Finite element investigation of a piston assembly of a diesel engine

Ensure a safe, long life and efficient combustion within a diesel engine is an important challenge in the applications of engine technology. Much research has been done on thermal stress within engine cylinders and on engine piston heads, and how to reduce some of this stress in order to prevent failure or increase the life of the engine. The failure of a piston head tends to occur from it enduring the gas effect of the high pressures and temperatures. By performing static and dynamic Finite Element Analysis (FEA) on a piston mechanism of a diesel engine proper dimensions for different parts of an engine can be determined and failure of an engine in service can be avoided. In this research finite element analysis has been performed to determine the total deformation, stresses, and other parameters that are essential from design point of views. Real world input data for simulation obtained from running an existing diesel engine have been effectively used. Static structural and dynamic reaction of a piston assembly under the applied load of internal combustion in a diesel engine were closely observed. ANSYS workbench was utilized to perform these simulations. Using SolidWorks a piston assembly model consisting of the piston, connecting pin, connecting rod, cylinder head, crankshaft, and cranks was designed and used for simulation. Simulation results were being collected from the static structural and rigid body dynamics modules.