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Stream/Area:
-
Subject:
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Paper ID:
IJSREM65587
Volume:
10 |
6 |
Jun 2026
Pages:
1-6
Publication Frequency:
Monthly (12 issues per year)
License:International Journal of Scientific Research in Engineering and Management follows the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) License, allowing free use and distribution with proper attribution.
Mechanical Engineering
S B Patil College of Engineering Indapur
Conventional reciprocating internal combustion engines are strictly bound by the geometric and kinematic constraints of the classic slider-crank mechanism. This mechanical linkage introduces significant parasitic energy losses through piston side-thrust forces, fixes the operational compression ratio, and dictates a near-sinusoidal piston trajectory that fundamentally limits advanced thermodynamic cycle optimization. Crankshaftless architectures—such as Free-Piston Linear Engines (FPLE) and advanced linear-to-rotary mechanisms like the optimized Scotch Yoke—offer a highly adaptive path to decouple linear piston motion from fixed rotational geometry. This comprehensive paper presents an analytical, multi-objective structural and thermodynamic optimization framework tailored for next-generation crankshaftless configurations. Thermodynamically, a customized non-sinusoidal piston motion profile is derived using a coupled modified Wiebe heat release function and Woschni's convective heat transfer model. This profile demonstrates an absolute thermal efficiency increase of up to 4.2% driven by rapid volume expansion immediately away from Top Dead Center (TDC), effectively trapping thermal energy within the working fluid and minimizing transient wall losses. Structurally, multi-body dynamic simulations and non-linear Finite Element Analysis (FEA) are deployed to minimize the reciprocating translator mass while safeguarding structural block integrity under peak firing pressures of 15 MPa. The complete removal of articulating connecting rods eliminates angular geometric vectors, reducing lateral piston-skirt forces to near-zero and lowering total internal engine friction components by up to 38%. This work provides actionable layout metrics for high-efficiency hybrid vehicle range-extenders and modern distributed grid energy networks.
KEYWORDS
The coupled structural and thermodynamic optimization executed in this paper demonstrates that breaking away from traditional slider-crank geometric constraints opens up significant performance gains for reciprocating power systems. The key findings include: 1. Thermodynamically, customized non-sinusoidal piston trajectories shorten the high-temperature dwell period near TDC, cutting total convective wall heat transfer losses by 4.6% and increasing indicated thermal efficiency. 2. Structurally, the complete elimination of connecting rod articulation vectors drops lateral piston side-thrust forces to zero. This yields a major 38% reduction in internal mechanical friction components. 3. Advanced topology optimization proves that a hollow, tapered Ti-6Al-4V translator rod minimizes reciprocating mass while maintaining a high structural safety factor of 1.71 under extreme peak firing pressures of 20 MPa. In conclusion, these optimized crankshaftless architectures present an exceptionally viable, mechanically streamlined solution for ultra-efficient hybrid vehicle powertrains and modernized clean energy grids.
[1] F. Pescara, 'Free-piston internal combustion engine and compressor assemblies,' U.S. Patent 1,657,312, Jan. 24, 1928. [2] H. J. Schock, et al., 'Kinematic and Thermodynamic Evaluation of Free-Piston Linear Engines,' SAE Technical Paper Series, No. 2018-01-0382, 2018. [3] Z. Zuo, 'Multi-dimensional modeling of combustion and heat transfer in free-piston engines,' International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 112, pp. 432–445, 2021. [4] M. N. Achten, 'The Development of the Innas Free Piston Engine,' SAE Transactions: Journal of Engines, vol. 109, pp. 1290–1299, 2000. [5] G. Woschni, 'A Universally Applicable Equation for the Instantaneous Heat Transfer Coefficient in the Internal Combustion Engine,' SAE Technical Paper, No. 670931, 1967. [6] X. Jin and R. Chang, 'Topology Optimization of Reciprocating Assemblies in Advanced Internal Combustion Engines,' Journal of Mechanical Design, vol. 144, no. 4, pp. 211–223, 2024.
Publication Date
6/27/2026
Peer Review Type
Double-Blind Peer Review
Review Rounds: 2
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