Automobile Department L J Polytechnic, Ahmedabad

TUTORIAL
(UNIT – 2) DESIGN OF PISTON

 Trunk Type Piston:

 Trunk pistons are long relative to their diameter.
 They act both as a piston and cylindrical crosshead.
 As the connecting rod is angled for much of its
rotation, there is also a side force that reacts along
the side of the piston against the cylinder wall. A
longer piston helps to support this.
 Trunk pistons have been a common design of piston
since the early days of the reciprocating internal
combustion engine.
 A characteristic of most trunk pistons, particularly for diesel engines, is that they have a
groove for an oil ring below the gudgeon pin.

 Advantages of Aluminum Piston over Cast iron:

Aluminum Piston Cast Iron Piston

Weight is more in comparison of Aluminium
Light in weight and very less reciprocating mass.
Piston.
Cast iron piston is also a good in heat conductor
Conducts heat better.
but not as good as aluminum.
Cast iron sheds carbon dust while being machined
Easier to manufacture with less dust given off.
which is hazardous to lungs.

Create much less carbon deposits, soot, sludge etc. Creates carbon deposits in lubricating oil.

Lubricating oil change interval is long. Needs special designed lubricating oil.

Cast Iron Piston tensile strength is not as good as

Aluminum Piston has better tensile strength.
Aluminum Piston.

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Automobile Department L J Polytechnic, Ahmedabad
 Design Criteria of Piston:
 It should be silent in operation both during warming up and the normal running.
 The design should be such that the seizure does not occur.
 It should offer sufficient resistance to corrosion due to some products of combustion, e.g.
Sulphur dioxide.
 It should have the shortest possible length so as to decrease overall engine size.
 It should be lighter in weight so that inertia forces created by its reciprocating motion are
minimum.
 Its material should have a high thermal conductivity for efficient heat transfer so that
higher compression ratios may be used without the occurrence of detonation.
 It must have a long life.

 Design Consideration of Piston:

 It should have enormous strength to withstand the high gas pressure and inertia forces.
 It should have minimum mass to minimize the inertia forces.
 It should form an effective gas and oil sealing of the cylinder.
 It should provide sufficient bearing area to prevent undue wear.
 It should disperse the heat of combustion quickly to the cylinder walls.
 It should have high speed reciprocation without noise.
 It should be of sufficient rigid construction to withstand thermal and mechanical distortion.
 It should have sufficient support for the piston pin.

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Automobile Department L J Polytechnic, Ahmedabad
 Piston Nomenclature:
 Head or crown. The piston head or crown may be flat, convex or concave depending upon
the design of combustion chamber. It withstands the pressure of gas in the cylinder.
 Piston rings. The piston rings are used to seal the cylinder in order to prevent leakage of the
gas past the piston.
 Skirt. The skirt acts as a bearing for the side thrust of the connecting rod on the walls of
cylinder.
 Piston pin. It is also called gudgeon pin or wrist pin. It is used to connect the piston to the
connecting rod.

 Piston Design:
 Piston Design is divided into five different sections:
A. Piston Head or Piston Crown
B. Piston Rings
C. Piston Barrel
D. Piston Skirt
E. Piston Pin

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Automobile Department L J Polytechnic, Ahmedabad

A. Piston Head or Piston Crown:

1) Thickness of Piston Head (According to Grashoff’s Formula):

3×p
tH = D √
16 × σt

Where, p= Maximum gas pressure or Explosion pressure (N/mm2)

D= Cylinder Bore Diameter (mm)
𝝈t = Permissible Bending stress for the material of the Piston (MPa or N/mm2)
= 35 to 40 (For Grey Cast Iron)
= 50 to 90 (For Nickel Cast Iron & Al Alloy)
= 60 to 100 (For Forged Steel)

OR

1) Thickness of Piston Head:

H
tH =
12.56 × K × (Tc –TE)

Where, H = Heat flowing through the Piston Head (Watt or kJ/s)

K = Heat Conductivity (W/mm/ 0C)
= 46.6(Grey Cast Iron), 51.25(Steel) and 174.75(Al Alloy)
Tc = Temperature at the center of the Piston Head (0C)
TE = Temperature at the edges of the Piston Head (0C)
(Tc – TE) = 220 0C (For Cast Iron) and 75 0C (For Al Alloy)

 Heat flowing through Piston Head (H):

H = C × HCV × m × BHP
Where, C = Constant representing that portion of the heat supplied to that
Engine which is absorbed by the Piston = 0.05
HCV = Higher Calorific value of the fuel (KJ/Kg)
= 45000 KJ/Kg (For Petrol)
= 47000 KJ/Kg (For Diesel)
m = Mass of the fuel used (Kg/BHP/s)
BHP = Break Horse Power per Cylinder

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Automobile Department L J Polytechnic, Ahmedabad
 Break Horse Power (BHP):
 Now, we know that Mechanical Efficiency (η m) is,

BHP (Output)
ηm = IHP (Input)

 Where, BHP = Break Horse Power

IHP = Indicated Horse Power

 So, Break Horse Power (BHP) is,

BHP = η m × IHP

 Indicated Horse Power (IHP):

Pm × L × A × n
IHP =
60,000
Where, Pm = IMEP (Indicated Mean Effective Pressure) (N/mm2)
L = Stroke length (mm) 2
A = Area of Piston Head (mm ) A =
2 Π D
4
Where, D = Bore Diameter (mm)

n = N/2 (If there is 4 Stroke engine)

= N (If there is 2 Stroke engine)

Where, N = RPM (Revolution per Minute)

2) Thickness of Piston Ribs (tR) (mm):

tH tH
tR = to
3 2
Where, tH = Thickness of Piston Head (mm)

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Automobile Department L J Polytechnic, Ahmedabad
B. Piston Rings:
1) Radial Thickness of Piston Ring (t1) (mm):

t1 = D √ 3 × pw
𝝈t
Where, pw = Pressure of Gas on the Cylinder Wall (N/mm2)
D = Cylinder Bore Diameter (mm)
𝝈t = Allowable Bending stress for the material of the Piston (MPa or N/mm2)
= 85 to 110 MPa (For Cast Iron Ring)

2) Axial Thickness of Piston Ring (t2) (mm):

t2 = (0.7 × t1) to (t1)

Where, t1 = Radial Thickness of Piston Ring (mm)

OR

t2 = D
10 NR

Where, D = Cylinder Bore Diameter (mm)

NR = Number of Rings

3) Width of Top Land (b1) (mm):

b1 = (tH) to (1.2 × tH)
Where, tH = Thickness of Piston Head (mm)

4) Width of Intermediate Land (b2) (mm):

b2 = (0.75 × t2) to (t2)
Where, t2= Axial Thickness of Piston Ring (mm)

5) Ring Gap (G1) (mm):

G1 = (3.5 × t1) to (4 × t1)
Where, t1 = Radial Thickness of Piston Ring (mm)
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Automobile Department L J Polytechnic, Ahmedabad
C. Piston Barrel:
1) Maximum Thickness of Piston Barrel (t3) (mm):
t3 = (0.03 × D) + (t1) + (4.9)
Where, t1 = Radial Thickness of Piston Ring (mm)

2) Piston wall thickness (t4) towards the open end is decreased and
should be taken as,
t4 = (0.25 × t3) to (0.35 × t3)

Where, t3 = Maximum thickness of Piston Barrel (mm)

D. Piston Skirt:
1) Maximum Gas Load on the Piston (PL) (Newton – N):
2
Pg × π × D
PL =
4
Where, Pg = Maximum Gas Pressure (N/mm2)

D = Bore Diameter (mm)

2) Maximum Side Thrust on the Cylinder (R) (Newton – N):

R = (0.1 × PL)
Where, PL = Maximum Gas Load on the Piston (N)

3) Length of the Piston Skirt (l) (mm):

R
l =
Pb × D

Where, R = Maximum Side Thrust on the Cylinder (N)

D = Bore Diameter (mm)
Pb = Bearing Pressure (N/mm2)
= 0.45 N/mm2 (If value is not given, take this value.)

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Automobile Department L J Polytechnic, Ahmedabad
4) Total length of the Piston (L) (mm):

[Axial
Top [Intermediate Thickness
Skirt
Land
L = Length + Width + Land Width (b2) + of the Ring
(l) × (NR - 1)] (t2)
(b1)
× NR]

L= (l) + (b1) + [(b2) × (NR - 1)] + [(t2) × NR]

Where, NR = Number of Rings

OR

L = D to (1.5 × D)
Where, D = Bore Diameter (mm)

E. Piston Pin:
1) Length of Piston Pin in the connecting rod (l1) (mm):

l1 = (0.45 × D)
Where, D = Bore Diameter (mm)

2) Length of Piston Pin between supports (l2) (mm):

l1 + D
l2 =
2
Where, l1 = Length of Piston Pin in the connecting rod (mm)
D = Bore Diameter (mm)

3) Outer diameter of Piston Pin (do) (mm):

PL
do =
Pb × l1
Where, PL = Maximum Gas Load on Piston (N)
2
Pg × π × D
= 4
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Automobile Department L J Polytechnic, Ahmedabad
2
Pb = Bearing Pressure (N/mm )
= 25 N/mm2 (If not given, take this value.)
l1 = Length of Piston Pin in the connecting rod (mm)

4) Inner diameter of Piston Pin (di) (mm):

di = 0.6 × do

Where, do = Outer diameter of the Piston Pin (mm)