Modern high performance engines are usually characterized by high power densities, which lead to high mechanical and thermal loadings acting on engine components. In this scenario, aluminum may not represent the best choice for piston manufacturing and steel may be considered as a valid alternative. In this article, a methodology involving optimization techniques is presented for the design of an internal combustion engine piston. In particular, a design strategy is preliminary investigated aiming at replacing the standard aluminum piston, usually manufactured by forging or casting, with an alternative one made of steel and manufactured via an Additive Manufacturing process. Three different loading conditions are employed for the topology optimizations setup. Optimization results are then interpreted and the various structural features of the steel piston are designed starting from the density distribution contour plots. Different Finite Element thermomechanical models are finally prepared in order to correct and validate the designed geometry.

This paper presents the development of a parallel hybrid power unit for Formula SAE application. In particular, the system is made up of a brand new, single-cylinder 480 cc internal combustion engine developed on the basis of the Ducati “959 Superquadro” V90 2-cylinders engine. The thermal engine is assisted by a custom electric motor (30 kW), powered by a Li-Ion battery pack. The performance of the ICE has been optimized through CFD-1D simulation (a review of this activity is reported in a parallel paper). The main design goal is to get the maximum amount of mechanical energy from the fuel, considering the car typical usage: racing on a windy track. The Ducati “959 Superquadro” engine is chosen because of its high power-to-weight ratio, as well as for its V90 2-cylinder layout. In fact, the vertical engine head is removed and it is subsequently replaced by the electric motor directly engaged to the crankshaft using the original valvetrain transmission chain, thus achieving a very compact package. The mechanical behaviour of the original chain is investigated for this purpose. A specific electric motor case is then designed and manufactured via Additive Manufacturing technology, in order to include the chain housing, the electric motor cooling system and the lubrication system. Furthermore, the case flange is designed to perfectly fit to the original engine deck in order to allow the engine cooling circuit to match with the electric motor cooling circuit. Several types of circuit layout - around the stator - are analysed via CFD simulations comparing pressure drop and heat transfer coefficients. Finally, a thermo-structural analysis is performed in order to assess the mechanical strength of the electric motor case.

Advances in modern engines are becoming more and more challenging. The intense increase of thermal and mechanical loads, as a consequence of a higher power density, requires the improvement of the main couplings encountered between moving engine components. In this scenario, the cylinder liner/piston coupling plays a crucial role in terms of engine performance and durability, especially with regards to pollution emission and friction reduction. In this paper a numerical methodology is proposed, which aims at simplifying the Finite Element evaluation of the cylinder liner bore distortion in an eight-cylinder V-type four stroke turbocharged engine. Finite Element simulations are performed to obtain a virtual approval of the component geometry, in advance with respect to the component manufacturing. In particular, preliminary Finite Element analyses are developed which accurately follow the experimental procedure, where a single engine bank is coupled with a simplified test engine head. The Finite Element model is properly tuned in order to obtain the same cylinder liner distortion registered by experimental measurements. Further Finite Element analyses, both thermal and thermo-mechanical, are then performed to evaluate the cylinder liner distortion considering the actual engine head. In order to speed up the analyses, the engine head, the gasket, and the bolt tightening are subsequently substituted by pressure distributions mimicking the actual contact interactions. The methodology reveals itself to be well correlated with the experimental evidences and with the complete Finite Element model of the engine bank thus consisting in a useful tool for reducing the time necessary for the component approval.