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ABSTRACT:
A connecting rod is a rigid member which connects a PISTON to a CRANK or CRANKSHAFT in
a RECIPROCATING ENGINE. Together with the crank, it forms a simple mechanism that converts
reciprocating motion into rotating motion. This document deals with the designing procedure of a
connecting rod using conventional methodology as well as using modelling and simulation soft
wares in order to validate the obtained results.
INTRODUCTION:
A connecting rod is a rigid member which connects a PISTON to a CRANK or CRANKSHAFT in
a RECIPROCATING ENGINE. Together with the crank, it forms a simple mechanism that converts
reciprocating motion into rotating motion. It has two ends named as SMALL END and BIG END. The
small end is connected to the piston pin where as Big end is connected to crank pin. Today, the
connecting rod is best known through its use in internal combustion piston engines, such as
automobile engines. These are of a distinctly different design from earlier forms of connecting rod
used in steam engines and steam locomotives.
KEY POINTS:
Load multiplier, BLF, Mode, Von-mises stress, Factor of safety,
TERMS TO BE KNOWN:
MODE:
Here buckling modes are considered as failure modes in which the connecting rod gets
collapsed in that form.
LOAD MULTIPLIER:
The term “load multiplier” used in ANSYS refers to the load at which buckling occurs. In
other words, BLF and load multiplier sense same. For example, if you apply 1N force and you
obtained the load multiplier value as 3, this means that buckling occurs at (1N * 3) = 3N.
BUCKLING LOAD FACTOR (BLF):
The buckling load factor is an indicator of factor of safety against buckling or the ratio of the buckling
loads to the currently applied loads. While designing any structure, it’s better to have high value of
BLF as much as possible.
Stroke length=125mm
Factor of safety= 2
I-Section has been considered for connecting rod so that from Euler’s Equation
IXX=4IYY for equal strength in both the planes (plane of motion and perpendicular
plane) is satisfied. The dimensions width b=4t and Depth h=5t of I-Section give a
value of Ixx=3.2Ixy, where t is the thickness of the section.
Fig 1: Dimensions of I-Section
Treating the body of the connecting rod as a column with having both ends fixed, the
stress due to axial load( Rankine-Gordon formula):
σcr= Fc/A
= σc/(1+K(l/k)2) eq(1)
Where, Fc is the crippling load, i.e. axial load on the rod due to steam or gas pressure
corrected for the inertia effects of piston and other reciprocating parts, N (kgf)
k= radius of gyration of cross-section about an axis parallel to the point of the end joints
= √3.174 t mm
The outer diameter for Big end = 70+2(5) +5=85mm where “2(5) “ is for diameter of bolt and “5” is
clearance.
F.O.S= 2
Fc= = 𝜋𝑟 2 * P*F.O.S
= 549778.7N
From eq (1):
t= 0.012m or 12mm.
Procedure:
Step 1: Assign the material (Aluminium bronze) to the connecting rod.
Step 4: Now fix the small end and big end of the connecting rod by selecting “fixed support”.
Step 5: Now apply a downward pressure of 35N/mm2 on the top of small end.
Step 6: Now obtain the total deformation value and equivalent stress (von-mises stress)
Now we need to link this “static structural” model to “Eigen value buckling” to obtain mode shape
results.
CONCLUSION:
A Connecting rod is modelled in CATIAV5 software with the help of certain required dimensions
which are calculated by using conventional methodology provided in Design data hand book , for the
given factor of safety value and this model is analysed in ANSYS software in order to validate the
results obtained in conventional methodology.