Design of Machine Members- II
B.Tech., III Year-II Sem.
Prepared by:Dr. S.L.V.Prasad
Connecting Rods
Some designs utilize spit
holes or bleed holes
• Cast iron – general duty
• Forged steel – stronger
– generally heavier
Connecting Rods
• Cast aluminum
• Forged aluminum
– Lightweight
– Stretch easily
Connecting Rods
• Powdered metal
– Pre-balanced
– Fractured parting line
Connecting Rods
H-Beam Design
A typical connecting rod and related engine parts.
The connecting rod is probably the most highly
stressed part in the engine.
Combustion forces try to compress it and when
the piston stops at the top of the cylinder, inertia
forces try to pull it apart.
Some connecting rods have balancing
bosses (pads) on each end of the rod.
Rod caps are unidirectional and must be
reinstalled in the same rod position.
The rod bearing bores
normally stretch from top to
bottom causing the rod
bearing to wear most near
the parting line.
Rod Bore Measurement
• Use a bore gauge and rod fixture in vise
• Check out-of-round
– Rod caps must be torqued to mfg. specs.
Connecting Rod Installation
• The
chamfered
side of the
bore will
always lead
towards the
crankshaft
side on a v-
type motor.
A press used to remove and
install connecting rods to
the pistons.
Design Procedure for Connecting Rods
Design of connecting rod involves
1. Dimensions of cross-section of the connecting rod
2. Inertia force of Reciprocating Parts
3. Total force on the connecting rod
4. To find the thickness of the con rod flange and web
5. Design of small end and Big end
6. Design of Big end cap
7. Checking for strength
Step 1. Dimensions of cross section of the
connecting rod:
I xx 3.2 I yy . I xx 4 I yy .
1 1 3 3
Ixx= BD3 bd 3
4t 5t 3t 3t 34.91t 4
12 12
1 1 3 3
I yy bD3 Bd 3 2t 4t 3t t 10.91t 4
12 12
I xx 34.91t 4
4
3.2
I yy 10.91t
A = (5t x 4t) – (3t x 3t) = 11 t2
Step 2. Inertia force of Reciprocating Parts (F)
1000WrV 2 Cos2
F Cos 1
gr n
Wr = mg = Weight of reciprocating parts (N)
r = Crank radius, θ = Crank angle from the dead center:θ = 0
@TDC position.
nI = l/r, g = Acceleration due to gravity = 9.81Nm/s2
V = Crank velocity m/s
Step 3: Total force on the connecting rod :
Fc Fp Fi Fp F
Fc = Force on the connecting rod
Fp = Force on the piston
Fi = Inertia force of the reciprocating parts.
Step 4: To find the thickness of the connecting rod flange
and web:
Rankine’s – Gordan Formula:
Fc c cA
cr 2
Or Fc 2
A l l
1 K 1 K
k k
Step 5: Design of small end:
Fp= Projected area x Bearing pressure
Fp = Load on the piston pin or small end bearing
Fp dplp Pbp
Where, Pbp = Bearing pressure, = 12.4 for gas engines
= 15.0 for oil engines.
= 15.7 for auto engines.
dp = Diameter of piston pin, Assume Pbp = 10 MPa
lp = length of piston pin = 1.5 dp
Step6: Design of Big end:
Fp = Projected Area x Bearing pressure
Fp d c l c Pbc
Fp = Forces or load on the piston pin (N)
dc = diameter of crankpin
lc = length of crankpin
= 1.25 dc
Pbc= 7.5 MPa Assume
Step 7: Design of Big end Bolts:
2
Fi = F = d cb t nb
4
dcb = Core diameter of the bolts
t Allowable tensile stress for the material of bolts
= 12 MPa assume
nb = Number of bolts usually 2 bolts are used
Step 8: Design of Big end cap:
Load on big end
• The big end cap is designed as a beam freely
supported at the cap bolt centers and loaded by the
inertia force at the TDC on the exhaust stroke
• Load is assumed to act in between the UDL and the
centrally concentrated load
Stresses in the cap
M max
b
Z
σb = Allowable bending stress for the material of the cap
Maximum Bending moment as, Fi lo
M max
6
Fi = Magnitude of Inertia force
lo = Distance between bolt centers.
= Dia. of crank pin or Big end bearing + Nominal dia of
bolt + (2 x thickness of bearing liner)+ Clearance
dc + db + (2 x (0.05 dc + 1)) + 3
dc + db + (2 x (0.05 dc + 1)) + 3
Section modulus for the cap, bh2
Z=
6
b = width of the big end cap it is taken equal to the length of the
crankpin or Big end bearing (lc)
lc = b
h = thickness of big end cap
Step 9 : Checking for strength
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