Thermal Structural Optimization of IC Engine Piston Yousif Badri Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar Email: yb1903174@qu.edu.qa Ahmed Shamseldin Mechanical Engineering, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan Email: Ahmedshamsuddinsalih@gmail.com Jamil Renno and Sadok Sassi Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar Email: {Jamil.Renno, sadok.sassi} @qu.edu.qa Abstract—The primary purpose of this work is to investigate the effect of the piston crown and piston boss thicknesses on the stresses generated on the piston. A 150-cc piston, made from A4032 Aluminum, of type “Bajaj,” was considered in the present investigation. The piston head was subjected to a double-action of gas pressure and heat from the combustion process. Piston pin bore was considered to act as cylindrical support. ANSYS 15 was used to run the simulation process using the thermal structural couple technique. Different thicknesses of the piston crown and piston boss were selected and studied. The comparison and optimization processes depended on the Von-Mises stress, mass, and temperature distribution in the piston. Based on the stress values obtained for different piston sizes, the results clearly showed that the optimal piston design was 3 mm piston crown and 2 mm piston boss thicknesses. The optimal piston design reduced the total stress and mass, but it increased the temperature generated in the piston. Index Terms—ANSYS, Bajaj 150 cc, IC engine, Piston boss, I. INTRODUCTION During the last decades, numerous research works in the field of automotive engineering were devoted to the enhancement of engine performance. Moreover, the apparent connection between carbon dioxide emissions from engines and global warming, affecting the world severely, has urged scientists and engineers to develop a new class of lightweight engines that are less pollutant and more efficient. This target could be achieved through different techniques, among which optimization is considered as the best one. Such a method gives a total preview of the problem and helps to choose the best between possible alternatives. The enhancement of the engine performance is conducted by several optimization processes applied to Manuscript received July 5, 2020; revised December 6, 2020. the engine parts individually. One of the crucial elements that contribute directly to engine efficiency is the piston. However, optimization is usually an expensive process that needs numerous experimental studies and requires a large amount of material. Fortunately, non-destructive techniques were developed to meet the requirements of studies like these. II. LITERATURE REVIEW A thorough investigation of the literature shows many studies focusing on Piston simulations and the Internal Combustion engine (IC engine). In 2006, P. Carvalheira1 and P. Gonçalves [1] provided a finite element analysis (FEA) for two engine pistons, made of Aluminum cast alloy A390 and Ductile Iron 65-45-12. This work was a part of a low fuel consumption IC engine project applied to the new vehicle XC20i. Its main aim was to suggest two different materials for the piston and to choose the better one. After the material selection, an exhaustive analysis of the original design parameters was conducted to make the design more reliable and to improve its safety [1]. M. SreeDivya and K. Raja Gopal [2] worked on design and material optimization of the piston by using PROE and ANSYS. Their main objective was to attain less volume and better efficiency. They concluded that “the optimized design of a silumin piston can be used to reduce the material cost and to optimize the engine efficiency by minimizing its weight. The previous conclusion led to the selection of Silumin (AL-Si alloy) as the best material for the piston due to its excellent physical properties [2]. Along with the previous study, Ajay Raj Singh and Pushpendra Sharma conducted a thermal stress analysis studying three types of Aluminum alloys of a piston used inside a four-stroke single-cylinder engine of Bajaj Kawasaki motorcycle [3]. The Bajaj Kawasaki piston analysis identified a new approach to 12 International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research Vol. 10, No. 1, January 2021 © 2021 Int. J. Mech. Eng. Rob. Res doi: 10.18178/ijmerr.10.1.12-16 Piston crown, Thermal, and structural analysis