Piston design and analysis: Parameterized and complete finite element analysis approach for the assessment of piston performance

Modeling the thermal and mechanical behavior of a piston is crucial, as it allows for the prediction of piston characteristics such as dynamics and friction. These characteristics directly affect the efficiency of an internal combustion engine. In this thesis, two studies are conducted; an evaluation of the parameterized piston modeling method and a development of a finite element program for a full piston model analysis.;For the first study, a parameterized piston model is generated using a set of selected geometrical parameters from the production piston model according to the standard of CASE, a cylinder-kit simulation software. A finite element analysis is conducted for both the parameterized piston model and the production piston model using the software COSMOSDesignSTAR. A comparison of the two models shows good agreement in both thermal and mechanical characteristics. CASE is used to demonstrate the advantages of the parameterized model in the assessment of piston performance.;For the second study, a piston finite element analysis program is developed. The capabilities of the program are demonstrated using a full piston CAD model. The meshed geometry of the CAD model is imported and an analysis is performed over a full four stroke cycle. The piston's elastic behavior under thermal and mechanical loads is verified with COSMOSDesignSTAR and the elastohydrodynamic lubrication analysis results show that this model is capable of predicting the piston behavior and performance.