert = Rv 2(W ) ( y )
M Vert = 15(10) 3 (230) =3.45(10)6, N-mm

Resultant Bending Moment
2
M R = ( M HOR
+ M 2 Vert
M R = (12.46 *10 6 ) 2 + (3.45 *10 6 ) 2 =12.93(10)6, N-mm

We know that,
MR = (
32
) b (d S )
12.93(10) 6 = (
32
)83(d S )
The diameter of the shaft under flywheel dS=116.64mm

Since the diameter of the bearing is 155mm> 116.64mm.
Hence dS=155mm is adopted


b. Crank at an angle of maximum twisting moment
We know that piston gas load F p =
D 2 * p35 =
250 2 * 0.9 =44.18(10)3 N

Ft
FC
FP
FC
Fr

Arm
RH2FT
RH2FR
2
y
RV1(W)
x
RH1FR
W
RH1FT
Ft
FP
1
b
Fr
Figure 33. Force Analysis of Side Crank at angle

of maximum twisting Moment
sin( )
--------------------------<Remember>
L
R
Where is the angle of inclination of the connecting rod with the line of stroke.
We know that, sin( ) =
sin(35)
=0.1275
4.5
Therefore =7.320
sin( ) =


FP
FC =
.(3.12/45)
cos( )
FC =
44.18(10) 3
=44543N
cos(7.32)

Ft = FC sin( + ) =
FP sin( + )
.(3.13/45)
cos( )
Ft = 44543 sin(7.32 + 35) =29989.50N

FP cos( + )
..(3.14/45)
cos( )
Fr = 44543 cos(7.32 + 35) =32935N
Fr = FC cos( + ) =
Tangential force Ft will have two reactions RH1FT and RH2FT at bearing 1 and 2
respectively.
The reactions at the bearings 1 and 2 due to Flywheel Weight W will be same as before.
= 0,
Fr (b + x + y ) + R H 1FR ( x + y ) = 0
F (b + x + y )
RH 1FR = r
( x + y)
R H 1FR =
32935 (242 + 230 + 230)

(230 + 230)
=50261.67N

= 0,
taken as negative.
Fr + RH 1FR RH 2 FR = 0
Fr (b + x + y )
( x + y)
Fr (b)
( x + y)
32935(242)
=17326.67N
=
(230 + 230)
R H 2 FR =
RH 2 FR

= 0,
FT (b + x + y ) + RH 1FT ( x + y ) = 0
F (b + x + y )
R H 1FT = T
( x + y)
29989.50(242 + 230 + 230)
R H 1FT =
=45766.58N
(230 + 230)
= 0,
taken as negative.
FT + R H 1FT RH 2 FT = 0
R H 2 FT = FT RH 1FT = FT
FT (b + x + y )
( x + y)
FT (b)
( x + y)
29989.50(242)
R H 2 FT =
=15777.08N
(230 + 230)
The reactions at the bearings 1 and 2 due to Flywheel weight (W) will be same as
discussed earlier.
R H 2 FT =
RV 1(W ) = RV 2 (W ) =
(30(10) 3 )
= 15(10) 3 , N
( 2)

Design of crank web

The dimensions are taken same as calculated in crank at dead center.
The same dimensions are checked here for combined stress.
Width of crank web w=216.3mm
Thickness of crank web h=66mm
The most critical section is where the web joins the shaft. This section is subjected to the
following stresses:
i)
ii)
Direct compressive stress due to radial force Fr and
iii)
iv)
Bending moment due to tangential force, M bT = FT ( R
dp
2
), N mm
110
), N mm =2.85(10)6, N-mm
2
6 M bT
Therefore bending stress due to tangential force bT =
hw 2
6 * 2.85(10) 6
bT =
=5.54MPa
66(216.3) 2
M bT = 29989.50(150

Bending moment due to the radial force, M bR = FR (0.75l p + 0.5h)
M bR = 32953(0.75 *110 + 0.5 * 66) =3.81(10)6 N-mm
Therefore bending stress due to radial force bR =
bR =
6 M bR
wh 2
6(3.81 *10 6 )
=24.26MPa
(216.3)(66) 2
Direct compressive stress due to radial force Fr

We know that, direct compressive stress, d =
d =
FR
wh
32953
=2.31MPa
(66)(216.3)

Twisting moment due to the Tangential force, T = FT (0.75l p + 0.5h)


T = 29989.50(0.75(110) + 0.5(66)) =3.46(10)6, N-mm
Therefore shearing stress due to Tangential l force =
T
I
r=
T 4.5T
=
= xy
Z wh 2
wh 2
Where Z-Polar section modulus, =
4.5
4.5(3.46 *10 6 )
= xy =16.53MPa
(216..3)(66) 2

Total compressive stress, C = bT + bR + d = x
x = 5.54 + 24.26 + 2.31 =32.11MPa

Now the total or maximum normal and maximum shear stresses are given by,
max =
x + y
2
x y
2
+
+ xy ..(1.11b/2)
2
Here y=0;
32.11 + 0
32.11 0
+ 16.53 2 =39.10MPa<83MPa
=
+
2
2
max
Hence the calculated values of dimensions of crank web are safe
Design of Shaft under the flywheel:
Horizontal bending moment acting on the shaft due to piston gas load,
2
2
M H 1 = FP (b + x) (RH 1FR ) + (RH 1FT ) x
2
2
M H 1 = 44.18(10) 3 (242 + 230) (50261.67 ) + (45766.58) * 230
6
= 5.22(10) , N-mm
Therefore total horizontal bending moment, M H = M H 1 + M Hbelt
M H = 5.22(10) 6 + 0 = 5.22(10)6, N-mm
Vertical bending moment due to flywheel,
M VFLY = ( RV 2(W ) )( y )
M VFLY = (15 *10 3 )(230) =3.45(10)6, N-mm


moment is given by;
2
2
M Total = M VFLY
+ M Ht
, N-mm
M Total =
(3.45 *10 ) + (5.22 *10 )

6 2
6 2
=6.26(10)6, N-mm
T = 29989.50(150) =4.5(10)6, N-mm
2
Te = T 2 + M Total
, N mm
Te = (4.5(10) 6 ) 2 + (6.26(10) 6 ) 2 , N mm =7.71(10)6, N-mm

We have, Te =
7.71(10) 6 =
16
16
d S ( ) , N-mm,
3
d S (42)
Here max=0.5b
Diameter of the shaft under flywheel dS=97.78mm can be obtained.

Since the diameter of the bearing is 155mm> 97.78mm.
Hence dS=155mm is adopted


References:
1. Design Data Hand Book, K. Mahadevan and K. Balaveera Reddy, CBS publication,
1989
2. Theory and Problems of Machine Design, Hall, Holowinko, Laughlin, Schaums
Outline Series, 2002.
3. A text Book of Machine Design, P.C.Sharma and D.K.Aggarwal, S K Kataria and
Sons, 1993
4. A text Book of Machine Design, R S Khurmi and J K Gupta, Eurasia Publishing
House, 2003
5. High Speed Combustion Engines, P M Heldt, Oxford and IBH Publishing Co, 1965
6. Auto Design , R B gupta, Satya Prakashan,2006
7. Automobile Mechanics, N K giri, Khanna Publishers, 2005
8. Automotive Mechanics, Crouse/Anglin, Tata McGraw-Hill, 2003
9. http://www.automotix.net/used-crankshaft-mechanical.html


Questions from Previous University Question Papers.
1. Explain the methods of manufacturing crank shaft? (05M) July 2006. VTU
2. Design a overhung crankshaft for the steam engine to the following
specifications:
Diameter of piston = 400mm
Stroke of piston = 600mm
Maximum steam pressure =1.0 N/mm2
Speed of the engine= 100rpm
Design shear stress for the crank shaft and crank pin = 3.5 N/mm2
Design tensile stress for the crank shaft and key = 6.0 N/mm2
The horizontal distance between crank shaft and crank pin=350 mm
(15M) July 2006.VTU
3. Write a note on balancing of crankshafts. (04M) FEB 2006 VTU
4. Sketch a typical crankshaft used for a four cylinder engine. Indicate clearly the
positions of pins & journals and the provision for fabrication. What are the
materials used for the crankshaft. (8M) FEB 2006 VTU
5. Design & draw the sketch of an overhung crankpin for an engine having the
following particulars.
Cylinder diameter = 300 mm; Stroke = 500 mm;
Maximum explosion pressure in the cylinder = 1.8 N/mm2
Engine speed = 200 rpm. Permissible bending stress for pin = 9.81 N / mm2 &
(8M) FEB 2006 VTU
Bearing stress = 83.4 N / mm2
6. Distinguish between i. Center Crankshaft and Overhung Crankshaft.
ii Built-up Crankshaft and Integral Crankshaft.
(6M) Model QP VTU
7. Design a plain carbon steel crankshaft for a 0.40 m by 0.60 m single acting four
stroke single Cylinder engine to operate at 200 rev/min. The mean effective
pressure is 0.49 MPa and the maximum combustion pressure is 2.625 MPa. At
maximum torsional moment, when the crank angle is 360, the gas pressure is
0.975 MPa. The ratio of the connecting rod length to the crank radius is 4.8. The
flywheel is used as a pulley. The weight of the flywheel is 54.50 KN. And the
total belt pull is 6.75 KN. Assume suitable values for the missing data.
(14M) Model QP VTU

Model Questions
1. Design a plain carbon steel centre crankshaft for a single acting four stroke, single
cylinder engine for the following data.
Piston Diameter
250mm
Stroke
400mm
Maximum Combustion Pressure
2.5MPa
Weight of the flywheel
16kN
Total Belt Pull
3kN
Length of the connecting rod
950mm
When the crank has turned through 300 from the top dead center, the pressure on the
piston is 1 MPa and the torque on the crank is maximum.
Any other data required for the design may be assumed.
2. Design aside crank shaft for a 500mmX600mm gas engine. The weight of the
flywheel is 80kN and the explosion pressure is 2.5MPa. The gas pressure at
maximum torque is 0.9MPa, when the crank angle is 300. The connecting rod is 4.5
times the crank radius.
Any other data required for the design may be assumed.
3. Explain the various types of crank shafts
4. What are the methods and materials used in the manufacture of crankshafts.
5. How a crankshaft is balanced?

Theory and Design of Autimotive Engines
Flywheel
CHAPTER-7
Flywheel & Camshaft
B Dinesh Prabhu, Assistant Professor, P E S College of Engineering, Mandya, Karnataka
Flywheel
Flywheel
Flywheel
Flywheel
In a combustion engine, & especially in one with one or two cylinders, energy is imparted to the
crankshaft intermittently, & in order to keep it rotating at a fairly uniform speed under a substantially
constant load, it is necessary to provide it with a flywheel.
In a single cylinder engine(4 Stroke), in which there is only one power stroke in two revolutions of
the crankshaft, a considerable fraction of energy generated per cycle is stored in the flywheel, & the
proportion thus stored decreases with an increase in the No. of cylinders
In a 4 cylinder engine about 40% of the energy of the cycle is temporarily stored.
However, not all of this energy goes into flywheel
During the 1st half of the power stroke, when energy is being supplied in excess by the burning gases,
all of the reciprocating parts of the engine are being accelerated & absorb energy; besides, the rotating
parts other than the flywheel also have some flywheel capacity, & this reduces the proportion of the
energy of the cycle which must be stored in the flywheel.
In a 6 cylinder engine the proportion of the energy which must be absorbed & returned by the moving
parts amounts to about 20%.
The greater the No. of cylinders the smaller the flywheel capacity required per unit of piston
displacement, because the overlap of power strokes is greater & besides other rotating parts of the engine
have greater inertia.
However, the flywheel has by far the greatest inertia even in a multi cylinder engine.
Aside from its principle function, the fly wheel serves as a member of the friction clutch, & it usually
carries also the ring gear of the electric starter.
A flywheel used in machines serves as a reservoir which stores energy during the period when the
supply of energy is more than the requirement and releases, it during the period when the requirement of
energy is more than supply.
In case of steam engines, internal combustion engines, reciprocating compressors and pumps, the
energy is developed during one stroke and the engine is to run for the whole cycle on the energy
produced during this one ,stroke. For example; in I.C. engines, the energy is developed, only during
power stroke which is much more than the engine load; and no energy is being developed during suction,
compression and exhaust strokes in case of four, stroke engines and during compression in case of two
stroke engines. The excess energy developed during power stroke is absorbed by the flywheel and
releases it to the crankshaft during other strokes in which no energy is developed, thus rotating the
crankshaft at a uniform speed. A little, consideration will show that when the flywheel absorbs energy, its
speed increases and when it releases, the speed decreases. Hence a flywheel does not maintain a constant
speed, it simply reduces the fluctuation of speed.
In machines where the operation is intermittent like punching machines, shearing machines,
riveting machines, crushers etc., the flywheel stores energy from the ,power source during the greater
portion, of the operating cycle and gives it up during a small period of the cycle. Thus the energy from
the power source to machines is supplied practically at a constant rate throughout the operation.
Note: The function of a governor in engine is entirely different from that of a flywheel .It
regulates the mean speed of an engine when there are variations in the load, e.g., when the load on the
engine increases it becomes necessary to increase the supply of Working fluid. On the other hand, when
the load decreases, less working fluid is required. The governor automatically; controls the supply, of
working fluid to the engine with the varying load condition and keeps the mean speed within certain
limits.
As discussed above, the flywheel does not maintain constant speed. It simply reduces the
fluctuation of speed. In other words a flywheel controls the speed variations caused by the fluctuation of
the engine turning moment during each cycle of operation. It does not control the speed variations
caused by the varying load.
Coefficient of Fluctuation of Speed
The difference between max. & min. speeds during a cycle is called maximum fluctuation of speed.
The ratio of the max. fluctuation of speed to mean speed is called coefficient of fluctuation of speed.
Let
N1 =Maximum speed in r.p.m. during the cycle,
Flywheel
Flywheel
Flywheel
Flywheel
Flywheel
Flywheel
Flywheel
Flywheel
10
Flywheel
11
Flywheel
12
Flywheel
13
Flywheel
14
Flywheel
15
Flywheel
16
Flywheel
17
Flywheel
18
Flywheel
19
Flywheel
20
Flywheel
21
Flywheel
22
Flywheel
23
Flywheel
24
Flywheel
25
Flywheel
26
Flywheel
27
Flywheel
28
Flywheel
References;
High Speed Combustion Engines
-P M Heldt
Machine Design -R S Khurmi,
Auto Design
-R B Gupta
AUTOCAR INDIA, (Illustrated Automotive Glossary), Encyclopedia Britannica
29
Flywheel
Camshaft
A cam is a mechanical member for transmitting a desired motion to a follower by direct contact.
The driver is called the cam, and the driven member is called the follower. The cam, may remain
stationary, or translate oscillate or rotate whereas the follower may translate or oscillate.
Types of Cams
Cams may be classified in the following three ways:
(i) Follower motion,
e.g. dwell-rise-dwell (D-R-D); dwell-rise return-dwell (D-R-R-D) ; or rise-return-rise (R-R-R).
(ii) Cam shape
e.g.
wedge, radial, globoidal, cylindrical, conical, spherical.
(iii) Manner of constraint of the follower.
Constraint may be obtained either by spring loading to keep the follower in contact with the cam
surface, or by position drive.
(i) Classification Based on follower motion
(a) Dwell-rise-dwell cam.
The zero displacement part of the cam is ca1led
dwell. There is zero displacement followed by a
rise contour, to another dwell, period, It is used
very frequently in machinery, In this case rise is
followed by a fall or it may be dwell-rise-dwell
return.
(b) Dwell-rise return-dwell cam (D-R-R-D)

In this type the rise and return are
preceded & followed by dwells
30

(c) Rise-return-rise cam (R-R-R).
This has no dwells .its application
is limited. An eccentric mechanism is
suggested in place of such a contour
cam
Flywheel
(ii) Classification Based on the shape of the cam

(a) The translation, wedge or .flat cam,
This is the-simplest type of cam. The plate cam moves back and forth imparting a
translatory motion to the follower. The follower could be held in the groove & thus has a positive
motion. The follower could be held by a spring & the plate cut to give a desired motion with out
any groove cut. The follower will in that case move on the surface of the plate.
31

(b) The radial or disc cam.
Flywheel
The position of the follower is

determined by the radial distance from the
cam axis. The follower is held in contact by
spring, or gravity. (Fig B)
In Fig.B1 &2, the difference is only
of constraint. The follower has positive
constraint. The radial type of cams are the
most popular because of their simplicity
and compactness.
The cam shown in Fig.B1 is also
called the yoke cam.
The cam shown in Fig.B2 is
conjugate supplementary or double disc
cam. In this type, one roller is preloaded
against the other. This imparts very precise
motion.
A particular type of radial plate

cam called circular arc cam used in
Automobile, has its contour composed of
radii of circles.
The spiral cam shown in Fig.B3 is a
form of face cam having a spiral groove cut in
it. Pin gear follower is driven by teeth in the
groove; the follower velocity is a function of
the radial distance of the groove from the axis
of the cam.
This cam is used in computers,
32

Flywheel
(c) The cylindrical or drum cam.
It has a circumferential contour cut in the surface of the cylinder which rotates about its axis. The
follower may translate or oscillate in the direction of this axis, Two types of cylindrical cams, one in
which the groove is cut on the surface and roller has constrained positive motion: and the other in which
the end of the cylinder is the working surface are shown in Figs C1 and C2, The follower in Fig, C1 is
having an oscil1atory motion and Fig, C2 it is having translatory motion.
(d) The globoidal cam,

It is similar to the cylindrical cam. Convex or concave globoids, as shown in Figs.D1 and D2
replace the cylinder. These cams, though of much academic interest have not been popular. These cams
are used for indexing and other such purposes. These are used for much specialized application.
33

(iii) Classification based on constraint
Flywheel
(a) Spring loaded or pre-loaded.

In the radial cams of the types shown in Fig. A1, the follower is to be held by an external force
provided by pre-compression of the spring or hydraulic load or gravity. The cylindrical cam shown in
Fig. A2 is also a case of successful constraint.
34

Flywheel
(iii)
(b)The cylindrical cam shown in Fig. B1, the globoidal cams shown in Figs. B2 and B3, and the yoke
cams (Fig.B4) are all cases of positive constraint. No external force is; required to keep the follower and
the cams surface in contact
35

Typesof Followers.
Flywheel
Followers may be classified in the following

three ways:
(i) Construction of the surface in contact
e.g. knife-edge, roller, flat-faced
mushroom or special shape mushroom.
(ii) The type of motion-translatory and
oscillatory.
(iii)Location of the line of motion, with respect
to cam centre, radial & offset
(i) Classification based on the surface in
contact (refer figure 1)
(a) Knife-edge,
A sharp knife edge is in contact with
cam. It is the simplest in construction, but of
very little practical use due to the fact that
extreme wear of the cam surface and the
contact will take place.
(b) A roller follower
It is a cylindrical roller held by a pin to the
follower assembly. At low speeds, a perfect
rolling contact is possible, though some sliding occurs at high speeds. This type is very extensively used.
Aircraft engines employ roller followers to limit wear at high cam peripheral velocities.
( C)Mushroom follower.
It may be flat-faced having perfectly flat plane. This
causes high surface stresses. To minimise these stresses a
spherical shape having a surface of large sphere radius is
used.
Automobile engines use flat-faced mushroom followers
with spherical curvature in preference to rollers because of
limited space and pin weakness.
(ii) Classification based on type of movement
(a) Translation.
The followers shown in above Fig.1 are all translatory
followers. The cam rotates uniformly and the follower reciprocates
in the guides.
(b) Oscillation.
A uniform rotary motion of the cam is converted to a predetermined oscillatory motion of the follower which is pivoted at
a suitable point to the fixed frame.
(iii) Classification based on line of motion
(a) Radial follower, (refer figure 1)
Radial follower is one in which the follower translates along
an axis passing through the cam centre of rotation.
(b) Offset follower,
Offset follower is one in which the axis of the follower
movement is displaced from the cam, centre of rotation. The offset may be to the right or to the left.
36
Flywheel
Camshaft
The camshaft provides a means of actuating the opening and controlling the period before closing,
both for the inlet as well as the exhaust valves. It also provides a drive for the ignition distributor and the
mechanical fuel pump.
The camshaft receives its motion from the crankshaft, from which all of the accessories also must
be driven.
In the case of passenger car engines these accessories usually include
a fuel pump,
an oil pump,
a water pump,
a generator,
an ignition unit, and
a fan.
In cars equipped with hydraulic power steering a drive must be provided for an additional pump.
On truck and bus engines there may be an air compressor, a governor, and a magneto in addition,
though the latter item of equipment is now rarely found on road vehicles. .A drive must be provided also
for the starting motor.
The camshaft consists of a number of cams at suitable angular positions for operating the valves
at approximate timings relative to the piston movement and in a sequence according to the selected firing
order. There are two lobes on the camshaft for each cylinder of the engine; one to operate the intake valve
and the other to operate the exhaust valve. A number of integral bearing journals support the shaft in
bearings. Camshaft bearing journals are always larger than the cam lobes so that the camshaft may be
installed in the engine through the cam bearings. To provide room for lubrication and metal expansion, a
clearance of 0.05 to 0.125 mm is usually provided between the bearing journals and the bores.
Usually there is an integral spiral toothed gear on the camshaft to drive the distributor and the oil
pump. The fuel pump is operated from an integral eccentric or a bolt-on eccentric. In some cases,
however, distributors are driven directly from the camshaft end.
Endwise movement of the camshaft is limited by a thrust plate between the front bearing journal
and the drive gear or the sprocket. This thrust plate is bolted to the engine. However, in some engines
instead of the thrust plate, the same is achieved by the tapered spiral teeth of the distributor oil pump
drive.
Material
The camshaft is forged from alloy steel or cast from hardenable cast iron and is case hardened. A
typical cast iron alloy for a camshaft would consist of
3.3% carbon,
2% silicon,
0.65 % manganese,
0.65 % chromium,
0.25% molybdenum and the remainder iron.
In modern engines, cam lobes are ground with a slight taper across the face. The tappets used with such
camshafts have spherical base and are slightly offset from the cam face. This provides tappet rotation and
a wear pattern preventing edge loading which is a major cause of failure. Camshaft is supported in a
number of bearings.
37
Flywheel
38

Flywheel
Camshaft drive
The camshaft rotates at half the crankshaft speed so as to open and close the valves once in every
two revolutions of crankshaft.
In designing a drive for the camshaft and accessories of passenger- car engines, silence of
operation is an important consideration. Most of the early automobile engines had a plain spur-gear drive,
but in 1905 to eliminate the noise of poppet valves, it was found that, in order to achieve any real
improvement, other sources of noise also to be eliminated as well, and so for the half-time shaft a
toothed-chain drive was used.
With increasing engine speeds the problem of reducing gear noise became constantly more
urgent, and from 1911 on camshaft gears on the more expensive cars were cut with helical teeth, the
pinion on the crankshaft at that time being made of steel and the gear on the camshaft of cast iron. Most
truck engines still use such metal gears with helical teeth, while the majority of passenger car engines
now have a chain drive, and those that have gear drive have one of the gears made of non-metallic
material.
The drive from crankshaft to the camshaft may be either chain drive or gear drive where camshaft
gear or sprocket wheel is twice as large as the crankshaft gear or sprocket wheel. There are timing marks
on the sprockets or gears of the camshaft and the crankshaft to ensure correct valve timing. In a chain
drive a separate idler gear has to be provided. Moreover, a long chain drive tends to whip to avoid which
a tensioning device is used, which may be a roller or spring-loaded steel strip or a rubber pad attached to
a spring-loaded piston.
39

Flywheel
Gear drives, on the other hand, need no tensioner, but are noisy and are suitable only for
camshafts mounted close to the crankshafts. Obviously gear is not suitable for overhead camshafts.
The latest type of drive is, however, by means of a toothed rubber belt, which is made of rubber
molded onto a non-stretching cord Such belts operating relatively silently, do not need any lubrication
and are becoming increasingly popular for both petrol as well as diesel engines with overhead camshaft.
Periodic tensioning checks are all that is required for these.
Timing gears are made of cast iron, steel, aluminum or laminated fiber. Chains are made with
links of alloy steel with ground and case hardened pins.
Sprockets are made of nylon, aluminum, steel or iron.
Oil Pump and Ignition-Unit Drive
The ignition unit combines an interrupter and a distributor which must be driven at camshaft
speed. A very common practice is to provide on the engine a shaft, either vertical or inclined, which is
driven from the camshaft by helical
gearing, generally located at the middle
of the length of the engine, to the upper
end of which shaft the ignition unit is
secured, and to the lower end the oil
pump. The drive at both ends is through
an integral transverse key and slot. This
arrangement has the advantages that it
makes one drive do for two accessories,
places the gearing where it is well
lubricated and well protected against
dirt, and brings the ignition unit into an
accessible position at a minimum
average distance from the spark plugs. If
the shaft is arranged vertically the pump
will be immersed in oil and will not
have to lift it by suction, whereas if it is
inclined the pump will be outside the
crankcase and therefore more accessible.
An ignition-unit and oil-pump drive for
an engine in which the pump is outside
the crankcase is shown in Figure.
40

Flywheel
Cast Camshafts.
For many years camshafts were made exclusively of low-carbon steel and case-hardened on the
cam surfaces, but during the early thirties one engine manufacturer began to use camshafts of cast iron,
and the practice soon became quite general.
Cast camshafts offer a number of advantages from the production standpoint. A material saving
results from the use of patterns instead of dies in the production of the blanks, and if changes in design
become necessary, they can be incorporated in the patterns much more quickly and with less expense
than in the dies. With conventional cast camshafts the processes of copper plating, carburizing and heat
treating are eliminated. Rough-turning of the cams and eccentric are unnecessary, these parts being
finished directly by grinding. As a rule, no finish is allowed on the sides of bearings and cams, and on the
shaft diameter. The material used is a superior grade of cast iron melted in the electric furnace. Originally
both the cams and the journals were cast in chills and sufficiently close to size so that only grinding was
required to finish them. These chilled surfaces are said to offer great resistance to wear than the casehardened surfaces of the usual steel cams.
The use of numerous chills in the mold is troublesome, and it was later found that the necessary
hardness on the cam surfaces can be produced without the use of chills. The cam surfaces are merely
heated with a gas torch and air-hardened and large numbers of cast-iron camshafts are now made in this
way. In one case where chilling is employed the iron used has the following composition:
Total carbon, 3.30-3.65%;
silicon, 0.45-0.55%;
manganese, 0.15-0.35%;
copper, 2.5-3.0%;
chromium, 0.25% max.;
phosphorus, 0.05% max.;
sulphur. 0.06% max.
These camshafts in the "as cast" condition show a Brinell hardness of about 300 on the bearings
and 450 on the chilled cam surfaces. Where chills are used they must be accurately located, as the
chilling effect does not penetrate very deeply, and if there are any material inaccuracies in. the cam part
of the shaft, more material may have to be ground away on one side of the lobe than on the other, and all
of the chilled material may be removed on one side. On the chilled cam surfaces a stock allowance of
1/32-3/64 in. is made, and on the bearing surface, 1/l6 in.
Camshaft Manufacture
Camshafts of drop-forged steel, after being rough-turned, are cemented or carburized at the cam
portions and then quenched from a temperature slightly above the critical point of the steel, so as to
render the cam surfaces very hard and resistant to wear. To prevent carburization of the rest of the
surfaces, the shaft is first copper-plated, and the layer of copper is then removed by machining where it is
desired to carburize the surface. Carbon will not penetrate the layer of copper. Another plan consists in
leaving those portions of the shaft which are to remain soft, over-size until after the carburizing process,
and then turning off the carburized layer.
Machining Camshaft
All of the turning operations on camshafts with the exception of forming the contour of the cams
are often performed in Lo-Swing lathes. With the proper tooling, all of these surfaces oil an average
automobile camshaft can be turned in a minute and a half.
With the attachment used with the Lo-Swing lathe for the spacing of the cams, the sides of the
cams and the bearings are all properly spaced and faced, and any chamfering or necking operations are
also performed.
As high, as thirty-five and forty tools are used on a camshaft simultaneously. Of course, if all
these tools were to act at once and all of them were to take the maximum cut, the shaft would be sprung
so that it would be worthless. To overcome this, each slide carrying a set of tools is fed into the work a
little ahead of the slide next to it. In this manner the tools in the first slide, for instance, will be through
41

Flywheel
their heaviest cutting by the time the tools in the second slide are ready to take their heavy cut, and so on
to the third and fourth slide.
After the camshafts are spaced and faced with this attachment, they are put back in the lathe and
the portion between the cams is turned. Generally this is done with simple tooling, although all bearings
and spaces are turned simultaneously, thus reducing the time considerably.
Cam-Grinding
It may be pointed out that cam-grinding machines designed to handle integral camshafts work on
practically the same principle. The cam to be ground is secured on an arbor inserted into a spindle which
carries the master cam at its other end. The spindle is carried in a head provided with an upwardly
extending arm whereby it is swung from the body or frame of the attachment, which is clamped to the
grinder frame. The swinging head is forced to one side by a coiled spring so that the master cam presses
against a stationary shoe plate. The spindle carrying the cams is driven by a V belt from a jackshaft which
in turn is driven by a belt from the headstock face plate. Only the hub of the V belt pulley on the spindle
is shown in the drawing. To make the necessary allowance for wear of the grinding wheel, a set of
different master-cam shoe plates are furnished with the attachment, which are inserted one after another
as the wheel wears down, the plates having contact surfaces of different curvature; By means of this
attachment it is possible also to cut the master cam from a template. A method of grinding the cam with
the flat side of the wheel has been developed, whereby inaccuracies due to change in curvature of the
grinding surface with wear are eliminated.
To grind an integral camshaft it is necessary to first make a master camshaft with all of the cams
correctly spaced angularly and longitudinally. This camshaft is driven in synchronism with the one to be
ground, and acts on a roller carried by a cross slide carrying the grinding wheel, the roller being drawn
against the master cam by a spring acting on the cross slide.
References
High Combustion Engines-P M Heldt
Theory Machines-Ballaney
Automobile Engineering-Dr Kirpalsingh
Auto Design-R B Gupta
AUTOCAR INDIA Illustrated Automotive Glossary
42
Chapter-8
VALVE AND VALVE MECHANISM
Types of valve operating

mechanisms, valve springs,
guides, push rods, rocker arms,
tappets, valve timing diagrams,
design
Valve & valve mechanism
Valve and valve mechanism

To admit the air-fuel mixture in the engine cylinder and to force the
exhaust gases out at correct timings, some control system is necessary,
which is provided by the valves.
The engine valves may be broadly divided into 3 main categories:
1. Poppet valve
2. Sleeve valve
3. Rotary valve
Out of these three, poppet valve is the one which is being universally used
for automobile engines.
The conventional automotive engine is
fitted with mechanically operated poppet valves for
both inlet and exhaust. A poppet valve consists of a
disc of metal with a coaxial stem on one side
which closes a circular opening in a wall
separating two chambers, against which wall it is
drawn by a spring. To open the valve, a force must
be applied to it in, a direction contrary to that of
the spring pressure. In the earliest automotive
engines, the inlet- valves were opened
automatically by the suction in the cylinder during
the inlet stroke,. Automatic valves cannot be used
in engines that must operate over a wide speed
range, as they close too early at low and too late at
high speeds to permit of good volumetric
efficiency. These valves, moreover, are
troublesome in service, because gum in the
gasoline may cause them to stick.
Poppet valves are lifted from their seats by
means of cams, and are closed by springs. The rate
at which the valve is opened and closed depends
on the cam outline and on the type and size of cam
follower employed. From the standpoint of gas
flow it is, of course, desirable that the valve should
open and close very quickly, and remain fully open
for the greatest possible length of time. However,
the valve gear must operate quietly, and in order to
do this it must lift and drop the valves more or less
gradually. Cams, therefore, usually are so designed
that the valve begins to close as soon as it has
attained its full lift, and there is no "dwell" in the
full-open position
B Dinesh Prabhu, Assistant Professor, P E S C E, Mandya

Construction of Poppet Valves
The poppet valve derives its name
from its motion of popping up and down.
This is also called "mushroom valve"
because of its shape which is similar to a
mushroom. It consists of a head and a stem
as shown in Fig.
It possesses certain advantages over the
other valve types because of which it is
extensively used in the automotive engines:
1. Simplicity of construction
2. Self-centering.
3. Free to rotate about the stem to
new position.
4. Maintenance of sealing efficiency
is relatively easier.
Generally inlet valves are larger than
the exhaust valves, because speed of
incoming air-fuel mixture is less than the
velocity of exhaust gases which leave under
pressure. Further, because of pressure, the
density of exhaust gases is also
comparatively high. Moreover, smaller
exhaust valve is also preferred because of
shorter path of heat flow in this case and consequent reduced thermal loading.
Generally inlet valves and exhaust valves are 45% and 38% of the cylinder bore respectively.
Further, to improve heat transfer to the cylinder head, the stem diameter of the exhaust valve is generally
10 to 15% greater than that of the inlet valve. Moreover, the valve lift in both inlet and exhaust valves
should be at least equal to 25% of the valve head diameter which would provide the annular valveopening area equal to the port throat area. If the valve lift is less, the volumetric efficiency of the engine
will be decreased. On the other hand if it is excessive, the inertia of the valve actuating mechanism would
be unduly large resulting in excessive noise and wear.
The valve face angle (with the
plane of the valve head) is generally
kept 45 or 30. A smaller face angle
provides greater valve opening for a
given lift, but poor sealing because of
the reduced seating pressure for a
given valve spring load. Due to this
reason in some engines, the inlet valve
face angle may be kept 30 or 45
whereas the exhaust valve face angle
is only 45, as this increases its heat
dissipation. In some cases, a further
differential angle of about 1/2 deg to 1
deg is provided between the valve and its seating (Fig.), which results in better sealing conditions.
The machined surface of the block or the cylinder head on which the valve rests when closed is
known as the valve seat. This surface usually forms a truncated cone whose generatrices make an angle of
either 45 or 30 with the plane of the valve head. During the early years of the industry flat-seated poppet
valves were used to a certain extent, which have the advantage that for a given port diameter and lift, the
2

flow area is considerably greater than with conical valves. A disadvantage of flat-seated valves, which led
to their abandonment-is that they are not self centering, and therefore are more likely to leak, especially
after the guides have become worn.
In the analysis it has been assumed that the flow through the valve is parallel to the seat elements.
This is substantially correct at small lifts, when the distance between valve and seat is only a fraction of
the width of the seat, but with increase in the lift the direction of flow changes. The gases naturally seek
the path of least resistance, and in turning a corner they approach the inner boundary of the flow path.
In an L-head engine the direction of flow on the side of the valve toward the cylinder, where the
gases can flow off freely, is somewhat different from that on the opposite side, where there is only a
moderate clearance between valve and valve-chamber wall. There the gases must describe nearly a semicircle, and in seeking the path of least resistance, they approach the edge of the valve head. The best
measure of valve capacity evidently is the minimum sectional area normal to the direction of flow.
From Fig., where the dashed lines are
meant to represent the center lines of the
flow paths, it can be seen that the direction
of flow relative to the seat elements varies
around the circumference of the valve. In
modern engines the valve seats are made
comparatively narrow, and in Fig., which
closely represents actual proportions, the
line BC connecting the inner edge of the
valve seat at full lift with the outer edge of
the seat on the block, makes an obtuse
angle with the elements of the seats,
instead of a right angle as in flat-seated
valve Fig.. It has been suggested that the
area of the conical frustrum of which BC,
is an element be taken as a measure of the
valve capacity, but in view of the fact that the direction of flow is not normal to that line this plan is of
doubtful value.
The valve lift generally is slightly more than one-fourth the port diameter in the case of 45-deg, and
slightly less in the case of 30-deg valves. Valve-stem diameters are made equal to one-fourth the valve
diameter. The outside diameter of the valve head will be about 1.175 times the port diameter.

Valve-Operating Conditions
The heads of the valves are
subjected to the high temperature of the
burning gases, and it is essential that they
should not warp under the influence of the
heat, and that their seats should not scale or
corrode, as in either case they would
become leaky. Occasionally small particles
of scale will get onto the valve seats, and
the valve heads must be of sufficient
hardness at the high temperature at which
they operate so they will not pit under this
condition.
Lubrication of the valve stems is
hard to effect, and the stems must not wear
too rapidly in their guides, even though
poorly lubricated or not lubricated at all.
That portion of the stem immediately
below the head is subject also to the heat of
the burning gases which, when the exhaust
opens rush by it at a velocity of up to 300
fps; and to the corrosive action of
unconsumed, hot oxygen and intermediate
products of combustion.
Trouble of a rather serious
nature is sometimes caused by valves
breaking a short distance below the
head, at the point where their working
temperature is the maximum. This is
probably due to corrosion fatigue; in
other words, it results from repetitive
applications of mechanical stress
combined with corrosive action by the
exhaust gases or certain constituents
thereof. Air-hardening properties of
the valve steel sometimes have been
blamed for such breakages, but these
latter occur also with valves made of a
steel having no such properties. High
resistance to corrosion fatigue is
therefore desirable in valve steels.
Finally, the tip of the stem
receives a quick succession of blows
from the tappet as the clearance is
being taken up, and it must be
sufficiently hard to withstand these
blows without undue wear. Hardening
of the tips is sometimes effected by
the so-called cyaniding process (dipping in a bath of molten potassium ferro-cyanide).

Valve-Operating Temperatures
Tests have .shown that
under continued full-load
conditions, exhaust valves may
reach a temperature of 1475 Fa cherry red. Valves of large
diameter run hotter than
smaller ones, and the valve
temperature increases with
engine speed. An increase in
the compression ratio, as a
rule,
lowers
the
valve
temperature, but if the
compression is carried too high
and detonation sets in, the
effect is reversed. It is usually
assumed that exhaust valve
temperatures are highest with
retarded ignition and weak mixtures, probably because the exhaust pipe is hottest under these conditions,
but a large number of tests carried out on a particular engine showed that the reverse holds true, the
exhaust-valve temperature being lower with a weak mixture and retarded ignition. The explanation is that
the temperature of the valve depends not only on that of the exhaust gases, but also on the temperature of
combustion, which latter is lowered by weakening the mixture and retarding the spark.
It was found that the exhaust valve
ran cooler when a long valve guide (Fig.)
was used; that is, when the valve guide was
carried closer to the valve head. The guide
then has the effect of protecting the valve
stem from the hot gases passing through the
valve immediately after opening. One
objection to such a long valve guide is that it
is difficult to lubricate, and as a result wear
on both the valve stem and guide is rapid.
The experiment was therefore tried of
enlarging the bore of the guide 0.016 in., by
counter boring from the valve-head end as
far as the wall of the valve pocket, and this
was found to result in decreasing the valve
temperature (27 deg at 1500 rpm and 72 deg
at 4500 rpm). An increase in the valve-stem
diameter from 0.343 to 0.405 in. lowered
the temperature of the valve about 40 deg
throughout the speed range.
If an exhaust valve becomes leaky, as, for instance, through "dishing" of its head by reason of loss
of strength at high temperature, through improper adjustment, or through excessive warping, the head will
be destroyed very quickly, as the burning gases will then blow by it.

Exhaust
valves
operate under
relatively more severe conditions on account
of higher temperatures involved. An exhaust
valve is subjected to:
1. Longitudinal cyclic stresses due to
the return spring load and the inertia response
of the valve assembly.
2.
Thermal
stresses
in
the
circumferential and longitudinal directions
due to the large temperature gradient from the
centre of the head to its periphery and from
the crown to the stem. A typical variation of
temperature in an exhaust valve is given in
Fig.
3. Creep conditions due to operation
at very high temperatures, particularly in case
of valve head.
4. Corrosion conditions.
Exhaust Valve Material Requirements
On account of operating conditions described
above the material for exhaust valve should
have the following requirements.
1. High strength and hardness to resist
tensile loads and stem wear.
2. High hot strength and hardness to
combat head cupping and wear of seats.
3. High fatigue and creep resistance.
4. Adequate corrosion resistance.
5. Least coefficient of thermal
expansion to avoid excessive thermal stresses
in the head.
6. High thermal conductivity for better
heat dissipation.

Materials for Valves
Owing to the expensive character of the material necessary for the exhaust valves, the inlets are
now generally made of more common and cheaper material. This practice is encouraged also by the fact
that the inlet valves now are generally made of somewhat larger diameter, so they would not be
interchangeable with the exhaust valves even if they were made of the same material.
Both the mechanical and the thermal stresses on engine valves increase with the speed of
operation, and as engine speeds have increased continuously, there has been a constant search for better
materials, especially for the exhaust valves. Silicon-chromium (Silcrome) steel containing 3-3.5 per cent
silicon and 8-9 per cent chromium came into use during the early twenties, and was considered an
excellent exhaust-valve material at the time. This steel possessed good workability and good machining
qualities, but it left something to be desired with respect to hot strength. While at normal temperature it
showed a tensile strength in excess of 200,000 psi, at 1200 F this dropped to 42,000 psi, and at 1600 F it
was only 4600 psi. The steel began to scale at 1800 F. Its resistance to warpage and corrosion at high
temperatures was poor.
In the middle thirties specific outputs had increased so much that a better material was needed for
heavy-duty bus and truck engines. What was called for particularly was higher hot strength and a higher
scaling temperature. These properties could be obtained by a more liberal use of alloying elements,
particularly chromium, and a new type of valve steel was then introduced of which Silcrome XB,
developed by Thompson Products, Inc., is representative. This has a higher carbon content than the
original Silcrome steel, viz., 0.60-0.86 per cent; less silicon, 1.25-2.75; but more than twice as much
chromium, 19.00-23.00, and in addition from 1.00 to 2.00 per cent nickel. This steel resists warping much
better, and it also has greater resistance to heat corrosion. At 1600 F its tensile strength is 7625 psi, and its
scaling temperature is 2150 F.
Austenitic Valve Steels
More recently so-called austenitic, non hardening steels have been introduced as a
material; for exhaust valves. They excel silicon-chromium steel with respect to hot strength, impact value,
hot hardness, and resistance to oxidation and corrosion. These steels, which contain high percentages of
chromium and nickel-the combined contents of these two elements usually ranging between 25.00 and
30.00 per cent-in addition to being non-responsive to heat treatment, are non-magnetic.
An austenitic valve steel contains 0.30-0.45 carbon, 0.80-1.30 manganese, 2.50-3.25
silicon, 17.50-20.50 chromium, 7.00-9.00 nickel and not over 0.03 phosphorus and sulphur each.
It has a hot strength of 17,500 psi at 1600 F and a scaling temperature of 2200 F. But while
these austenitic valve steels possess many advantages, they also have some undesirable qualities. One
thing against them is that their coefficient of heat expansion is materially greater than that of siliconchromium steel (0.000011 as compared with 0.0000078). This calls for a slightly greater clearance
between the valve stem and its guide and between the valve and its tappet. For heavy-duty engines a
valve-stem clearance of 0.010 to 0.015 in. per inch of stem diameter is recommended. The hardness of
austenitic steel is rather low (about 45 Rockwell C, as compared with 55 for the original Silcrome steel)
,and it does not resist the hammering action on the tip very well, especially where there is line or point
contact, as with rocker arms contacting the tip. To meet this condition, valves of heavy-duty engines
sometimes have tips of Stellite or tool steel applied by either electric or acetylene welding. The wear of
austenitic valve stems' in the guides also is somewhat more rapid than that of other steels. This difficulty
may be overcome by nitriding the stems, but the injurious effect of tetraethyllead on nitrided surfaces
would seem to discourage this practice. Cold-working (rolling) of the stems to increase their hardness
also has been suggested. The various processes by which nonmetallic coatings are formed on wearing
surfaces to keep them from scoring may be applied also to valve stems. Carbon-steel stems may be.
welded to heads of austenitic steel, which has the further advantage that the carbon steel is much lower in

cost. This process of building up valves by welding has been carried to its logical conclusion by welding
heads of a material resistant to scaling and pitting, to a stem of a material having good bearing qualities in
cast iron under conditions of poor lubrication, and to the latter a tip of a material which is capable tappet
action well of withstanding the
Precipitation-Hardening Steel
The latest addition to the list of exhaust-valve materials is a steel intermediate between the
ferritic and the austenitic types; it shares the property of harden ability with the ferritic steels, and high hot
strength with the austenitic. This steel, Silcrome XCR, contains 0.40-0.50 carbon, not more than 1.00
manganese, 23.25-24.25 chromium, 4.50-5.00 nickel, 2.50-3.00 molybdenum, and not more than 0.035
phosphorus and sulphur each. At 1600 F it shows a tensile strength of 20,000 psi, which is a tremendous
improvement over the 4600 psi of the original Silcrome. With respect to heat expansion it is intermediate
between the ferritic Silcromes and the austenitic type. Its oxidation and corrosion resistances are
excellent, but its workability is only fair, and its machinability definitely poor. Valves of Silcrome XCR
are hardened to 48-58 Scleroscope all over, and owing to the relatively great hardness, both the seat and
the stem wear well. This steel must be forged within a narrow temperature range; if overheated it loses its
hardenability; while if forged at too lower temperature, it is likely to shatter, its impact value being quite
low. In spite of these drawbacks and its rather high cost, this steel is being used extensively for the
exhaust valves of heavy-duty engines.
Materials for Inlet Valves
The inlet valve does not present nearly so difficult a materials problem as the exhaust valve, as the
temperature attained by it in service is always considerably lower. Two types of low alloysteel are used
extensively for inlet valves. Nos. 3140 and 8645. The former is a chrome-nickel steel- containing 1.0 to
1.5 percent of nickel and 0.50-0.80 percent chromium (besides 0.37-0.45 per cent carbon and 0.60-0.95
per cent manganese); the latter a chromium-nickel-molybdenum steel containing 0.35-0.75 percent nickel,
0.35-0.65 per cent chromium, and 0.12- 0.25 per cent molybdenum, besides normal amounts of carbon
and manganese. Some-use has been made of a medium-alloy chromenickel- silicon steel-with(8 to 9 per
cent nickel, 12 to 13 per cent chromium, and 2.5 to3 per cent silicon. This CNS steel, which has low
carbon and manganese contents, is said to be immune to the corrosive influences of tetra-ethyl lead.
Miscellaneous Considerations
1. An adequately designed valve with proper material can also fail due to local stress
concentrations if there is any unevenness around the valve-seat interface on account of distortion of valve
heads or seats, bending of valve stem or trapping of carbon particles between the valve and the seat.
2. Excessive surface finish of the valve stem will result in loss of lubricating oil film, while
excessive roughness of the stem would increase the guide wear. A thin layer of chromium giving the
surface finish of about 0.5 m would provide the optimum condition.
3. As engine thermal efficiency is increased with increase of compression ratio, lower valve
temperatures would result in case of higher compression ratio.
4. Arranging the inlet and the exhaust ports in the cylinder head alternately would increase the
transfer of heat from the exhaust to the inlet valves, compared to the case when the like valves are placed
together. This would result in decreased exhaust valve temperatures. However, this would also complicate
the design of the inlet and the exhaust manifolds in case both are to be on the same side of the engine.

Form and Dimensions of Head
The valve head should be made of the minimum thickness consistent with strength requirements.
In American practice, the top of the head is usually made spherical and the bottom surface conical. This
gives a head which is much thicker at the center (where the bending moment is the maximum) than at the
edge. Poppet valves have been standardized by the.S.A.E.
The seat on the valve head must project slightly beyond the seat in the cylinder casting at both top
and bottom, in order that no shoulder will be formed on the-casting when the valve is ground in. A fairly
wide seat is an advantage, as it helps to keep down the temperature of the head. The heat absorbed from
the burning gases by the valve head has only two paths through which to flow off-down the valve stem to
the valve guide and thence into the cylinder block and jacket, and through the valve seat directly into the
block-and with the- conventional design by far the greater portion passes off through the seat.
In Fig. is shown the form of head generally used for steel valves in
American practice, as fixed by the S.A.E. standard.
Fig. is the so-called tulip valve, used to a considerable extent in

aircraft and racing engines, which is thought to facilitate How through
the valve port.
Fig. shows a form of valve that is intermediate between the S.A.E.

standard and the tulip type, which has come into use in recent years. It has
a Hat-top head and a rather large fillet between head and stem, which
latter tends to improve How conditions and to add to the strength of the
stem near its junction with the head. Sometimes that part of the stem
which does not enter the guide is made to taper slightly from the fillet
down.
To ensure good seating of the valve, -it should be made with an
interference angle of 1 deg. That is to say, the included angle of the valve
face should be made 1 deg greater than that of the seat face, so that
initially the valve seats only on the outer edge.

Sodium-Cooled Valves
The exhaust valve temperatures in modern engines reach very high values of the order of 750C.
In heavy duty engines, it may be still higher. Therefore, cooling of exhaust valves becomes very
important. To do this cooling water jackets are arranged as near the valve as possible. In many cases,
nozzles are directed towards the hot spot caused by the exhaust valve.
Large valves of heavy-duty engines can be
kept at a reasonably low temperature by sodiumcooling, which is now employed extensively for
aircraft-engine valves, and occasionally for bus- and
truck-engine valves.
Originally a mixture of potassium nitrate and
lithium nitrate was used, which melts at about
260 F, but later metallic sodium -was substituted for
these salts.
The advantages of sodium are a low specific gravity
(0.97), a high specific heat, a low melting point (207
F), and a high boiling point (1616 F). Fig. shows a
section of a sodium-cooled valve designed for use in
aircraft engines. The stem is of somewhat larger
diameter than usual, and is drilled out from the end
& the chamber thus formed, after being nearly closed
at the end by swaging process, is filled about half
full with metallic sodium. Assuming the valve to be
positioned as in an L-head vertical engine, the
sodium will be at the bottom (tip end) of the chamber
when the valve is closed. it may be seen that in
normal operation the valve is alternately accelerated
and decelerated at rates many times that due to gravity, with the result that the sodium is thrown violently
from one end of the chamber to the other. When at the top end, it absorbs heat from the hot wall, which it
gives up to the cooler, lower end of the stem when next it drops to the bottom of the chamber, whence the
heat passes to the valve guide and into the cylinder block. These sodium-cooled valves are sometimes
furnished with an inner lining of copper, which latter has four times the heat conductivity of valve steels.
The end of the stem is sealed with a steel plug, over which is welded a cap of hard steel.
In the sodium-cooled valve shown in Fig., which is of an earlier design, only the stem is hollow
and partly filled with sodium. Later it was found possible to make both the head and the stem hollow, as
in Fig., which shows a valve designed for installation in the cylinder head. In operation the highest
temperatures are reached by the center portion of the top surface of the valve and a point on the stem
some distance below the head. In comparative tests under similar conditions with a conventional "solid"
valve, a sodium cooled valve with hollow stem, and a sodium-cooled valve with hollow stem and head,
the maximum temperatures reached by the center portions of the heads were approximately 1380 F, 1240
F, and 1170 F, respectively. At the seat the temperatures of the valves in these cases ranged between 1000
F and 1100 F. In solid valves the higher temperature of the center portion of the head sometimes results in
the formation of cracks at the seat.
There can be no doubt as to the great operating advantages of sodium-cooled valves, and the only
reason they are not widely used in automotive engines is that they are rather expensive to produce.
Considerable effort has been devoted in recent years to the development of improved processes of
production. In one process a piece of steel tubing of slightly more than the diameter of the finished stem,
after being cut off to the right length, is upset at one end and then spun to what may be called "tulip
shape." A disc of steel is then welded on to close the opening in the head, while the end of the stem is
closed in the same way as in the case of a valve in which only the stem is hollow.
10

Valve Seats
The valve seats must be faced very accurately, so that there is complete contact between the valve
and the valve seat when the former closes. Valve seat face is thus ground to the same angle to which the
valve face is ground. This may have any value from 30 to 45. For cylinder blocks or heads made of grey
iron, the inlet valve seats are directly machined on the cylinder blocks or heads as the case may be
because working conditions are not severe. These are called integral seats. However, where aluminium
blocks or heads are used, separate valve seat inserts are employed even for inlet valves. For the exhaust
valves, always the separate valves seat inserts are used, the operating conditions being very severe. Insert
seats are also used as salvage procedure when badly damaged integral seats are reconditioned. Valve seat
inserts are simply rings made of alloy steel consisting of chromium, silicon, tungsten or cobalt with a
conical seat on one of the inside edges. These are force-fitted in the recesses machined in the cylinder
head. When worn, these inserts can be easily replaced.
11

Valve Springs
Helical springs are used to keep the
valve in constant contact with the tappet and
the tappet with the cam. Since the spring is
subject to compressive loads, it is ground
flat at each end to ensure even distribution
of pressure. The coil ends are also placed
diametrically opposed to avoid the bending
tendency of the spring under compression.
The arrangement for the retention of the
springs is simple. A ring split into two
halves with internal projection to fit into the
valve spring retaining groove and the outer
surface tapered is employed. Over the split
ring another ring is inverted which supports
the spring. The valve springs are subject to
heavy service. These are, therefore, made
from high grade spring steel wire, the
materials being generally hard-drawn
carbon steel or chrome-vanadium steel.
Valve springs are often shot peened to make
them fatigue resistant.
12

Valve Rotators
Ordinarily the temperature is not uniform around the circumference of a valve head, being highest
where the greatest mass of hot gases passes over it, as on the side nearest the cylinder in an L-head
engine. By actual test it was found that in an engine of this type, under certain operating conditions, the
exhaust valve- seat insert reached a temperature about 280 F higher on the "near" than on the "far" side,
and there can be little doubt that even greater temperature differences exist between opposite sides of the
valve head. Such temperature differences cause distortion and leakage. If while in operation the valve
could be made to rotate on its seat, that would tend to equalize temperatures and keep down their
maximum value. It would tend to keep the seat clean and if leakage should start at any point of the
circumference, the resulting damage to the valve would be reduced. A number of so-called valve rotators
have been brought out, but so far they have not come into extensive use, probably because they have not
always been reliable. Some merely "free" the valve of the restraining effect of the friction due to the
spring pressure, while others, in addition, convert some of the axial force producing the opening or the
closing motion into a tangential force. The problem of a simple mechanism that will positively rotate the
valve on its seat evidently is not an easy one, and complicated and delicate mechanisms can hardly be
tolerated in the valve gear. However, according to one valve specialist, positive rotation is more effective
in prolonging valve life than any other known means.
Fig. shows a valve-rotating mechanism. The valve spring rests on a seating collar which transmits
the spring pressure to the retainer cap through a conical spring washer. When the valve is closed (left
view) the pressure of the valve spring is relatively light, hence the spring washer is distended and bears
with its inner edge on the retainer cap at 2. As the valve is being lifted (right view) the pressure of the
spring increases, the spring washer flattens out, and its point of support is transferred from 2 on the
retainer cap to 3 on the steel balls, which latter rest on inclined surfaces on the retainer cap. The effect of
the incline is to create a
horizontal
force
component tending to
produce
relative
angular
motion
between spring washer
and retainer cap. Both
parts are subject to
friction,
but
the
restraining moment on
the spring washer is
much greater than that
on the valve, and as a
result
an
angular
motion is imparted to
the assembly consisting
of valve, retainer cap
and
retainer
lock.
During each valve lift
each ball moves down
the incline, and in
between lifts it is
returned to the top of
the incline by a light
spring.
13

Valve Guides
In low-cost engines the valve guides are sometimes cast integral with the
cylinder block or head, but the more general practice is to make them in the form of a
bushing which is pressed into a hole drilled in the cylinder or head casting. Separate
guides have the advantage that they can be renewed when worn. A fairly close fit for
the valve stem in the guide is necessary, particularly in the case of inlet valves,
because if there is excessive clearance between the stem and guide of these valves, air
will be drawn into the cylinder through this clearance during the inlet stroke and
dilute the charge received by the cylinder. If the clearances of the valve stems of an
engine differ, the charges received by the different cylinders will be unequally
diluted, a condition that cannot be corrected by carburetor adjustment. In passengercar engines the clearance between inlet-valve stem and guide ranges between 0.002
and 0.003 in. It is very difficult to lubricate the exhaust valve guides effectively,
owing to the high temperatures reached by them, and these, therefore, are subject to
comparatively rapid wear. Exhaust-valve stems should have a clearance of between
0.002 and 0.004 in. in their guides.
Separate guides are usually made of cast iron, of 1/8 to 3/16-in. wall
thickness, and are made a force fit in the hole in the cylinder or head casting.
Sometimes the guide is provided with a flange or shoulder which abuts against a
finished surface on the cylinder or head casting as the guide is pressed into position,
but more generally this is omitted.
The exhaust-valve guide is preferably made to extend substantially up to the point of the stem
where the fillet under the head begins, as it has been found that this keeps the valve head cooler than a
design which leaves more of the stem exposed to the action of the hot gases during the exhaust period. A
slight further reduction of the valve-head temperature can be achieved by counter boring the upper part of
the valve guide, or, alternatively, undercutting the upper part of the valve stem, so that there is no contact
between stem and guide over this portion of the length of the latter, which then serves merely as a shield
for the valve stem, protecting it from the
hot gases rushing by during the exhaust
period. The guides of inlet valves are
preferably made shorter, so that they
project into the valve pocket only very
slightly, as this reduces the resistance to
flow. As indicated in Fig., in the case of
the exhaust valve it is advantageous to
water-jacket the whole length of the
boss for the valve guide, as this keeps
down the valve temperature. Lengths of
valve guides are usually between 2 and
3 times the valve-port diameter.
An unusual type of valve guide
(Fig.) was used in early Ford engines.
The valves of this engine were formed
with an enlargement on the end of their
stem, which supported a horseshoeshaped spring retainer. Owing to this
enlargement, it was impossible to insert the valve into a one-piece guide. The guide therefore was split
through its axis, and valve and guide were inserted and with drawn together. The guide was held in
position in the bore in the cylinder block by a horseshoe-shaped stamping which entered a groove turned
in the guide and rested against a machined surface on the block.
14

Design of Valve Tappets
In L-head engines the valves are operated from the cams
through the intermediary of tappets, which latter usually consist of
a cylindrical steel part moving in a cast-iron guide formed on or
secured to the crankcase. The tappet carries the cam follower at its
lower end and is provided with clearance adjusting means at its
upper end.
In the design of these members,
lightness is an important consideration,
since the strength of the valve spring
required and the shock and noise
produced by the lifting action are directly
proportional to the weight of the parts
moved by the cam, which include the
tappet. In Fig. is shown a section of a
roller-type tappet. Its body A is drilled out
from the top for the sake of lightness, and
its lower end is slotted to receive the roller
B carried on roller pin C. A roller-type
cam follower must be held in alignment
with the cam, and to this end the guide is
extended downwardly and slotted to
receive the roller. At its upper end the
tappet is threaded internally to receive the adjusting screw E, which latter also is
drilled out. After a clearance adjustment has been made by means of screw E, the
latter is locked by check nut F.
Two tappets for use with mushroom-type cams

are shown in Fig.. The one on the left is a very light
design which provides ample bearing surface. The other
one is of tubular stock and has the foot welded to it. A
foot of cast iron sometimes is welded to a tubular shank
and is hardened by chilling. In other cases the entire
tappet is made of cast iron. Tappets have been made also
in which the wearing surface of the foot was provided
with a veneer of Stellite or some other hard alloy.
15

Tappets are used also in valve-in-head engines, but in that
case the clearance-adjusting means are located on the top of the
engine, where they are more accessible. Two designs of tappets for
this type of engine are shown in Fig.. The one on the left is
thimble shaped and formed on the inside with a spherical seat for
the ball end of the side rod. Solid side rods are used where the
distance between the tappet and the rocker lever is comparatively
short, as where the camshaft is located on the side of the cylinder
block; with the camshaft in the crankcase, tubular side rods are
preferable, because of their greater resistance to buckling. It will
be seen that the side rod is shown to make a small angle with the
axis of the tappet. This has the advantage that its reaction on the
tappet has a small horizontal component which can be made to
counteract the friction between cam and tappet, thus reducing the
friction encountered by the latter. In the design shown at the right
the spherical seat for the tubular side rod is at the top
The tappet bearing surface must be

brought down as close to the cam as feasible,
because the load on it is an overhanging load,
and if the overhang were great the pressure near
the lower end of the bearing would be quite
intense. With mushroom type cam followers it
is a good plan to offset the follower lengthwise
from the middle of the cam, so it will rotate in.
its bearing, and no groove will wear in its foot.
Such an arrangement is shown in Fig..
In the past it has been customary to
make the contact surface of the tappet foot flat.
However, the cam usually is located closer to
one supporting bearing than to the other, and
when the camshaft flexes under the lifting
impact, its contact element or surface will be
inclined toward the flat tappet surface, which
results in stress concentration at one side of the
cam. To prevent such stress concentration,
tappet-foot surfaces now are sometimes made spherical, with a radius of 30 in. or more. To cause tappets
with spherical contact surface to rotate, the cams are made to taper slightly in the axial direction.
Clearance Required
The amount of valve clearance required has increased in the course of time, because modern
engines, on account of their much higher speeds, operate at higher temperatures. In passenger-car engines
of the L-head type the average clearance between pushrod and valve stem with the engine cold is about
0.010 in. for the inlet, and 0.012 in. for the exhaust valves. For service purposes the "hot" clearances
usually are specified, and are somewhat smaller than the figures given. Valve-in-head engines require
greater clearances, especially where the cam motion is amplified by the tappet levers.
16

Automatic "Zero-Clearance" Tappets
By means of a hydraulic device supplied with oil from the engine
lubricating system (or from a separate source), it is possible to take up
clearance between the tappet and valve automatically as soon as it develops.
A hydraulic tappet is used extensively by engine manufacturers. A
sectional view of this tappet is shown in Fig.. The adjusting means is a
separate hydraulic unit which is set into the valve lifter body during the
process of assembly. The lifter body is of substantially the same design as
the conventional valve lifter, hence only the hydraulic unit needs to be
described.
Oil from the engine lubricating system is delivered to a chamber
adjacent to the tappet guide, and is fed into the lifter from a point near the
bottom of the chamber. It enters the annular groove in the tappet body and
passes through the radial hole therein, into the cavity below the hydraulic
unit. In order that the hydraulic unit may function properly, the oil must be
free from air bubbles, and suitable means are provided to de-aerate it before
it enters the tappet. The tube extending down from the hydraulic unit also
assists somewhat in the separation of air, and it assures that practically all of
the oil in the cavity forms a reserve supply for starting. Oil from the cavity
passes through the ball-type check valve into the adjusting chamber below
the plunger. A light spring holds the plunger against the valve stem, and the
face of the lifter in constant contact with the
cam. The bottom of the plunger clears the

bottom of the bore by about 1/I6 in. In this
manner the air is worked out at the time of
installation, the lifter is always filled with oil,
and the clearance is entirely taken up by the oil
column below the plunger. Hydraulic tappets
of this type assure silent operation, eliminate
the need for valve adjustment, and increase
valve life. They obviate the need for a quieting ramp on the cam.
17

Rocker Arm and Rocker Shaft
The function of the rocker arm is to
reverse the upward motion of the push rod to
downward motion of the valve and vice versa.
The rocker arm may be either solid or hollow.
A stationary hollow rocker shaft
serves as a pivot to the rocker arms and
provides passage for lubricating oil
simultaneously. Rocker arm is made of steel
(forged or stamped) or iron (cast). Cast rocker
arms are comparatively cheaper but are not as
strong as forged or stamped ones. However,
these give satisfactory service in cars.
Stamped rocker arms have been found to be
light, very strong, yet cheapest of all the
types. Rocker shafts are made from hollow
steel tubing. A typical material for these
would consist of 0.55% carbon, 0.2% silicon,
0.65% manganese and the remainder iron.
After machining the shaft is case-hardened. It
is mounted on cast iron or aluminium
pedestals placed between each pair of rocker
arms.
18

Push Rod
It serves to transmit the
reciprocating motion of the valve lifter
to the rocker arm. Since the valve lifter
moves in a straight line whereas the
rocker arm end moves in an arc about
its pivot, to provide compatibility of the
two, the push rod forms part of ball and
socket joints on both ends. Push rods
are made of carbon-manganese steel. A
typical push rod steel contains 0.35%
carbon, 0.2% silicon and 1.5%
manganese. After hardening and
tempering, a hardness of about 250
B.H.N. is obtained. The push rod may
be either solid or hollow. A hollow
push rod is lighter, resulting in decrease
of inertia forces. Further, it may also
serve as a passage for oil for lubrication
of the valve actuating mechanism.
19

Dual Valves
Large valves are more troublesome than small ones, because a large disc will be warped more by
the heat, and, besides, the weight of the valve increases rapidly
with the linear dimensions, hence the stress on the valve and
its mechanism due to rapid opening and closing becomes very
great for large diameters. For this reason it has become
customary in high-speed engines with large cylinder bores to
use two inlet and two exhaust valves per cylinder.
An experimental investigation of the relative capacities
of large and small valves was made in connection with the
development of the Liberty aircraft engine, and the conclusions
reached were that at the same pressure drop, one valve of
diameter D and lift h is equal in capacity to, first, a pair of
valves of diameter O.707D (equal port area) and lift 0.70h and,
second, a pair of valves of diameter 0.6D and lift h, for values
of h not exceeding about O.25D. Engines with two, three, four
& five valves are shown in the following Figures.
20

Valve Timing
The valves are operated by cams on a shaft which turns at one-half the speed of the crankshaft, so
that each valve is opened and closed once during two revolutions of the crankshaft. In order that an engine
may operate satisfactorily at high speeds, it is necessary that the exhaust valve open before the end of the
power stroke and close after the completion of the exhaust stroke; and that the inlet open before the end of
the exhaust stroke and close after the completion of the inlet stroke. This involves an overlapping of the
exhaust and inlet periods, which is made necessary in part by the very slow opening and closing motions
now employed for the sake of quiet operation. If the inlet began to open only after the exhaust had closed,
the effective valve opening during a considerable part of the inlet stroke would be so small that the
incoming charge would be seriously throttled. For an engine which is intended to "peak" at 3000-4000
rpm the valve timing shown in Fig. should prove satisfactory. That there is considerable latitude with
respect to the different valve functions may be seen from the following table which applies to 1953
passenger-car engines:
21

Overhead Valves
Valves in the head are operated either by tappet
rods extending up the side of the cylinders, or by means of
an overhead camshaft. When tappet rods are used, they
extend up through an enclosed space and the rocker arms,
etc., at the top of the engine are enclosed by a valve cover,
which is usually of pressed steel. When the whole valve
mechanism is thus enclosed, not only are any noises
produced by it muffled, but the joints can all be effectively
lubricated and all bearings are protected against dust. In
multi-cylinder overhead-valve engines the rocker arms are
mounted on a hollow shaft, to which is connected a lead
from the pressure lubricating system. At the center of each
rocker arm bearing an oil hole is drilled through the wall-of
the hollow shaft, so that oil will feed to the bearing surface,
and sometimes a hole is drilled lengthwise of the rocker
arm from the rocker bearing surface to the
point of contact with the valve
stem. By placing the breather
pipe on the valve cover and
establishing communication with
the crankcase by means of the
tappet-rod passages, an oil-misty
atmosphere is created in the valve
chamber, and the lubrication of
all bearings is provided for.
With
tappet
rods
extending up the side of the
cylinder block, as shown in Fig.,
the weight of the moving parts
naturally is greater than in L head
engines, and every effort should
be made to lighten these parts.
The tappet rods preferably are
made of steel tubing of an outside
diameter of about 3/8 in. for the
size of cylinder used in
passenger-car engines. Into the
lower end of the tube can be
fitted a thrust pin with a halfround head which has a bearing
in a socket formed on a thrust
block set into the hollow tappet.
At the top an internally threaded sleeve with a hexagon on it is fitted over the tube, and receives the
clearance-adjusting screw, which latter has a spherical head nested in a socket formed on the end of the
rocker-lever arm. Owing to the fact that all contact surfaces are very liberal in size, and of such shape that
they naturally retain any oil getting onto them, there is usually very little wear on these surfaces. The
rocker levers usually are drop forgings, though one manufacturer has made them of steel pressings.
22

In determining the weight of the valvereciprocating parts where rocker levers are used, it is
necessary to first find the radius of gyration of the
rocker lever, which can be done either by calculation
or experimentally by the pendulum method. The
actual weight of the rocker is then reduced in the
proportion of the radius of gyration to the length of
the rocker arm bearing on the side rod, and the value
thus obtained is added to the weight of the tappet
and side rod. The weight of the valve and parts
moving with it is reduced in the proportion of valve
motion to tappet motion, and then added to the other
weights.
23

Overhead Camshahs
The simplest and
most direct method
of actuating valves
in the cylinder
head is by means
of an overhead
camshaft, Fig.. It
reduces
the
necessary weight
of
valve
reciprocating parts,
thus making it
possible to get
along with lighter
springs and to
increase
the
maximum speed.
It appears that one
reason for the less
quiet operation of
the engine is that
the source of the
noise (the cam gear) is directly underneath the hood, and the noise is therefore more readily transmitted to
the passengers ears than when it originates down in the crankcase. It has been found that a contributing
factor to noise in the valve gear is the discontinuity of the torque; that is, when the nose of a cam has
passed a cam follower, the pressure of the valve spring causes the cam and its shaft to snap forward,
thereby taking up the clearance between gear teeth. Trouble from this source may be guarded against by
"burdening" the camshaft with additional load, such as the fan, water pump, or generator.
24
Valve Actuating Mechanisms

In all the valve actuating
mechanisms a cam driven at half the
crankshaft speed is used to operate each
valve inlet or exhaust. However, there
are different methods of operating the
valves from the cam.
These may be broadly divided
into two types viz.,
1. Mechanisms with side camshaft and
2.The mechanisms with overhead
camshaft.
25
1. Mechanisms with side camshaft

In these the camshaft is on the side of the engine and the valves are operated either directly by the
cams or through the push rods and rocker arms.
These may be further classified as:
(a)Double row side valve mechanism (T-head)
This is the oldest type of valve
actuating mechanism and is shown in
Fig. In this the inlet and the exhaust
valves are operated by separate
camshafts which makes the mechanism
complicated. Moreover the shape of the
combustion chamber provides poor
combustion and low engine performance
due to which this type of mechanism is
obsolete.
(b) Single row side valve mechanism (L-head)

In this the inlet and the exhaust valves are all arranged in a single row
camshaft (Fig.). This method was once quite popular on account of the
and operated from the same

following advantages:
(i) Low engine height.

(ii) Low production cost.
(iii) Quiet operation.
(iv) Ease of lubrication
This mechanism is, however, no more in
use, because it was found to be very inefficient on
account of the complicated shape of the combustion
chamber which is more prone to detonation. There
were also restrictions of space on the size of inlet
valves that would be used. Moreover, difficulties
were experienced in cooling the exhaust valves.
26

(c) Overhead inlet and side exhaust valve mechanism (F-head)
This is a combination of the two systems described above.
Overhead valve mechanism is used for the inlet valve operation and
the side valve mechanism for the exhaust valve. It is used in F-head
engines. This mechanism is simpler than the overhead camshaft
operated types and allows the use of larger inlet valves, but larger
valves being heavier, there is also a limitation on the maximum
speed of the engine that could be allowed. F-head engines were
found to be less efficient and were also more expensive due to which
these have also become obsolete.
(d) Single row overhead valve mechanism (I-head)
This type is used quite extensively these days and is shown
in Fig.. The cam operates the valve lifter which in turn actuates the
push rod. The push rod further operates the rocker arm, which
actuates the valve.
This type of mechanism is having the following advantages:
(i) Higher volumetric efficiency than the side valve design.
(ii) Higher compression ratios can be used.
(iii) Leaner air-fuel mixtures can be burnt.
(iv) The rocker-arm leverage makes it possible to impart
desired cam profile lift multiplication to the system and hence use
smaller cam lobes compared to the side valve mechanism.
The above advantages are, however, accompanied by some
drawbacks of the mechanism.
These are,
(i) The valve operation, on account of the
elasticity of the system and the resulting vibrations, is
not very precise
operating at high engine speeds.
(ii) Larger valve lifter clearances are required.
(iii) Noisy operation.
(iv) Greater maintenance required due to more
wear at more joints.
while
accelerating
or
27
2. Mechanisms with overhead camshaft

The
valve
operating
mechanisms with overhead single or
double camshafts are highly
efficient. However, with these
considerably more lubricating oil is
needed to flood the cam profiles as
compared to the overhead valves
operated
by
side
camshafts.
Moreover,
they
have
the
disadvantage of higher initial costs.
Figure. shows single row
valves operated by a single overhead
camshaft and an inverted bucket
type follower. With this type of
follower, the camshaft is arranged directly over

the valve stems. This type of mechanism is direct
and very rigid so that valve movement follows
precisely the designed cam-profile lift. Moreover,
valve stems are not subjected to side-thrust which
means less wear. Tappet clearances are also quite
small and do not require adjustment very often.
However, drive to the camshaft is quite
complicated, positive lubrication is required and
adjustment of valve lifter clearance is relatively
more difficult.
A similar valve-operating mechanism
with end-pivoted rocker arm is shown in Fig..
The rocker arm provides leverage ratio, which
enables the designer to provide smaller cam
profile. Moreover, the inertia of rocker arm
follower is less compared to the sliding bucket
type described earlier and adjustment of tappets is
easy. However, due to the elastic bending of the
rocker arm, the stiffness of the system and hence
precision of valve operation is decreased, a sidethrust is produced to the valve stem and guide
and more wear and noise occur.
28

In Fig. is depicted a mechanism for
inlet and exhaust valves in separate rows, but
operated by a single overhead camshaft with
inverted bucket type follower and the pivoted
rocker arm.
However, quite often the double-row
valves are operated by two separate overhead
camshafts as shown in Figures.
29

Comparison of the Side Camshaft and the Overhead Camshaft Mechanisms
The overhead camshaft type valve actuating
mechanisms is generally preferred over the side
camshaft type mainly because of its greater rigidity
since the camshaft directly operates the valve
instead of operating through push rod and rocker
arm. Due to this the valve is opened and closely
quicker with decreased vibrations and undesirable
oscillation. This means in case of high-lift, highacceleration cam profile, the valve operation in
case of overhead camshaft is much more precise
and smooth than in case of the side camshaft valve
system.
However, in case of overhead camshaft with inverted

bucker follower, the valve lift is equal to the cam lift, whereas in
case of the side camshaft, the valve lift can be adjusted by suitable
design, for a given cam lift. This means that in case of overhead
camshaft, the cam size has to be relatively larger for the same
valve lift, which leads to higher cam-to-follower velocities and
relative rubbing velocities resulting in side-thrust reaction caused
by the cam action.
30

Desmodromic
A form of valve actuation that uses mechanical means to open & close the valves, thus eliminating
valve springs & the resulting bounce at high speeds. They featured in the Mercedes racing cars of the
mid-50s but are now associated with Ducati road & racing motor cycles
31

Valve Production
The forgings for conventional poppet valves may be produced by several processes, including
drop-forging, upsetting extruding, and electric gathering. In each case the stock used comes in rod or bar
form. The extrusion process employs stock of a diameter approximately 70 per cent that of the finished
valve head and forms the stem by forcing some of the material through a die while at a red heat. To
prevent fracture during the shearing operation, the bars are first brought up to red heat either by induction
or in an open furnace. Burrs on the slugs are removed by tumbling.
The average valve forging is completed in one heating on a 500- ton or 750-ton press operating at
about 45 rpm. Valve slugs are placed in a hopper which feeds them into an induction-heating coil. The
rate of feed can be varied by the operator from 8 to 20 slugs per minute, by means of a variable-speed
motor drive. The average automotive valve requires a 1-in. slug, and of these slugs 16 are heated to about
2000 F per minute, the power consumption amounting to 50kw.
After the Forging Process, next process is Annealing.
Most exhaust-valve and all intake-valve forgings are annealed to relieve forging stresses. The
treatment varies with the material, annealing temperatures ranging from 1200 F to 1800 F, and annealing
periods from one hour to six hours. The process usually is carried on in a chain-type conveyor furnace, a
dual control system permitting of changing the temperature during the annealing cycle. Another operation
in the heat-treating department consists in grit-blasting the forgings in a tumble blast unit, to remove scale
formed in the forging operation and to improve the appearance of the forgings.
The next process in valve production is Machining and Grinding Operations
Machining and grinding operations are performed on machine tools set up to make possible
progressive line production. After passing through this line and having been subjected to the final
inspection, the valves go directly to the shipping room for oiling and packing. The lay-out of the line for
a particular valve depends on such factors as size, type, material, and quantity.
All automotive valves have the following operations carried out on them: Roll straightening
of stem and head, inspection for straightness, center-less rough-grinding of stem, hardening tip,
finish grinding stem, finish grinding seat, inspection
The valve forging is straightened on a machine of the Waterbury- Farrell thread-roller type, the
valves are heated to 1425 F in a Surface Combustion chain-type furnace, which is loaded through a
hopper and discharges into a chute feeding the straightening machine. The center-less grinders used to
grind the stems are pro vided with an infeed attachment which causes the valves to drop into position
between the wheels, and with a "kicker" which removes the valves at the end of the grinding cycle. All
valves are forged with a flash on the periphery of the head. Most automotive valves are "forge-finished"
on top and under the head, but the heads must be finished on the outside diameter and on the seat. That
operation, which is usually performed on multiple-spindle automatics with carbide tools is followed by
machining of the tip of the valve stem and of the ,keeper groove chamfering of the tip, and facing the
valve to length.
Heat Treatment
Valves made of XCR and chrome-manganese. steel usually are age-hardened after the semi-finish
machining operation, and many intake valves of SAE 3140 steel also are hardened in the semi-finish
stage. If the valve is to be heat-treated, semi finish grinding of the stem follows the heat treatment;
otherwise it precedes machining of the retainer groove. Heat-treated valves usually are grit-blasted to
32

remove surface scale, and then are hand straightened before any grinding is done on them. The semifinish grind is performed on a Cincinnati centerless grinder.
Hardening and Grinding of Tip
Tips of high-production valves usually are hardened by induction heat, those of others by the
conventional flame-hardening process. A 20-kw high-frequency generator supplies the current for
induction hardening. Induction hardening permits much better control of the hardness than flame
hardening. It is usually specified that tips shall be ground to 15 RMS surface finish, and square with the
valve stem to within 0.0015 in.. Large-production valves have the tip ground on automatic grinder
equipped with a rotating fixture in which the valves are located from the seat face.
Grinding of the seat is the last operation on the valve, and usually is done on a hydraulic grinder.
The total indicator reading of seat runout to stem can be held to less than 0.001 in. in large-volume
production. For this operation most valves are located from the tip end.
Inspection
All valves are visually inspected for surface defects, possible operations missed, etc., at 'the end of
the line. Scleroscope and Rockwell machines are used to check the hardness. Stellited and welded valves
are inspected 100 per cent. Magnaflux inspection is made to discover seams, subsurface stringers, and
other defects difficult to recognize with the naked eye. Standard gauges are used throughout the line,
masters being provided to check the dimensions from seat to tip, from seat to groove, and from groove to
tip, and determinations are made of the runout of the tip and the seat relative to the stem. The machined
retainer grooves are checked for form, radii, etc., in Comparators with a magnification of 25 to 1.
33

SLEEVE VALVES
As the term indicates, sleeve valves are cylindrical in
shape. They surround the piston and actually form the working
cylinder. There are two types of sleeves valves, viz., the single
sleeve and the double sleeve types.
A single sleeve valve is shown in Fig.. The sleeves are
made of steel.
The advantages of sleeves are:
I. Simplicity of construction.
2. Silent in operation, because there are no valve cams, tappets,
valves, etc. which make noise.
3. A longer period of running before decarbonization becomes
necessary (50,000 km as compared to about 10,000 km for
poppet valves).
4. Reduced tendency to denote, because there are no hot spots,
path of flame travel is short and combustion chamber is of
symmetrical shape.
5. Higher thermal efficiency is attained.
However there are certain disadvantages also because
of which it has become obsolete:
I. High oil consumption, because larger area of sleeve surface
has to be lubricated.
2. Gumming.
ROTARY VALVES
Many types of rotary valves have been developed. Fig.
shows a disc type rotary valve. It consists of a rotating disc,
which has a port. While rotating, it communicates alternately
with inlet and exhaust manifolds. The main advantage of rotary
valves is their uniform and noise- free motion. However, there
are many difficulties in pressure sealing. Economical valve
lubrication is another problem.
References
High speed Combustion Engines-P M Heldt
Automobile Engineering-Dr. Kirpal Singh
Machine Design-Abdulla sheriff
Theory & Practice in I C Engines-C F Taylor
Autocar India Illustrated Automotive Glossary
34
VALVE DESIGN
Material -For valve
-Nickel steel for inlet valves; & High nickel chromium steel for exhaust valves (due
to high temp. and corrosive action)

For valve seat-Cast iron or bronze Replaceable, (Cast iron-for big engines due to economic reasons.)
Size of valve ports

Vga=ApCp ave.
Where Vg=velocity of gas
22300 to 3300m/min-for stationary/marine engines

23300 to 5000m/min-for automobile engines
a=port area=
2
d port
D2
Ap=area of piston=
;
4
Cp ave= average piston velocity=2LNm/min
*Fix vel. of gas, calculate port area & port diameter
Vg' =
14.7Vg T
ch
520 P(180 +
180
+
Where Vg=gas velocity fixed in ft/min

o
(180+<+=) =duration of valve opening
T=temp. in Rankine - T F=1.8T C+32, and T(R)= T F+459.67

o
Intake temp.220 C = 68 F = 528Rankine;

ch
Exhaust temp.2300 C=1032Rankine
=charging efficiency for NA Engine285%; and
P=pr. of gas in psi
SC Engine295 to 100%
=14.7psi - for intake=1atm.

=29psi to 35psi for exhaust=2 to 4atm.
Inlet valve
-<=opening advance generally = 10 ,
& ==closing delay generally = 20 to 30

o
Exhaust valve -<= opening advance generally 40 to 50 ,

Hence calculate
& ==closing delay generally 10 to 20
Vg' -For stationary engines 12000ft/min for intake valve & 18000ft/min for exhaust valve
-For automobile engines
18000ft/min for intake valve &
( pistonspeed ) mean
velocityofgasthroughvalve
d1=dport=port diameter= D
fix <v=valve face angle=30o or 45o
valve lift h
Angular area of opening
27000ft/min for exhaust valve
d1h cos
d12
4
But this gives hammering effect

Therefore empirical relation h=0.2d1
=port area
or
h=
0.25d1
cos
(h=0.1d1 to 0.2d1)
may be adopted
35
P
S
Thickness of valve disc = t = k1d1
Where k1=0.54-for cast iron;
0.42-for carbon steel & high grade steel
S =4000psi-forcast iron; 8000psi-forcarbon steel &

d1=dport=port diameter
P =max. gas pressure;
Pmax
[Or t
= 0.5d1
d 2 = d1 + 2[t sin(90
15000psi-for high grade steel
, where,
=allowable stress=420ksc for carbon steel & 700 to 800ksc for high grade steel]
)]
or=d1+2b
0.7854 (d 32 d 22 ) 0.7854d12
(d
d3=
b=0.5(d2-d1) = 0.5d1
2
1
+ d 22
Sb
S b Pmax
Where Sb=safe bearing pressure=4000psi for cast iron
b=0.05d1 to 0.07d1
or b=
t
tan
an empirical formula
=0.1d1+4mm
do=diameter of valve stem =

bearing pressure =
d1 3
+ inch
18 16
load
load
=
bearingarea (d 2 d1 )
d1
2
36

Example - 1
Determine the valve lift & valve dimensions of an engine from the following data;
Max. Gas Pressure = 5N/mm 2 ,
Cylinder Bore Diameter = 80mm,
Gas Velocity = 1500m/min,
Mean Piston Speed = 300m/min,
Allowable Stress = 42N/mm ,

2
Solution;
Valve Seat Angle = 30 0 ,
Pmax = 5N/mm 2 ,
Given,
V = 1500m/min,
= 30 0 ,
D = 80mm,
= 42N/mm 2 ,
S = 300m/min = DNm/min =
DN
m / sec
60
S
300
= 80
= 35.8mm
V
1500
d1
35.8
Max. Valve Lift =
h=
=
= 10.33mm
4 cos
4 cos 30
p
5
Thickness of valve head = t = 0.5 d1 max = 0.5 35.8
= 6.2mm
I
42
t
6.2
And Width of seating =
b=
=
= 10.74mm
tan< tan30
Also,
b = 0.1d1 + 4mm = 0.1 35.8 + 4mm = 7.58mm
Port diameter =
d1 = D
Diamter of Valve head = d2 =d1 +2b = 35.8 + 2 7.58 = 50.96mm

(assuming, b = 7.58mm)
Diameter of valve stem =
d0 =
d1
35.8
+ 4mm =
+ 4mm = 8.5mm
8
8
Diameter of valve head opening area = d3 =
(d
2
1
+ d22 =
(35.8
+ 50.96 2
= 62.27mm
37

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THEORY AND DESIGN