International journal of thermal engineering (IJTE)

Volume 5, Issue 1, Jan–June 2017, pp. 39-49, Article ID: IJTE_05_01_005

Available online at
http://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJTE?Volume=5&Issue=1
© IAEME Publication

THERMAL AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF AN

EXHAUST MANIFOLD OF A MULTI CYLINDER ENGINE

Gopaal1, M M M Kumara Varma2, Dr. L Suresh Kumar3

1
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Ramanandatirtha Engineering College,
Nalgonda, Telangana, India
2
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Sri Sivani College of Engg., Srikakulam,
Andhra Pradesh, India
3
Principal, Ramanandatirtha Engineering College, Nalgonda, Telangana, India

ABSTRACT

The paper deals with the thermal and structural analysis of a multi cylinder engine exhaust
manifold, for the given dimensions. The dimensions of the exhaust manifold are taken from the
drawing. The 3D model is prepared using NX-CAD software. Thermal and Coupled Field analysis
are performed. Critical frequencies in the operating range are obtained by performing Modal
analysis. Harmonic analysis is performed and the deflections and stresses at the nearest natural
frequencies are plotted. The exhaust manifold design’s acceptance is done from the results obtained
in different analysis. It is an effort to automate design optimization which would reduce technical,
schedule, and cost risks for new engine developments.

Keywords: NX-CAD, Kadenacy Effect, TMF Crack, Mass Participation Factor, Critical Mode
Shapes, dof, Yield Strength.

I. INTRODUCTION

The exhaust manifold is mounted on the cylinder head of the engine. It is connected to the
catalyst converter at the other end. The exhaust gases emitted from the cylinder come out at
temperatures of nearly 800 0 C and with pressures ranging from 100 to 500 kPa.
The exhaust manifold is subjected to high temperatures and pressures which will lead to
thermo mechanical failure.
A back pressure is created due to not completely vacating the exhaust system before the gases
from the other cylinder is released. These Pressure waves from gas restrict the engine's true
performance possibilities.
As the exhaust gases are very hot, the pipe must be heat-resistant. The pipe should be able to
send away the toxic gases away from the user.
The exhaust pipes are different for different types of engines. A stationary engine may have
a chimney serving as an exhaust pipe. For motor cycles the exhaust pipes depends on the type of the
engine it has. In case of trucks, the exhaust system is horizontal and sometimes may have vertical

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 Thermal and Structural Analysis of An Exhaust Manifold of A Multi Cylinder Engine

exhaust pipes. Some trucks are provided with flexible ducting between the engine and silencer. This
arrangement will avoid the vibrations being transferred to the exhaust system.
In a two stoke engine, the exhaust pipe is provided with a bulge known as expansion
chamber. More air and fuel is made to enter the engine cylinder with the exhaust pressure of the
gases in the chamber. This improves the power and fuel efficiency.
This effect of using the momentum of the exhaust gases to create a pressure drop in the
cylinder and assisting more air and fuel to enter into the cylinder is called Kadenacy effect. Careful
design of the inlet and exhaust pipes will maximize the Kadenacy effect.
Due to the cost and ease of manufacture, Cast Iron is preferred as manifold’s material.
Thermal analysis has to be done initially to calculate the temperature distribution, heat
transfer, thermal gradients and thermal flux. This is followed by stress analysis, to know the thermal
stresses.
Coupled field analysis of Thermal-Structural type is done to check for maximum deflections
and the Von Mises stress.
Vibration characteristics like natural frequencies and mode shapes of the exhaust manifold is
found out by doing Modal Analysis. Critical mode shapes are plotted and the mass participation at
these frequencies are calculated.
Mass participation factor gives a check whether sufficient modes are used in the dynamic
analysis. The energy supplied to a mode which leads to larger amplitudes is called “participation"
factor.
Resonance occurs when forced frequency matches the natural frequency. But if the
participation factor is 0, then no energy will get into that mode.
Prediction of dynamic behaviour of the exhaust manifold is done by Harmonic Response
Analysis. Displacement Vs Frequency graphs are plotted at the “Peak” responses. The deflections
and stresses are calculated at these Peaks.
The design is considered safe after the conformance that the deflections and stress values do
not exceed the allowed limits.
The performance and efficiencies of the engine depend upon the exhaust manifold. Also,
proper design of the exhaust manifold will result in lower fuel consumption.

II. LITERATURE REVIEW

Taner Gocmez and Udo Deuster [1] in their “Designing Exhaust Manifolds Using Integral
Engineering Solutions” focused on the development of a reliable approach to predict failure of
exhaust manifolds and on the removal of structural weaknesses through the optimization of design.
The failure modes for TMF cracks, vibration and exhaust manifold gaskets are emphasized.
Engineering expertise is required to fully utilize this technique as the results strongly depend on
defining the problem. This study shows an optimization package, which provides practical solutions
to engineering problems through the removal of local structural weaknesses on highly loaded exhaust
manifolds.
Bin Zou, Yaqian Hu, Zhien Liu, Fuwu Yan and Chao Wang [2] in their research paper
“The Impact of Temperature Effect on Exhaust Manifold Thermal Modal Analysis” discussed the
impact of temperature effect on exhaust manifold modal analysis by mapping temperature field from
the CFD software and then heat conduction process is analyzed in FEM software with the
temperature field boundary conditions. At last, the modal analysis that considers temperature effect
is done. The frequency and vibration mode between cold modal and thermal modals are compared.
The result shows that temperature has a great influence on the manifold mode and it is very valuable
to product design.

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 Thermal and Structural Analysis of An Exhaust Manifold of A Multi Cylinder Engine

K.H. Park, B.L. Choi, K.W. Lee, K.-S. Kim and Y.Y. Earmme [3] in their paper
“Modelling and Design of Exhaust Manifold Under Thermo mechanical Loading “, had proposed a
thermal stress index (TSI) for designing the exhaust manifold. TSI is a ratio of the elastic effective
stress to yield stress. Though TSI does not predict the expected fatigue life quantitatively, it can be
easily evaluated. It’s merit lies in the quick estimation of the effect of the design parameters at the
development stage with comparing the nonlinear fatigue analysis.
J.David Rathnaraj [4] in his work “Thermo mechanical fatigue analysis of stainless steel
exhaust manifolds” had proposed a model based on Isothermal data. Thermal fatigue analysis should
be considered in the design process of the exhaust manifold. The durability of exhaust systems,
specially corrosion and Thermo Mechanical Fatigue (TMF) resistance, needs to be improved
significantly by the use of stainless steel rather than cast iron. The paper focuses on the application
of constitutive equation to the thermo mechanical condition of a model based on isothermal data.
Using the proposed model, the thermal stress analysis and life prediction of exhaust manifold made
of 429EM stainless steel is done.
Sweta Jain, AlkaBani Agrawal [5] paper, “Coupled Thermal – Structural Finite Element
Analysis for Exhaust Manifold of an Off-road Vehicle Diesel Engine”, presents the Sequential
Coupled Thermal Structural Analysis to investigate the associated thermal stresses and deformations
under simulated operational conditions close to the real situation on different materials. Analysis
carried out by reference environmental testing conditions in different ambient temperatures on
different materials i.e. cast iron, structural steel. The finite element analysis software ANSYS
Workbench 14.0 used to calculate the linear steady state temperature distribution under the thermal
field & structural analysis. FEM analysis is done by using tetrahedral element of first order and
convergence test is performed for structural load. The purpose of this analysis is to ensure the
appropriateness of material for the defined design from the view point of serviceability of the
exhaust manifold.

II. PROBLEM FORMULATION

Input for the project:

The exhaust manifold collects the exhaust gases coming from number of cylinders into one
exhaust pipe. The exhaust pipe is connected to the catalyst converter.

Fig. 1: 2D drawing of the Exhaust Manifold

Material Properties of Cast Iron:
Thermal conductivity, K (w/m k) - 50
Density, (kg/m3) - 7200
Specific heat, c (J/Kg k) - 1.88
Poisson’s ratio, v - 0.3

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 Thermal and Structural Analysis of An Exhaust Manifold of A Multi Cylinder Engine

Thermal expansion, á (10 6 / k) - 0.3

Elastic modulus, E (GPa) - 105
Coefficient of friction, µ - 0.2
Yield strength (MPa) - 130

Element Descriptions:

1) 10 NODE SOLID87 – With one dof. Temperature at each node.

2) 10 NODE SOLID 92 – With three dof. Translations in the x, y and z directions at each node.

Exhaust gas:
Temperature – 8000 C
Pressure range – 100 to 500 kPa.

Methodology followed:
- Created the model of the exhaust manifold using NX-CAD software, and imported it to
ANSYS software.
- Perform thermal analysis on the exhaust manifold for thermal loads.
- Perform coupled field analysis on the exhaust manifold for pressure loads and thermal loads
to find deflections and stress.
- Perform Modal analysis to find natural frequencies on the existing model of the exhaust
manifold.
- From the modal analysis results, the natural frequencies, mode shapes and their mass
participations of the exhaust manifold are plotted.
- Harmonic Analysis is done and structure’s response in displacement at several frequencies
Graphs are obtained. “Peak” responses are identified. Maximum deflections and stresses are
calculated at these responses.

3D Model generation

Fig. 2: 3D Model of the Exhaust Manifold Fig. 3: Finite Model of the Exhaust Manifold

Boundary conditions:

Thermal analysis
Inside of the pipes – 10730 K
External condition of the pipes - Convection

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 Thermal and Structural Analysis of An Exhaust Manifold of A Multi Cylinder Engine

Fig. 4: Exhaust Manifold – Temperature applied Fig. 5: Manifold – Convection applied externally

Fig. 6: Manifold – Temperature distribution Fig. 7: Manifold – Thermal gradient

Fig. 8: Manifold – Thermal flux

RESULTS

The temperature distribution on the exhaust manifold is found. These temperatures are
applied as the body loads in the structure analysis.

STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

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 Thermal and Structural Analysis of An Exhaust Manifold of A Multi Cylinder Engine

1) Coupled Field Analysis

Boundary conditions :
- Bolts arrested in all Dof and
- Pressure of 500 kPa inside pipes, as Structural loads
- Temperature distribution applied as thermal loads.

Results obtained:
1. Maximum deflection of 0.1 mm and
2. Maximum Von Mises stress is 115 MPa.

As the Von Mises stress is less than yield strength of Cast Iron (130 MPa). Hence the design is
considered to be safe as per the Maximum Yield Stress theory.

2) Modal Analysis
Modal analysis is carried out on exhaust manifold to determine the natural frequencies and mode
shapes of a structure in the frequency range of 0 -1500 Hz.

Boundary conditions :
- Bolts arrested in all Dof and
- Mass of the exhaust manifold is 15.5 Kg.

Fig. 9: Manifold – Boundary conditions for Modal analysis

Results:
A total of 6 natural frequencies are observed in the frequency range of 0-1500 Hz. The mass
participation of each of these 6 frequencies are listed in the below table. The mode shapes of these
frequencies are also plotted.

Table 1: Frequencies and Mass participation at the modes

PARTIC.
EFFECTIVE MASS
FACTOR (Kg)

MODE FRE X Y Z X Y Z

1 617.82 1.58 -0.51 0.22 2.5 0.26 5.2

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 Thermal and Structural Analysis of An Exhaust Manifold of A Multi Cylinder Engine

E-02

1.4
2 700.98 1.63 0.15 -0.11 2.6 2.3E-02
E-02

3 1082.2 0.47 -1.00 1.48 0.2 1.01 2.21

(-)
4 1237.2 -0.82 1.83 0.7 0.68 3.37
0.85

2.8
5 1321.3 0.48 -1.85 -0.16 0.2 3.44
E-02

6 1486.5 0.42 1.92 1.18 0.18 3.70 1.39

It is observed that the maximum mass participation is

1. 2.5kgs and 2.66kgs in X-dir for the frequency of 617 and 700Hz.
2. 3.4kgs and 3.7kgs is observed in Y-dir for the frequency of 1321 and 1486Hz.
3. 2.2kgs and 3.7kgs is observed in Z-dir for the frequency of 1082 and 1237Hz.

3) Harmonic Analysis
Boundary conditions:

- Loads : Pressure = 500000 Pa

- Bolts arrested in all Dof.

Fig. 10: Manifold–Boundary conditions for Harmonic analysis

Results:

GRAPHS:
AMPLITUDE VS FORCING FREQUENCY:

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 Thermal and Structural Analysis of An Exhaust Manifold of A Multi Cylinder Engine

Fig. 11: Harmonic response at base Fig. 12: Harmonic response at Exhaust Pipe – 1

Fig. 13: Harmonic response at Exhaust Pipe – 2 Fig. 14: Harmonic response at Exhaust Pipe – 3

Fig. 15: Harmonic response at Exhaust Pipe – 4

From the above graphs, the following amplitudes are observed

- At Base of Exhaust manifold - Amplitude of 1e-5 m (0.001mm) - at a frequency of 1237 Hz.

- At Exhaust pipe1 of exhaust manifold - Amplitude of 1.1e-4 m (0.01mm) - at a frequency of
1237 Hz.

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 Thermal and Structural Analysis of An Exhaust Manifold of A Multi Cylinder Engine

- At Exhaust pipe2 of exhaust manifold - Amplitude of 2.25 e-6 m (0.0025mm) - at a

frequency of 1486 Hz.
- At Exhaust pipe3 of exhaust manifold - Amplitude of 2.1e-4 m (0.02mm) - at a frequency of
617 Hz.
- At Exhaust pipe4 of exhaust manifold - Amplitude of 0.8e-5 m (0.008mm) - at a frequency of
1486 Hz.

4) The deflections and stresses nearest natural frequencies to the above frequencies in the operating
range of 0 – 1500 Hz are obtained.

Table 2: Deflections and Von Mises stress for critical frequencies

S.No FREQUENCY DEFLECTIONS (m) VON MISES STRESS (MPa)

1 600 0.57e-04 38.9

2 650 0.59e-04 41.4

3 700 0.38e-03 124

4 1200 0.66e-04 78.3

5 1250 0.16e-03 130

6 1300 0.17e-03 130

7 1400 0.107e-3 97.3

8 1450 0.16e-03 130

At frequencies of 1250, 1300 & 1450 Hz, the Von Mises Stresses are same as that of Cast Iron, and
the deflections are more.

CONCLUSIONS

1) The given 2 D drawing is converted into 3 D model by using NX 7.5 software.

2) Thermal analysis provides the thermal loads for Structural analysis.
3) Coupled Field analysis results show maximum deflection of 0.1 mm and Von Mises Stress as
115 MPa.
4) As per Maximum Yield Stress theory, the design is accepted and further analyses are carried out.
5) From Modal analysis, 6 natural frequencies for the structure is identified. Maximum Mass
participation factor in the different directions are obtained.
6) Harmonic Response analysis is done and the amplitudes at the forcing frequency for each pipe is
obtained. Deflections and stresses at these critical frequencies are obtained.
7) It is observed that the Von Mises stress at frequencies of 1250, 1300 and 1450 Hz are equal to
the yield strength of Cast Iron.
8) The given design of the exhaust manifold is safe.

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 Thermal and Structural Analysis of An Exhaust Manifold of A Multi Cylinder Engine

FUTURE SCOPE

1) Flow behaviour and velocity of the exhaust gases inside the pipe can be analysed by conducting
Computational fluid dynamics which will help to optimize the design of exhaust manifold.
2) Use of Stainless steel increases the corrosion and Thermal Mechanical Fatigue (TMF) resistance
of the exhaust manifolds. Hence thermal and structural analysis with Stainless steel can be done.
3) Life prediction of the exhaust manifold design can be done for the same operating conditions.
4) The exhaust manifolds can be either cast or fabricated. Thermal and structural analysis can be
done to predict the failure of the exhaust manifold manufactured by different methods.

REFERENCES

[1] Taner Gocmez, Udo Deuster, “Designing Exhaust Manifolds using Integral Engineering
Solutions”.
[2] Bin Zou, Yaqian Hu, Zhien Liu,Fuwu Yan and Chao Wang, “The Impact of Temperature
Effect on Exhaust Manifold Thermal Modal Analysis”, Research Journal of Applied Sciences
Engineering and Technology, August 20, 2013, PP 2824-2829.
[3] J.David Rathnaraj, “Thermo mechanical fatigue analysis of stainless steel exhaust
manifolds”, IRACST – Engineering Science and Technology, Vol 2, No. 2, April 2012,
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[4] K.H. Park, B.L. Choi, K.W. Lee, K.-S. Kim and Y.Y. Earmme, “Modelling and Design of
Exhaust Manifold Under Thermo mechanical Loading”.
[5] Sweta Jain, AlkaBani Agrawal, “Coupled Thermal – Structural Finite Element Analysis for
Exhaust Manifold of an Off-road Vehicle Diesel Engine”, International Journal of Soft
Computing and Engineering, Vol 3, Issue 4, September 2013, PP 226-230.
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[11] Nitin S Gokhale, Sanjay S Deshpande, Sanjeev V Bedekar and Anand N Thite, Practical
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Journal of Engineering Research and Technology, Volume 3, Issue 3, 2014, PP 92 – 97.

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 Thermal and Structural Analysis of An Exhaust Manifold of A Multi Cylinder Engine

[15] Sohail Bux and A.C. Tiwari, “Eco Friendly Automobile Air-Conditioning Utilization Exhaust
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