Geometric Effects on Stiffness in Big End Structure of Connecting Rod

The main role of the connecting rod in the engine is to deliver the firing load to the crankshaft. In order to carry out successfully the function, it is need to grasp the rotating crankshaft and also to keep the good stiffness of the big-end of the connecting rod in acceptable ranges during engine operation. When the stiffness of the big-end is needed to be reinforced, in general, some geometric dimensions are simply increased without consideration of their complex effects on deformation. Sometimes the reinforced geometry causes negative effects on the stiffness.

This paper focuses on the effect of geometric parameters on stiffness in the big-end structure of connection rod by using Taguchi method. It is found that the side flange is the most influencing parameters. The FEA simulated results are compared with experiments.