Dynamics Assignment 3

Analysis on Dynamic Characteristics of

Internal Combustion Engine Crankshaft
System

Table of Contents
Table of figures .................................................................................................................................... 1
Background.......................................................................................................................................... 2
System and problem example ............................................................................................................. 3
Results ................................................................................................................................................. 5
Discussion ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Appendix 1 – Full derivation of kinematics ......................................................................................... 8
Appendix 2 – MATLAB code .............................................................................................................. 11

Table of figures
Figure 1 - Free Body Diagram of a single degree of freedom reciprocating engine ............................... 3
Figure 2 - Geometry analysis of constrained reciprocating engine......................................................... 3
Figure 3 – MATLAB result showing the Velocity of piston Vs. Crank Angle ............................................ 5
Figure 4 - MATLAB result showing the Angular Acceleration of the connecting Vs. Crank Angle .......... 5
Figure 5 - MATLAB result showing the Acceleration of piston Vs. Crank Angle ...................................... 5
Figure 6 - MATLAB result showing the Angular Velocity of the connecting Vs. Crank Angle ................. 5
Figure 7 - The results from (Fatemi, 2007) .............................................................................................. 6
Figure 8 - The results of (Nigus, 2015)..................................................................................................... 6
Figure 9 - The results from (Fatemi, 2007) for angular velocity and acceleration .................................. 6
Background
This lab report investigates the Kinematics and Forces in a Reciprocating Engine

Reciprocating engines are used to convert chemical energy into kinetic energy within a piston
which applies force onto a crank shaft converting said the linear motion of the piston to
rotational motion at the crank. Reciprocal engines can take many forms being made up multiple
pistons in different arrangements. However, at its core a single reciprocating engine works in a
“4-stroke cycle” (Yamagata, 2005), comprising of, intake, compression, ignition and exhaust. The
intake involves the introduction of gas into the piston chamber “expanding the piston to the
bottom of the cylinder” (Donev, 2018). This gas is then compressed by the piston at the
compression stage. When compressed ignition via the sparkplug ignites the gas and “pushes the
piston downwards providing useful work to the engine” (Donev, 2018). The last, exhaust stage
sees “waste chemicals [removed] thought the exhaust port” (Donev, 2018), the cycle then
repeats.

The initial two stages see’s the introduction and compression of gas which provide no power on
the system, as well as the fourth stage which see the evacuation of gas, hence our primary focus
will be on the 3rd stage where the external forces is introduced. A common reciprocating engine
system is shown in Figure 1. Highlighting the dynamic components of the piston, connecting rod
and crank shaft mechanism. Each part has a different type of motion, the piston contains totally
translational motion, while the connecting rod has both rotational and translational motion and
the crank shaft has completely rotational motion only.

Two major dynamic processes and concepts involved in the motion of a reciprocating engine
include; the kinematic conversion of linear velocity and acceleration at the piston to angular
velocity and acceleration at the crank. As well as kinetic transfer of forces via the principle of
‘The conversation of energy’, best observed through the work and energy principle to translate
linear kinetic energy into rotational moment.

Kinematically; translational linear velocity of the piston translates to both linear and rotation
motion at the connecting rod. Whose motion is constrained by both the piston linearly and crank
shaft rotationally. The crank shaft is connected such that it forces the connecting rod to follow a
rotational path. As such this translational motion is converted fully to rotational angular velocity
and acceleration. We observe a transformation of linear acceleration and velocity to angular
acceleration and velocity.

Kinetically; “The piston receives the combustion pressure” (Yamagata, 2005) as an external force
leading to work being done at the piston converting translating kinetic energy to the connecting
rod. Normal reaction forces between the crank shaft and the connecting rod constrains the
connecting rod into a rotational path. Hence, the downward force at the piston is conserved
along the connecting rod into turning force at the crank shaft and connecting rod. A moment is
generated about the crank shaft leading to rotational motion of said shaft. We observe the full
transition of work done performed by kinetic energy at the piston being conserved into turning
force (moment) at the crank shaft.

By combining the kinematic and kinetic relationship a full picture of the dynamics of a
reciprocating engine can be drawn.
System and problem example
Analysis of a reciprocating engine will be conducted such to
determine the relationship between the angular and linear
acceleration between the piston and the crank.

The example analysed will take use the 3 components of a

simple reciprocating engine described previously, to analyse
this system as a “single degree of freedom [constrained] slider
crank mechanism.” (Fatemi, 2007)

A free body diagram (FBD) was drawn to confirm the degrees

of freedom of the system and derive a relationship between
translational forces at the piston and connecting rod with the
angular motion at the crank shaft. This relationship is further
developed between the changing angles of the connecting
rod and crank shaft is further developed in figure 2. As
observed by the FBD “the mechanism is a simple 2D linkage
therefore, forces are expected to be in the [x-y] plane of
crankshaft motion [only].” (Fatemi, 2007)

This system has “no assumption of friction forces act[ing on the

system] for simplification” (Muslim Ali, 2020), also by logical Figure 1 - Free Body Diagram of a single degree of
deduction friction can be assumed negligible when comparing freedom reciprocating engine
the motion within a constrained system, which would
experience similar frictional forces in a highly lubricated
system such as a reciprocating engine. Since motion is in the
x-y plane only “Forces in the longitudinal direction of the
crankshaft would be zero [hence…] joints at different
locations there would be no moment resistance.” (Fatemi,
2007)

Gravity was also excluded in order to keep the system

simplified, no literature on the subject was discovered. One
can reason however, the power of the pressure forces in a
piston over a short distance leads to the effects of gravity to
be negligible.

Measurements were taken from (Muslim Ali, 2020), these

measurements chosen to allow for a boarder analysis
between research papers. Most other research papers used
parameters within the 20-40mm and 110-130 range
respectively.

Length Mass RPM

Crank Shaft 60mm 10kg 3500
Connecting 220mm 1kg -
rod
Piston - 0.6kg -
Table 1 - - Table with measurements to be used in example reciprocating Figure 2 - Geometry analysis of constrained reciprocating
engine (Muslim Ali, 2020) engine
The kinematic relationship of the system in established in detail in appendix 1. With the goal
being to establish a relationship between the piston velocity acceleration with the angularly
components produced at crank pin as well as the angular velocity and acceleration of the
connecting rod in terms of the angular components produced at the crank pin centre.

From Figure 2. the following relationships between the length and angle in both the horizontal
and vertical direction was established:

𝑥 = 𝑠1 +𝑠2 = 𝑙𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜎) + 𝑟𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜃) (1)

𝐿𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜎) = 𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜃) (2)
Both relationships were then differentiated with respect to time with 𝜎 being eliminated to
establish an equation for the velocity of the piston w.r.t angular velocity and angle at the crank
pin C.

𝑥̇ = −𝐿𝜎̇ sin(𝜎) − 𝑟𝜃̇ sin(𝜃) (3)

𝐿𝜎̇ cos(𝜎) = 𝑟𝜃̇ cos(𝜃) (4)

The relationship of the angular velocity of the connecting rod as a function of the angular
components of the crank pin was established through substitution of cos(𝜎) at (4) leading to:

𝑟𝜃̇ cos (𝜃)

𝜎̇ = 𝜔2 = (9)
𝑟2
𝐿√1 − 2 sin2(𝜃)
𝐿
This was differentiated to find angular acceleration of the connecting rod as a function of 𝜃:

𝑟𝜃̈ cos (𝜃)

𝑟 3 𝜃̇ cos2 𝜃 sin (𝜃)
𝜎̈ = 𝛼2 = + 2 3 (11)
𝑟2 2 𝐿3 (1 − 𝑟 sin2 (𝜃))2
√
𝐿 1 − 2 sin (𝜃) 𝐿2
𝐿
The velocity of the piston was found by elimination of 𝜎 at 3 resulting in:
𝑟 sin(2𝜃)
𝑥̇ = −𝑟𝜃̇ ( + sin(𝜃)) (12)
𝑟 2
2𝐿√1 − 2 sin2 (𝜃)
𝐿
Differentiation of this w.r.t time leads to a calculation for acceleration:

cos(2𝜃)𝑟 sin2(2𝜃)𝑟 3 sin(2𝜃)𝑟

𝑥̈ = −𝑟𝜃̇ ( + + cos(𝜃)) − 𝑟𝜃̈ ( + sin(𝜃)) (14)
𝑟2 𝑟2 𝑟2
𝐿√1− 2 sin2(𝜃) 4𝐿3 √1− 2 sin2(𝜃) 2𝐿√1− 2 sin2(𝜃)
𝐿 𝐿 𝐿

Hence the relationship of velocity, acceleration of the piston in terms of 𝜃 have been established
as well as the angular velocity and acceleration of the connecting rod in terms of 𝜃 having also
being established.
 Results
An analytical approach has been taken with the derived equations with MATLAB code being used to
solve these equations and plot against the crank angle. The program is set to run for 2 cycles or 4𝜋
radians approximately 12.058rad. The Matlab code can be found in appendix 2.

The results and behaviour of the system illustrated in the following graphs displayed in figure W
Figure 3. figure 4. figure 5 and figure 6.

Figure 3 – MATLAB result showing the Velocity of piston Vs. Crank Angle Figure 5 - MATLAB result showing the Acceleration of piston Vs. Crank Angle

Figure 6 - MATLAB result showing the Angular Velocity of the connecting Figure 4 - MATLAB result showing the Angular Acceleration of the connecting
Vs. Crank Angle Vs. Crank Angle

Discussion
The results show graphically that all relationships in figures 3 to 6 display a periodic relationship of
some form repeating every 2𝜋.
Figure 3. shows the relationship between the velocity of the
piston and the crank angle. Observation of the graph shows
that the relationship is an inverted sinusoidal, consistent with
the relationship derived in equation (12). This is further in line
with (Fatemi, 2007) figure 7. and (Nigus, 2015) in figure 8
whose own graph shows a sinusoidal relationship not inverted.
This difference is as a result of the initial coordinate system
being set different but the net relationship that the velocity of
the piston oscillates with the chank shaft is consistent.

Figure 4. shows the relationship between the acceleration of

the piston and the crank angle. Observation of the graph
indicates a semi-cosinusoidal relationship, interestingly the
acceleration spends an extended period of the rotation at its
maximum peak compared to be when at minimum peak which
is only momentary. The result drawn, appears to be consistent
Figure 7 - The results from (Fatemi, 2007)
with the research of (Fatemi, 2007) seen in figure 7 but
inconsistent with the (Nigus, 2015). Most likely due to the ratio of
𝑟
crank length to connecting rod. The example ratio is 𝐿 = 0.27 while
37
the (Fatemi, 2007) ratio is 120.87 = 0.36 and the (Nigus, 2015) ratio
26
is 113 = 0.23. The conclusion that can be extrapolated is that as the
ratio decreases the acceleration increases to a maximum point.
Hence, if the length of the crank is decreases then the acceleration
increases but local minima begin appearing representing
unbalanced forces. If the radius of the connecting rod increases the
acceleration of the piston increases however local minima also
appear representing unbalanced forces leading to vibration on the
system.

The angular velocity of the connecting rod is shown in figure 5 as

cosinusoidal relationship, this is consistent with the derived equation (9) Figure 8 - The results of (Nigus, 2015)
which has a large cos(𝜃)and a dominator term which can be
approximated toward a value of 1. This trend hence emphasis’s how as
the period of the crank rod increases until the acceleration of the
piston reaches its maximum and then the angular velocity begins to
increases rapidly. The results is consistent with the research of (Fatemi,
2007) as shown in figure 9.

The angular acceleration of the connecting rod is shown in figure 6

having a sinusoidal relationship, with dips at global minima and
maxima thus leading to local minima and maxima. This is not
consistent with the results of (Fatemi, 2007) which shows clean peaks
with no minima and maxima as shown in figure 9. This difference in
behaviour is due to the large length of connecting rod 220mm in
comparison with (Fatemi, 2007) 120.78mm, which suggests that if a
connecting rod length of 220mm was used unbalanced forces would be
created leading to vibrations in the engine. Hence, we can establish
that the ratio of r/L must be close. or approach the number one, any
divergence leading to unbalanced forces and vibration.
Figure 9 - The results from (Fatemi, 2007) for angular
velocity and acceleration
References
Donev, J. B. (2018, July 2). Reciprocating engine. Retrieved June 2, 2021, from Energy Education:
https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Reciprocating_engine

Fatemi, F. H. (2007). Dynamic Load and Stress Analysis of a Crankshaft. Toledo: The University of
Toledo.

Muslim Ali, I. A. (2020). Numerical Method for Finding the Balancing and Unbalancing Forces of
Single Piston Engine. Journal of Mechanical Engineering Research and Developments, pp.
260-271.

Nigus, H. (2015). Kinematics and Load Formulation of Engine Crank Mechanism. Mechanics, Materials
Science & Engineering, 112-123.

Yamagata, H. (2005). The science and technology of materials in automotive engines. Boca Raton, FL:
CRC Press.
Appendix 1 – Full derivation of kinematics
Appendix 2 – MATLAB code
% Assignment 3 Reciprocal engine code
% Author: SID 440376024
%
% clean Workspace
clear;
clc;
clf;

%Analytical Approach
% define the domain of theta
%theta = 0:0.01:(2*pi);
% angular velocity of the crank
rpm = 3500;
acc = 0;
% convert to rad/s
w = 3500*(2*pi/60);
% Length of the crank = radius of the crank
r = 0.060;
% Length of connecting rod
L = 0.220;

% initialize an empty set for velocity

%z = 0;

% Analytical plot the angular velocity as a result of velocity

for i = 1:145
theta = ((i-1)*5*pi)/180;
theta_x(i) = theta;
% simplify the denominator term
z = sqrt(1-((r^2)/(L^2))*(sin(theta)^2));
% Create a velocity vector
v(i) = (-r*w)*(((r*sin(2*theta))/(2*L*z))+ sin(theta));
% Create a vector for acceleration
A= (r*cos(2*theta)/(L*z));
B = ((r^3)*(sin(2*theta)^2))/(4*(L^3)*(z^3));
C = ((r*sin(2*theta))/(2*L*z));
a(i) = -((r)*(w^2))*(A+B+cos(theta)) - (r*acc*(C+sin(theta)));
% develop an angular velocity vector at the connecting rod
theta_dot(i) = r*w*cos(theta)/(L*z);
w_dot(i) = r*acc*cos(theta)/(L*z) +
(r^3*w*(cos(theta)^2)*sin(theta))/(L^3*(z^1.5));
end

figure(1)
plot(theta_x,v,'b')
xlabel('Crank Angle Theta (rads)')
ylabel('Piston Velocity (m/s)')
title('Velocity of the piston vs. Crank Angle')
legend('Velocity','Location','SE')
xlim([0,theta])
figure(2)
plot(theta_x,a,'b')
title('Accleration of the piston vs. Crank Angle')
xlabel('Crank Angle Theta (rads)')
ylabel('Piston Accerleration (m/s^2)')
xlim([0,theta])
legend('Accleration','Location','SE')
figure(3)
plot(theta_x,theta_dot,'b');
title('Angular Velocity of the connecting rod vs. Crank Angle')
xlabel('Crank Angle Theta (rads)')
ylabel('Angular velcoity (rad/s)')
xlim([0,theta])
legend('Angular Velocity','Location','NE')
figure(4)
plot(theta_x,w_dot,'b');
title('Angular Accleration of the connecrting rod vs. Crank Angle')
xlabel('Crank Angle Theta (rads)')
ylabel('Angular Accleration (rad/s^2)')
xlim([0,theta])
legend('Angular Accleration','Location','NE')