Introduction

A reciprocating engine is also known as a piston engine. It is a heat engine that uses
one or more reciprocating pistons to convert pressure into a rotating motion. The main types
are the internal combustion engine, used extensively in motor vehicles, the steam engine and
the niche application Stirling engine. Internal Combustion engines are further classified in
two ways as a spark-ignition (SI) engine, where the spark plug initiates the combustion or
a compression-ignition (CI) engine, where the air within the cylinder is compressed, thus
heating it, so that the heated air ignites fuel that is injected then or earlier. Each piston is
inside a cylinder, into which a gas is introduced. The hot gases expand, pushing the piston to
the bottom of the cylinder. This position is also known as the Bottom Dead Centre (BDC), or
where the piston forms the largest volume in the cylinder. The piston is returned to the
cylinder top (Top Dead Centre) (TDC) by a flywheel, the power from other pistons connected
to the same shaft or (in a double acting cylinder) by the same process acting on the other side
of the piston. This is where the piston forms the smallest volume in the cylinder. In most
types the expanded or "exhausted" gases are removed from the cylinder by this stroke.
Types of Piston Engine
There are two types of piston engines. They are Spark Ignition and Compression
Ignition. A petrol engine is an internal combustion engine with spark-ignition, designed to
run on petrol (gasoline) and similar volatile fuels. In most petrol engines, the fuel and air are
usually pre-mixed before compression (although some modern petrol engines now use
cylinder-direct petrol injection). The pre-mixing was formerly done in a carburettor, but now
it is done by electronically controlled fuel injection. The process differs from a diesel
engine in the method of mixing the fuel and air, and in using spark plugs to initiate the
combustion process.
The diesel engine is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel that
has been injected into the combustion chamber is initiated by the high temperature which a
gas achieves when greatly compressed (adiabatic compression). This contrasts with sparkignition engines such as a petrol engine (gasoline engine) or gas engine (using a gaseous fuel
as opposed to gasoline), which use a spark plug to ignite an air-fuel mixture. The diesel
engine has the highest thermal efficiency of any practical internal or external combustion
engine due to its very high compression ratio.

Petrol engine
Gasoline or petrol engines are also known as spark-ignition (S.I.) engines. Petrol
engines take in a flammable mixture of air and petrol which is ignited by a timed spark when
the charge is compressed. Four stroke Spark-ignition (S.I) engines require four piston strokes
to complete one cycle: an air-and-fuel intake stroke moving outward from the cylinder head,
an inward movement towards the cylinder head compressing the charge, an outward power
stroke, and an inward exhaust stroke.
Induction stroke: - The inlet valve is opened and the exhaust valve is closed. The piston
descends, moving away from the cylinder head. The speed of the piston moving along the
cylinder creates a pressure reduction or depression which reaches a maximum below
atmospheric pressure at one-third from the beginning of the stroke
Compression stroke: - Both the inlet and the exhaust valves are closed. The piston begins to
ascend towards the cylinder head. The induced air-and-petrol charge is progressively
compressed to something of the order of one-eighth to one-tenth of the cylinder's original
volume at the piston's innermost position. This compression squeezes the air and atomizedpetrol molecules closer together and not only increases the charge pressure in the cylinder but
also raises the temperature.
Power stroke: - Both the inlet and the exhaust valves are closed and just before the piston
approaches the top of its stroke during compression, a spark-plug ignites the dense
combustible charge. By the time the piston reaches the innermost point of its stroke, the
charge mixture begins to burn, generates heat, and rapidly raises the pressure in the cylinder
until the gas forces exceed the resisting load. The burning gases then expand and so change
the piston's direction of motion and push it to its outermost position. The cylinder pressure
then drops from a peak value.
Exhaust stroke: - At the end of the power stroke the inlet valve remains closed but the
exhaust valve is opened. The piston changes its direction of motion and now moves from the
outermost to the innermost position. Most of the burnt gases will be expelled by the existing
pressure energy of the gas, but the returning piston will push the last of the spent gases out of
the cylinder through the exhaust-valve port and to the atmosphere. During the exhaust stroke,
the gas pressure in the cylinder will fall from the exhaust-valve opening pressure to
atmospheric pressure.

Piston
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines. It is the moving component that is
contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to
transfer force from expanding gas in the cylinder to the crankshaft via connecting rod. In
some engines, the piston also acts as a valve by covering and uncovering ports in the cylinder
wall. There are different types of pistons with unique functions.
Trunk pistons
Trunk pistons are long relative to their diameter. They act both as a piston and
cylindrical crosshead. As the connecting rod is angled for much of its rotation, there is also a
side force that reacts along the side of the piston against the cylinder wall. Trunk pistons have
been a common design of piston since the early days of the reciprocating internal combustion
engine. They were used for both petrol and diesel engines, although high speed engines have
now adopted the lighter weight slipper piston.
Crosshead pistons
Large slow-speed Petrol engines may require additional support for the side forces on
the piston. These engines typically use crosshead pistons. The main piston has a large piston
rod extending downwards from the piston to what is effectively a second smaller-diameter
piston. The main piston is responsible for gas sealing and carries the piston rings. The smaller
piston is purely a mechanical guide. It runs within a small cylinder as a trunk guide and also
carries the gudgeon pin.
Slipper pistons
A slipper piston is a piston for a petrol engine that has been reduced in size and
weight as much as possible. In the extreme case, they are reduced to the piston crown,
support for the piston rings, and just enough of the piston skirt remaining to leave two lands
so as to stop the piston rocking in the bore. The sides of the piston skirt around the gudgeon
pin are reduced away from the cylinder wall. The purpose is mostly to reduce the
reciprocating mass, thus making it easier to balance the engine and so permit high speeds. A
secondary benefit may be some reduction in friction with the cylinder wall, since the area of
the skirt, which slides up and down in the cylinder is reduced by half. However most friction
is due to the piston rings, which are the parts which actually fit the tightest in the bore and the
bearing surfaces of the wrist pin, the benefit is reduced.

Connecting Rod
A connecting rod is an engine component that transfers motion from the piston to the
crankshaft and functions as a lever arm. Connecting rods are commonly made from cast
aluminium alloy and are designed to withstand dynamic stresses from combustion and piston
movement. The small end of the connecting rod connects to the piston with a piston pin.
The piston pin, or wrist pin, provides a pivot point between the piston and connecting rod.
Spring clips, or piston pin locks, are used to hold the piston pin in place.
The big end of the connecting rod connects to the crankpin journal to provide a pivot
point on the crankshaft. Connecting rods are produces as one piece or two-piece components.
A rod cap is the removable section of a two-piece connecting rod that provides a bearing
surface for the crankpin journal. The rod cap is attached to the connecting rod with two cap
screws for installation and removal from the crankshaft.
As a connecting rod is rigid, it may transmit either a push or a pull and so the rod may
rotate the crank through both halves of a revolution, i.e. piston pushing and piston pulling.
Earlier mechanisms, such as chains, could only pull. In a few two-stroke engines, the
connecting rod is only required to push. Today, connecting rods are best known through their
use in internal combustion piston engines, such as automotive engines. These are of a
distinctly different design from earlier forms of connecting rods, used in steam engines and
steam locomotives.
Connecting Rod Materials
1. Titanium Alloy
2. Aluminium Alloy
3. Drop Forged Steel Alloy
Titanium Alloy: - Titanium alloys are metals that contain a mixture of titanium and
other chemical elements. Such alloys have very high tensile strength and toughness even at
extreme temperatures. They are light in weight, have extraordinary corrosion resistance and
the ability to withstand extreme temperatures. However, the high cost of both raw materials
and processing limit their use to military applications, aircraft, spacecraft, medical devices,
highly stressed components such as connecting rods on expensive sports cars and some
premium sports equipment and consumer electronics.

Aluminium Alloy: - Aluminium alloys with a wide range of properties are used in
engineering structures. Alloy systems are classified by a number system (ANSI) or by names
indicating their main alloying constituents (DIN and ISO). Selecting the right alloy for a
given application entails considerations of its tensile strength, density, ductility, formability,
workability, weld ability, and corrosion resistance, to name a few. Aluminium alloys are used
extensively in aircraft due to their high strength-to-weight ratio. On the other hand, pure
aluminium metal is much too soft for such uses, and it does not have the high tensile strength
that is needed for airplanes and helicopters.
Drop Forged Steel Alloy: - Alloy steel is steel that is alloyed with a variety of elements in
total amounts between 1.0% and 50% by weight to improve its mechanical properties. Alloy
steels are broken down into two groups: low-alloy steels and high-alloy steels. The difference
between the two is somewhat arbitrary: Most commonly, the phrase "alloy steel" refers to
low-alloy steels.
All steel is an alloy, but not all steels are called "alloy steels". The simplest steels
are iron (Fe) alloyed with carbon (C) (about 0.1% to 1%, depending on type). However, the
term "alloy steel" is the standard term referring to steels with other alloying elements added
deliberately in addition to the carbon. Common alloyants include manganese (the most
common one), nickel, chromium, molybdenum, vanadium, silicon, and boron.
The following is a range of improved properties in alloy steels as compared to carbon
steels. Strength, hardness, toughness, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, hardenability,
and hot hardness. To achieve some of these improved properties the metal may require heat
treating. Some of these find uses in exotic and highly-demanding applications, such as in the
turbine blades of jet engines, in spacecraft, and in nuclear reactors. Because of
the ferromagnetic properties of iron, some steel alloys find important applications where their
responses to magnetism are very important, including in electric motors and in transformers.
Crank Web
The portion of a crank between the crankpin and the shaft or between adjacent
crankpins - called also crank arm, crank throw.
Crank Pin

In a reciprocating engine, the crankpins, also known as crank journals are

Materials of Crank Web & Pin: - It is usually made by steel. Generally medium carbon
steel alloys are composed of iron and contain a small percentage of Carbon (0.25% to
0.45%), along with combination of several alloying elements, the mix of which. The alloying
elements typically used in these carbon steels are manganese, chromium, molybdenum,
nickel, silicon, cobalt, vanadium, and sometimes aluminium and titanium. In addition to
alloying elements, high strength steels are carefully refined so as to remove as many of the
undesirable impurities as possible like sulphur, phosphorous, calcium, etc. The highest
quality steels are also used. The required purity can often only be achieved by melting in a
vacuum, then re melting in a vacuum to further refine the metal.