DESIGN OPTIMIZATION OF A CONNECTING ROD FOR

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

A THESIS

Presented to the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

California State University, Long Beach

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Committee Members:

Christiane Beyer, Ph.D. (Chair)

Daniel Whisler, Ph.D.
Adeline Schmitz, Ph.D.

College Designee:

Hamid Rahai, Ph.D.

By Andreas Joakim Ny

B.S.M.E., 2016, California State University, Long Beach

May 2020
 ProQuest Number: 27834216

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 ABSTRACT

The main objective of this study is focused on designing an optimized connecting rod for

a 1957 Chevrolet V8 engine using Topology Optimization software, in which the primary goal

was to achieve weight reduction without strength reduction. The connecting rod was designed for

the process of Metal Additive Manufacturing. The strength of the original design was determined

by Finite Element Analysis with calculated Boundary Conditions, using both engine

specifications and important engine parameters from engine analyzer software.

The design space of the connecting rod was maximized based on the clearance inside the

crankcase, and optimum density distribution was obtained by maximizing stiffness.

An optimized connecting rod was designed and modeled using Computed Aided Design

software, based on Topology Optimization results and general metal Additive Manufacturing

guidelines. In order to verify the strength of the optimized design, a Finite Element Analysis

study was performed on the optimized connecting rod with the above-mentioned Boundary

Conditions. The optimized connecting rod design resulted in an 8.13% mass reduction compared

to the original design, without any significant strength reduction. In fact, the optimized design

had an overall lower stress distribution.

The optimized connecting rod was compared to design trends among high-performance

connecting rods in order to evaluate similarities in design trends.

Various metal Additive Manufacturing and Additive Manufacturing post-processing

methods were discussed in terms of the possibility of manufacturing the optimized connecting

rod, and to meet the strength and fatigue strength requirements for a connecting rod used in an

internal combustion engine.

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my parents and siblings for supporting me to pursue higher

education.

A special thanks to Erik Hansson and Kent Francis for convincing me to go back to

school for my degree in Mechanical Engineering.

I am honored that Dr. Christiane Beyer accepted me as her student, and for giving me the

opportunity to work on this program. I am very thankful for her support and guidance throughout

graduate school; she made it possible for me to graduate with a degree in M.S.M.E.

I would like to thank Sebastian Franzen at JE Pistons for sharing his contacts in the

industry.

I would like to thank Christoph Wachmann at Pankl-USA for helping out with calculations, and

explaining industry practice in connecting rod design.

iii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii

LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................v

LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... vi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................ xi

1. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................1

2. CONNECTING ROD ......................................................................................................9

3. TRADITIONAL CONNECTING ROD DESIGN ........................................................18

4. OPTIMIZATION OF CONNECTING ROD DESIGN .................................................34

5. ANALYSIS AND RESULTS ........................................................................................51

6. MANUFACTURING OF OPTIMIZED COMPONENTS ............................................65

7. CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................................74

APPENDICES ...............................................................................................................................80

A. SOLIDWORKS SIMULATION ANALYSIS RESULTS ON

ORIGINAL CONNECTING ROD DESIGN .............................................................81
B. SOLIDWORKS SIMULATION ANALYSIS RESULTS ON NEW OPTIMIZED
CONNECTING ROD DESIGN .................................................................................93

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................104

iv
 LIST OF TABLES

1. List of Specifications Used for Design Parameters ...........................................................18

2. Recorded Connecting Rod Masses and Gas Pressure ........................................................21

3. Calculated Performance for 1957 Chevrolet 283 Cubic Inch V8 Engine using
Engine AnalyzerPro v3.9 Software....................................................................................22

4. Summary of FEA Results for Original Connecting Rod Design .......................................32

5. Summary of FEA Results for Optimized Connecting Rod Design ...................................49

6. Summary of FEA results for original and optimized connecting rod design ...................51

7. List of a Few SLM Materials [20] .....................................................................................67

v
 LIST OF FIGURES

1. Illustration of connecting rod motion inside an IC engine. [1] ............................................1

2. Flowchart of the Additive Manufacturing process [3] .........................................................3

3. Sales of metal AM system vs. year from year 2000 to 2017 [7] .........................................3

4. Illustration of Powder Bed Fusion. [5] ................................................................................4

5. Illustration of Direct Energy Deposition [5] ........................................................................5

6. Exhaust manifold fabricated with SLM process .................................................................5

7. Parts fabricated with EBM process [6] ................................................................................6

8. DED process used to fabricate new shape on an existing part [7] .......................................6

9. Simulation-driven design process with Altair’s OptiStruct [5] ...........................................7

10. Airbus APWorks’ Light Rider [5] .......................................................................................8

11. Terms and dimensions of a connecting rod. [1] ...................................................................9

12. Forged I-beam to the left, and forged and machined H-beam to the right. [8] ................... 10

13. Connecting rod with extra ridges for improved strength. [9] ............................................10

14. PM Forged connecting rod [11] .........................................................................................12

15. Fracture split big end on PM connecting rod [10] .............................................................13

16. Forged blank to the left and machined connecting rod from forged blank
to the right. [8] ...................................................................................................................14

17. Aluminum connecting rod. [12] .........................................................................................14

18. Coarse mesh with 3774 elements ......................................................................................16

19. Fine mesh with 62928 elements .........................................................................................16

20. Computed FEA model with color stress distribution .........................................................17

21. Small end is supported and mass of big end is determined ...............................................19

22. Big end is supported and mass of small end is determined. ..............................................19

vi
23. Total mass of connecting rod incl. rod bolts ......................................................................20

24. Total mass of connecting rod and piston assembly ...........................................................20

25. Corrected bore and stroke parameters in Engine Analyzer Pro v3.9 software ..................22

26. Cylinder pressure in psi vs. crank degrees at 5000RPM in

Engine Analyzer Pro v3.9 ..................................................................................................23

27. Piston Gs vs. RPM from 2000 RPM to 6500 RPM in

Engine Analyzer Pro v3.9 ..................................................................................................23

28. Piston Gs vs. RPM from 2000 RPM to 6500 RPM in

Engine Analyzer Pro v3.9 ..................................................................................................24

29. Free Body Diagram of angles and forces impacting on the connecting rod ......................24

30. Connecting rod illustrated as a simply supported beam with linearly

distributed load [14] ...........................................................................................................27

31. Reverse Engineered Chevrolet connecting rod modeled in Solidworks2018 ....................28

32. Mass properties of modeled connecting in Solidworks 2018 ............................................29

33. Fixed geometry applied to the big end of the connecting rod in Solidworks 2018 ...........30

34. Illustration of bearing load applied to a cylindrical surface[17] ........................................30

35. Illustration of bearing load applied small end of the connecting rod ................................31

36. Meshed FEA model in Solidworks 2018 ...........................................................................31

37. Color plot of Von Mises stress during compression loading of connecting rod. ...............32

38. Maximized design space by filled shank. ..........................................................................35

39. Maximized design space filled shank and increased width of the shank ...........................35

40. Partitioned areas for design option 1 .................................................................................36

41. Partitioned areas for design option 2 .................................................................................36

42. Fixture applied to the big end ............................................................................................37

43. Compressive load applied to the small end........................................................................38

vii
44. Tension load applied to the small end................................................................................38

45. Bending load applied to the small end. ..............................................................................39

46. Shape control applied to the X and Y-axis. .......................................................................39

47. Altair Inspire FEA setup of connecting rod .......................................................................40

48. Von Mises stress on connecting rod with maximized design space ..................................41

49. Displacement on connecting rod with maximized design space .......................................41

50. Principle strain on connecting rod with maximized design space .....................................42

51. Altair Inspire TO setup of connecting rod .........................................................................43

52. TO results with TO slider in the middle ............................................................................43

53. TO results with TO slider moved towards the right ..........................................................44

54. TO result of second design option with wider shank.........................................................44

55. Optimized CAD model connecting rod .............................................................................45

56. Section view of optimized design, right plane ...................................................................46

57. Section view of optimized design, top plane .....................................................................46

58. Mass properties of optimized connecting rod model .........................................................47

59. Fixed geometry applied to the big end of the connecting rod in Solidworks 2018 ...........48

60. Illustration of bearing load applied to the small end of the connecting rod ......................48

61. Meshed FEA model in Solidworks 2018. ..........................................................................49

62. Color plot of Von Mises stress during compression loading of the connecting rod. .........50

63. Von Mises stress on original design in compression .........................................................52

64. Mises stress on optimized design in compression .............................................................52

65. Peak stress location on the big end of the optimized design during compression. ............53

66. Displacement on original design in compression ..............................................................53

viii
67. Displacement on optimized design in compression ...........................................................54

68. ESTRN on original design in compression ........................................................................54

69. ESTRN on optimized design in compression ....................................................................55

70. Von Mises stress on design in tension ...............................................................................55

71. Von Mises stress on optimized design in tension .............................................................56

72. Peak stress location in optimized design during tension ...................................................56

73. Displacement on original design in tension .......................................................................57

74. Displacement on optimized design in tension ...................................................................57

75. ESTRN on original design in tension ................................................................................58

76. ESTRN on optimized design in tension .............................................................................58

77. Von Mises stress on original design in bending ................................................................59

78. Von Mises stress on optimized design in bending .............................................................59

79. Peak stress location in optimized design during bending ..................................................60

80. Displacement stress on design in bending ........................................................................60

81. Displacement on optimized design in bending ..................................................................61

82. ESTRN on original design in bending ...............................................................................61

83. ESTRN on optimized design in bending ...........................................................................62

84. Optimized design of Chevrolet connecting rod modeled in Solidworks 2018. .................63

85. Connecting rod from a super-sport car [9] .........................................................................63

86. CP-Carillo big end pocket. [19] .........................................................................................64

87. Connecting rod tilted 45 degrees .......................................................................................66

88. Window used to remove excess metal powder ..................................................................66

89. Typical surface roughness, in Ra, for different manufacturing methods [23] ...................68

ix
90. Illustration of HIP process where printed part is placed in the middle [25] ......................70

91. Heat treatment parameters for Ti-6Al-4V. [26] .................................................................70

92. Ti-6Al-4V microstructures (a) As built, (b) conventional HIP,

(c) combined cycle HIP and (d) conventional HIP and annealed [26] .............................71

93. Illustration of shot peening machine. [27] .........................................................................71

94. Surface on non-peened test specimen.[27] ........................................................................72

95. Surface on shot peened test specimen. [27] .......................................................................72

96. Comparison of the improvements made in the fatigue strength of Ti6Al4V

manufactured by EBM by the various peening methods. [27] .........................................73

97. Surface cracks during fatigue tests. [27] ............................................................................73

98. Von Mises stress on original design in compression .........................................................74

99. Von Mises stress on optimized design in compression .....................................................75

100. Maximized design space of original connecting rod .......................................................75

101. TO result based on maximized stiffness ..........................................................................76

102. CAD model of Chevrolet connecting rod modeled in Solidworks 2018. ........................77

103. Optimized design of connecting rod modeled in Solidworks 2018 .................................77

104. Strepavara designed and AM connecting rod [28] ..........................................................78

x
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Al Aluminum

AM Additive Manufacturing

BC Boundary Condition

EBM Electron Beam Melting

ESTRN Equivalent Strain

DED Directed Energy Deposition

FBD Free Body Diagram

FEA Finite Element Analysis

HIP Hot Isostatic Pressure

HM Hybrid Manufacturing

IC Internal Combustion

m meter

mm millimeter

μm micrometer

N Newtons

PM Powder Metal

psi pound per square inch

RPM Revolutions per minute

SLM Selective Laser Melting

TDC Top Dead Center

Ti Titanium

TO Topology Optimization

xi
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Connecting Rod

The connecting rod in an internal combustion (IC) engine is a vital component to transfer

the vertical force from the piston, created by the combustion of fuel and air, down to the

crankshafts rotational force, which will transfer the power out of the engine. Figure 1 is

illustrating the motion of the connecting rod inside an IC engine.

FIGURE 1. Illustration of connecting rod motion inside an IC engine [1].

Designing a connecting rod is a complicated task due to the several components and

factors involved in one structure. The connecting rod consists of different form features; a small-

end where the piston assembly is attached via a wrist pin and a big end, which is attached to the

crankshaft. The big-end is usually split in half in order to assemble it on the crankshaft, and it

contains bearings and bolts to keep the two halves together. All these components have to be

taken into consideration when designing a connecting rod. As discussed in an article in Engine

Builder Magazine [2], the weight of the rods is important because it affects the reciprocating

1
forces inside the engine. Lighter is usually better because less weight means faster throttle

response and acceleration, but strength is even more important. Connecting rods experience most

of the forces in tension and compressional directions. The tension occurs at the Top Dead Center

(TDC) on the exhaust stroke, and compression occurs during the compression stroke, where the

cylinder gas pressure will force the piston. Designing a stiff connecting rod that can handle the

compression force will crack the material during the tension force, and a material that is too

ductile will cause the rod to buckle under load. Therefore, in order to design a reliable high-

performance connecting rod, both the design and materials chosen must be analyzed. Most

manufacturers, whether it is a large-scale automobile manufacturer or a small company

designing connecting rods for racing, use advanced FEA software before they perform

mechanical testing.

1.2 Additive Manufacturing

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is the process of adding material layer by layer rather than

the conventional subtracting manufacturing method, where you remove material to obtain the

desired shape. Adding material layer by layer allows you to create complex shapes to near net

shape, which will save a lot of material.

The principle of AM is similar to whether the component is being fabricated in polymer

or metal. The solid model of the part is created by using 3D CAD software. From there, the part

is exported as an STL file, which describes the part surface with a high number of triangles, and

imported in a slicer software, where the machine program is created. The so-called g-code is

transferred to the 3D printer and used to create the part by adding material layer by layer. A

visualization of the process can be seen in Figure 2.

2
FIGURE 2. Flowchart of the Additive Manufacturing process [3].

AM was called Rapid Prototyping in its early years, but due to recent development in

both materials and machines, Additive Manufacturing is being used more and more to produce

end products such as molds, tools, fixtures, or final products to hit the market.

Metal AM was already developed in the 1980s. However, according to the 2018 Wohlers

Report [4], the market finally took off in the last years with the sales of almost 1800 new metal

AM system sales in 2017 vs. only 200 systems five years earlier (see Figure 3). Today there are

about 40 manufactures of metal AM systems, with everything offering different processes and

sizes from desktop printers to large size industrial printers.

FIGURE 3. Sales of metal AM system vs year from year 2000 to 2017 [4].

3
 1.3 Metal Additive Manufacturing

Currently, the most common metal AM are Selective Laser Melting (SLM) and Electron

Beam Melting (EBM). Both methods belong to the category of Powder Bed Fusion technologies,

as illustrated in Figure 4, which uses an energy/heat source such as a laser or an electron beam to

either sinter or melt the metal powder. The heat source moves over the first layer of powder in

the pattern of the sliced CAD file; then, a new layer of metal powder is added, and the previous

step is repeated layer by layer until the part is completed.

FIGURE 4. Illustration of Powder Bed Fusion [5].

Another type of metal AM process is Direct Energy Deposition (DED), which feeds the

material into the melt pool via a wire or powder. An illustration of the method can be seen in

Figure 5 [5].

Which method to choose depends on the desired properties and function of the final part.

The SLM process has the advantage that it can produce complex geometries with internal

features in a high resolution. The drawback is that the building volume is restricted in size as

well as limited to only one material per process.

4
FIGURE 5. Illustration of Direct Energy Deposition [5].

The EBM process has similar advantages as SLM, but alloys with a melting point of less

than 600oC cannot be processed. The DED process has the advantages that it can have multiple

nozzles to apply different materials during the build, and it is not restricted to a built volume.

The drawback of DED is that it has a lower resolution in comparison to SLM and EBM [5]. In

Figures 6 to 8 are shown examples of parts fabricated using SLM, EBM, and DED process.

FIGURE 6. Exhaust manifold fabricated with SLM process.

5
FIGURE 7. Parts fabricated with EBM process [6].

FIGURE 8. DED process used to fabricate new shapes on an existing part [7].

6
 Currently, SLM and EBM are typically used to produce new products, while DED is used

to repair existing products, such as turbine blades. DED can be combined with a conventional

manufacturing process to produce a final product with very little waste. The combined procedure

is called Hybrid Manufacturing (HM).

1.4 Topology Optimization

Topology Optimization (TO) is a powerful tool that the engineer can use to minimize the

material needed to provide sufficient strength without compromising the function. The TO

process combines Finite Element Analysis (FEA) with optimization algorithms to have an

optimum material placement [5].

Figures 9 and 10 illustrate the TO process to construct a motorcycle frame [5]. The

complex shape of the frame would be very difficult, if not impossible, to manufacture using

conventional methods, but it is possible with AM. Some limitations may occur with AM as well,

such as limits on overhangs and internal support structures that cannot be removed once the part

is manufactured. There are several stand-alone software packages on the market specialized in

TO, for exemple, Altair’s Inspire and other program packages like Solidworks and Fusing360

have it built into their simulation package.

FIGURE 9. Simulation-driven design process with Altair’s OptiStruct [5].

7
FIGURE 10. Airbus APWorks’ Light Rider [5].

1.5 Thesis Objective

The objective of the thesis is to explore the possibilities of using additive manufacturing

to produce a connecting rod for an internal combustion engine. The design will be focusing on

the advantages of additive manufacturing in terms of weight-saving and strength increase. Cost

of production will not be a factor considered in this study, due to the fact that additive

manufacturing is still a costly method in comparison to powder forging or die forging. This study

is aimed at the racing industry where every gram of weight saving in the rotating mass inside the

engine counts. The study is divided into three parts, where the first part of this study is focused

on the original design of the connecting rod and strength analysis to determine baseline numbers.

In the second part, Topology Optimization is applied to optimize the design of the connecting

rod in terms of mass. The optimized design model will be evaluated using FEA, and suitable AM

processes and post-processes will be determined. Lastly, different concepts of AM and AM post-

process methods will be evaluated in order to determine a suitable process to manufacture the

optimized connecting rod.