Authors : A. Pandiyan, G. Arun Kumar and A. Louis Anthony Nelson
Abstract: The goal of the research work is to develop design optimization of a single-cylinder four-stroke Over Head Valve (OHV) spark ignition engine connecting rod. This study used reverse engineering techniques, to obtain an existing physical model. A three-dimensional connecting rod was created through SOLIDWORKS and it is imported to ANSYS environment for the coupled steady-state thermal structural analysis. The material used for the connecting rod is ADC12, A360 and ADC380. The objective of this paper focuses on the lightweight connecting rod design through coupled steady-state thermal structural analysis and to optimize the connecting rod design within the design domain using topology optimization. The results obtained from Finite Element (FE) analysis and Topology Optimization (TO) concluded the modified design is safe within the permissible stress, A360 indicates the von-Mises stresses 29.977 MPa, the higher factor of safety (n) is 5.61 and it is reduced the weight of the connecting rod was 129.05 g which are 8.88% less as compared to existing ADC12 without compromising the strength to weight ratio.
A. Pandiyan, G. Arun Kumar and A. Louis Anthony Nelson, 2020. Design Optimization of Connecting Rod for a Single Cylinder Four Stroke Overhead Valve (OHV) Engine Using Topology Optimization. Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 15: 2191-2198.