Finite Element Analysis of the Four-Stroke Gasoline Engine Parameters Applied in Mechatronics Laboratory, Auchi Polytechnic, Nigeria

664 Nigerian Research Journal of Engineering and Environmental Sciences 10(2) 2025 pp. 664-670 p ISSN: 2635-3342; e ISSN: 2635-3350 Original Research Article Finite Element Analysis of the Four-Stroke Gasoline Engine Parameters Applied in Mechatronics Laboratory, Auchi Polytechnic, Nigeria 1Omoakhalen, A.I., 2Izuagie, F.I., 1Salim, I H. and *3Aliemeke, B.N.G. 1Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi, Nigeria. 2Department of Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi, Nigeria. 3Department of Welding and Fabrication Engineering, Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi, Nigeria. *[email protected]; [email protected] http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5045452 ARTICLE INFORMATION ABSTRACT Article history: Received 09 Nov. 2025 Revised 09 Dec. 2025 Accepted 19 Dec. 2025 Available online 30 Dec. 2025 The finite element analysis of a four-stroke gasoline engine piston parameters has been successfully carried out. Fundamentally, the two-stroke and four-stroke engine systems are predominantly applied in modern technology. The four-stroke is the most common type of internal combustion engine adopted because of its versatility in operation. It is made to complete its four piston movements of suction, compression, power, and expansion strokes in two revolutions, with one operation occurring after the other. The major components of the engine are the crankshaft, engine block, cylinder head, and piston. The engine parameters investigated were equivalent stresses, thermal stresses, total deformation, and total heat flux. The designed piston was imported into the finite element ANSYS workbench environment, where static structural and steady state thermal analysis tool systems were applied in determining the maximum and minimum values of the engine parameters. The maximum values of the equivalent stresses, total deformation, and total heat flux of the piston were determined to be 17.25 N/m2, 5.13 ×10-6 mm, and 6.13 ×10-7 W/mm2, respectively. The ability to understand how engine parameters are made to function in production has been well-established. © 2025 RJEES. All rights reserved. Keywords: Engine parameters Four stroke Finite element analysis Thermal stress Total deformation 1. INTRODUCTION The internal combustion engine, regarded as the power house of any automobile system, converts chemical energy in the form of fuel to heat energy and finally to mechanical energy which causes forces to be exerted on the pistons, thereby causing a rotation of the crankshaft (Venkatareddy and Goud, 2016). A good portion of the energy is converted to work while the remaining part is lost to heat and engine friction (Kaisan and Pam, 2013). Engine components are manufactured to be able to resist heat and convert energy inherent in the engine to overall and thermal efficiencies (Patel et al, 2016). 665 A.I. Omoakhalen et al. / Nigerian Research Journal of Engineering and Environmental Sciences 10(2) 2025 pp. 664-670 Materials deployed in the manufacture of components of an internal combustion engine must be ready to withstand heat and various stresses developed in the course of engine operation. Internal combustion engines are made up of various components depending on the mode of operation, number of strokes, and fuel type applied (Prajapati and Patel, 2017). Basically, two types of engine systems are predominantly used in modern technology. They are two-stroke and fourstroke engines (Amalu and Ibhadode, 2007). The four-stroke is the most common type of internal combustion engine adopted because of its versatility in operation. It has got more parts and their motion seemed highly synchronized as it completes two revolutions in four piston movements. The four-stroke gasoline engine has been in the forefront of automobile application right from the inception of the manufacture of automobiles and generators (Azhagan, et al, 2014). Its various components are regarded as the heart of the automobile systems. The components usually regarded in reciprocating four-stroke engines are crankshaft, pistons and piston rings, engine block, bearings, cylinder head and connecting rods (Aliemeke and Oladeinde, 2020). Several works have been done on the analysis on two-stroke gasoline and four-stroke gasoline engines. Vengatesvaran et al., (2018) analysed the effect of the reciprocating motion of the pistons in powering the movement of crankshaft. It emphasizes how the crankshaft applies mechanical energy converted from the fuel energy through explosion of gases inherent in the combustion chambers (Pulkrabek, 2003). The mechanical energy is transmitted to the flywheel and to the driver shafts connected to the driven machinery (Oji et al.,2013). Also, a major component of the internal combustion engine that has been investigated widely is the piston. Several researchers have directed their strength to the development of engine pistons because of its overwhelming relevance amongst the components that make up the engine set up (Mohiuddin, et al., 2015). The parameters of piston development investigated by Aliemeke and Oladeinde (2020) offered a great opportunity to understand how gasoline pistons produced from sand casting performed as well as a commercially available gasoline piston. The physical and material properties were also analysed and optimized as well. In the same vein, optimization of piston skirt, piston top and diameter were investigated by Ebhojiaye and Sadjere (2017) in a bid to develop a gasoline engine block. The work designed a cylinder block applicable in an 80 CC spark plug engine that could withstand a very high temperature and pressure when subjected to high magnitude of stresses. The various parameters designed were found to be relevant and competed favourably with commercially available engine components (Joshhi, 2019). This study intends to analyse engine parameters such as the equivalent and thermal stresses for the fourstroke gasoline engine as obtained in mechatronics. The study is aimed at analyzing a four-stroke gasoline engine parameters as applied in the mechatronics laboratory of Auchi Polytechnic using the finite element method. 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS 2.1. Materials The materials deployed in the study are AutoCAD software and Finite Element ANSYS Workbench software. 2.2. Design of the Piston In designing the engine piston, Table 1 was used as a guide for attributing specifications for the determination of the engine parameters. The piston diameter was calculated by applying Equation (1) obtained from Heywood, (1988). 𝑉 𝑠=𝜋𝑛𝑃𝑑 2𝑆𝐿 4 (1) Where Vs= swept volume, Pd=Piston diameter, SL=Stroke length and n=number of cylinders The ratio of piston diameter to stroke length was taken to be 0.9 as shown in Table 1. 666 A.I. Omoakhalen et al. / Nigerian Research Journal of Engineering and Environmental Sciences 10(2) 2025 pp. 664-670 The piston wall thickness was determined by applying Equation (2) obtained from Khurmi and Gupta (2014). 𝑇𝑘=𝑀𝑝× 𝑃𝑑 2𝛿𝑡 + 𝑅𝑏 (2) Where Tk=Wall thickness in mm, Mp=maximum pressure , Rb=reboring factor, and δt= Circumferential stress in N/mm2 Table 1: Internal combustion engine data (Aliemeke and Oladeinde, 2020) The cylinder length was determined be applying Equation (3) obtained from Sharma and Aggarwal (2013). 𝐶𝐿= 𝑆𝐿+ 15%𝑆𝐿 (3) Where CL= Cylinder block length The clearance volume was determined by applying Equation (4) obtained from Khurmi and Gupta (2008) 𝑐𝑝=𝑉 𝑠+ 𝐶𝑣 𝐶𝑣 (4) Where Cv=clearance volume and Cr= compression ratio 2.3. Finite Element Tool Systems The designed piston was introduced into the ANSYS workbench to apply tool systems such as static structural and steady-state thermal analysis (Carvelheira and Goncalves, 2006). The static structural was employed to determine the equivalent stress and total deformation that can be applied to the engine component. In this same vein, the thermal analysis tool system of the workbench was applied to the designed piston to determine the thermal stresses that can be withstood by the developed piston. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1. Summary of Piston Dimensions The piston dimensions determined from calculations based on the application of mathematical equations are shown in Table 2. The dimensions were found to be in accordance with those obtained in Aliemeke and Oladeinde (2020). The designed piston had a cylinder block diameter that accommodated a piston with a stroke of 51.25 mm and a cylinder wall thickness of 3.00 mm. A cylinder block length of the engine, calculated to be 58.50 mm, maintained a clearance volume of 9.45cm3. These values were found to be within the standard four-stroke gasoline engine parameters. This implies that the designed piston can be regarded as a standard one, as the various parameters calculated fell within the accepted template range. Table 2: Summary of the designed dimensions Parameter Designed value Cylinder block diameter 46.20 mm Piston stroke 51.25 mm Cylinder wall thickness 3.00 mm Cylinder block length 58.50 mm Clearance volume 9.45 cm3 667 A.I. Omoakhalen et al. / Nigerian Research Journal of Engineering and Environmental Sciences 10(2) 2025 pp. 664-670 3.2. Graphical Modelling of the Engine Piston The graphical modeling was carried out using the AutoCAD software. The isometric and third-angle orthographic projections of the engine piston are shown in Figures 1 and 2, respectively. The diagram showed the vital parts of the piston, such as the piston skirt, top, grooves, and piston head. Figure 1: Isometric drawing of the piston Figure 2: Third-angle orthographic projection of the piston 3.3. Finite Element Analysis using Static Structural The Finite Element analysis was used to determine the inherent equivalent stresses in the piston using the static structural tool system. The simulation of the piston in the static structural tool system was accomplished by the deployment of 5249 elements and 10729 nodes. A maximum and minimum equivalent stresses were determined to be 1758.4 N/m2 and 92.6 N/m2, respectively, as shown in Figure 3. Putting the values into perspective, it is observed that the piston crown was the part of the component that was most stressed, while the skirt was the least stressed area, as portrayed by Figure 3. The obtained values were similar to those obtained in Vengatesvaran et al. (2018). 668 A.I. Omoakhalen et al. / Nigerian Research Journal of Engineering and Environmental Sciences 10(2) 2025 pp. 664-670 Figure 3: Finite element analysis for the Equivalent stress Figure 4: Simulated total deformation of the piston Applying the static structural model on the piston in determining the total deformation of the piston, which was meshed to attain a quick and accurate result, which recorded a maximum deformation of 6.15 × 10-7 mm as shown in Figure 4. The deformation is withstood to the barest minimum at the piston top. 3.4. Finite Element Analysis using Steady-State Thermal Analysis The designed piston was imported into the steady-state thermal environment of the ANSYS workbench software. The meshed piston shown in Figure 5 was subjected to a temperature of about 60 oC, which yielded a total heat flux of 5.13 ×10-14 W/mm2 as shown in Figure 6. The concentration of the heat was discovered more at the top of the piston. Figure 5: Simulated meshed piston Figure 6: Simulated total heat flux of the piston 669 A.I. Omoakhalen et al. / Nigerian Research Journal of Engineering and Environmental Sciences 10(2) 2025 pp. 664-670 4. CONCLUSION A detailed analysis of the four-stroke gasoline engine piston parameters as applied in Mechatronics has been adequately examined in depth. Basically, the two-stroke and four-stroke engine systems are prevalently employed in the engine component manufacturing sector. The four-stroke engine arrangement is mainly as a result of its multipurpose functionality in the automobile world. It is made to complete its engine operation of suction, compression, power, and expansion strokes in two revolutions. The major components of the engine are the crankshaft, engine block, cylinder head, and piston. The engine parameters investigated were equivalent stresses, thermal stresses, total deformation, and total heat flux. The designed piston was exported from the AutoCAD software into the Finite Element ANSYS workbench environment, where static structural and steady state thermal analysis tool systems were deployed in determining the maximum and minimum values of the engine piston parameters. The equivalent stresses, total deformation, and total heat flux of the piston had their maximum values determined to be 17.25 N/m2, 5.13 ×10-6 mm, and 6.13 ×10-7 W/mm2, respectively. The study presented designed mechanical properties that are required in the production of engine components. 5. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors of this research work wish to extend their profound appreciation to the management of TETFund, Abuja, and Auchi Polytechnic for the financial support. 6. 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