Design of Piston:

Introduction :

Piston is considered as a very important part of a reciprocating engine in which it

helps to convert the chemical energy after the burning of fuel into mechanical energy.
The purpose of the piston is to help in conveying the gasses to crankshaft via
connecting rod without loss of gas.
It must able to work with low friction, high explosive forces and high temperature
around 2000 C to 2800 C.
The piston is to be strong but its weight should be less to prevent inertia forces due to
reciprocating motion.
The piston ring is used to provide seal between the cylinder and piston.

Functions of Piston:

To receive the thrust force generated by the chemical reaction of fuel in the cylinder
and transmits to connecting rod.
To reciprocate in the cylinder provide seal in suction, compression, expansion and
exhaust stroke.

Piston Materials:
Generally pistons are made of Al alloy, Grey cast iron, Nickel cast iron and forged
steel

Design consideration for a Piston:

In designing a piston, the following points should be taken into consideration;

1. It should have enormous strength to withstand the high gas pressure and inertia
forces.
2. It should have minimum mass to minimise the inertia forces.
3. It should form an effective gas and oil sealing of the cylinder.
4. It should provide sufficient bearing area to prevent undue wear.
5. It should disperse the heat of combustion quickly to the cylinder walls.
6. It should have high speed reciprocation without noise.
7. It should be of sufficient rigid construction to withstand thermal and mechanical
distortion.
8. It should have sufficient support for the piston pin.
Procedure for design of Piston:
Module-II: Design of Cylinder and Piston 07 hrs
Choice of material for cylinder and piston, load on
cylinder, stress in cylinder, piston
friction, piston slap, load on piston, stresses in piston,
design of cylinder, piston,
piston pin, piston rings, piston failures, lubrication of
piston assembly, types of
tolerances and fits, design considerations for
interference fits, surface finish, and
surface roughness.
Module III: Design of Connecting rod, Crankshaft 07 hrs
Material for connecting rod, determining minimum length of connecting rod, small
end and big end design, shank design, design of big end cap bolts, connecting rod
failures, balancing of I.C. Engines, significance of firing order, material for
crankshaft, design of crankshaft under bending and twisting, balancing weight
calculations.
Module IV: Design of Valves and Flywheel 05 hrs
Design aspects of intake and exhaust manifolds, inlet and Exhaust valves, valve
springs, tappets, valve train, Materials and design of flywheel, Design of Solid
flywheel, Rimmed Flywheel, stresses in flywheel, Coefficient of fluctuation of speed,
Coefficient of fluctuation of energy.
Module V: Tutorials, Case studies and presentation based on Module I to IV 06 hrs