Responses of Aluminium Alloy Pistons under Mechanical and Thermal Loads
A comparative study of three different aluminium alloys, Al2618, Al4032 and Al6061 made internal combustion engine pistons is done on their responses under mechanical and thermal loads using finite element methods. In this study, a 3D solid model of piston is created in CATIA and the simulations of the static structural analysis, steady-state thermal analysis and transient thermal analysis are carried out in ANSYS. Stress and temperature distributions on critical areas of piston are pointed out for appropriate modification in piston design. The temperature and heat flux variations with time are presented in transient thermal analysis. Taguchi method and topological optimization are applied to optimize the process parameters and to select the appropriate material for the piston.