ANSYS STRUCTURAL: Connecting Rod Static Simulation

In this project, we performed a structural simulation of a Connecting Rod using ANSYS Static Structural.

What are Connecting Rods?

Connecting rods are components that transmit motion and force between the piston and the crankshaft in internal combustion engines, compressors, and other machinery. The connecting rods with the I-beam section are the most typical type, containing the best strength-to-weight ratio.

Geometry Definition:

We modeled the geometry of the computational domain with Design Modeler software. The computational domain corresponds to a single connecting rod, which joins the small end to the large end.

Mesh:

We meshed the computational domain to create a discretized domain. An unstructured grid was created, so that about 20,000 elements were generated.

ANSYS Static Structural:

There are different solvers and software available for users for structural modeling. For the present simulation, we utilize the ANSYS Static Structural Solver. The overall procedure and main steps required for static structural simulations include the definition of materials, connections, different types of boundary conditions, and post-processing.

How to define boundary conditions?

First, we defined a force load boundary condition on the inner surface of the small hole end related to the bushing rod. This loading represents the force due to the wrist pin that presses into the bore. As the connecting rod is under axial force between the two ends, the force was defined in a certain direction, with Cartesian components. Next, we defined a fixed support boundary condition on the inner surface of the large hole end related to the bearing rod. This constrained the connecting rod due to the clamping of the bolts tightly around the crankpin.

What is the purpose of this simulation?

This investigation aims to evaluate the structural response of the connecting rod under loading and study the solid behavior with analysis of distributions of the total deformation, elastic strain, and von Mises stress.

Results and discussions:

The total deformation distribution indicates that maximum deflection occurs at the small end, where the connecting rod undergoes force loading in specified directions. The stress distribution indicates that the maximum stress appears near the fillets where the rods connect to the two ends and around the inner surface of the small end hole.