The rising use of three-wheeler cars in commercial transportation in Nigeria has created a growing need for durable, cost-effective engine parts that can be adjusted to local operating conditions. The majority of the crankshafts that are in use today are imported and engineered to work on smoother roads, and thus they are prone to premature failure in such conditions in Nigeria, as the roads are harsh in nature, the ambient temperatures are high, the loads on the shock, and the lubrication are issues. This paper aimed at optimization and analysis of a crankshaft of a single-cylinder four-stroke engine of a TVS King Deluxe Plus three-wheeler, which is specifically designed to operate on the Nigerian roads. This methodology was physical measurement of crankshaft that existed, analytical calculation of bending and torsional stress, selection of material using mechanical properties, fatigue resistance, corrosion resistance, vibration damping and cost considerations. It was modeled in three dimensions in SolidWorks and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was done in ANSYS to measure von Mises stress distribution, cumulative deformation as well as thermal strain when subjected to mixed loading of mechanical and thermal loads. A comparative evaluation was conducted on two candidate materials AISI 1045 steel and SG 700/2 ductile iron. The findings showed that higher levels of stress were recorded at the crankpin fillet areas. The optimized design was found to have improved stress distributions and fatigue performances and structural integrity. Based on the ANSYS results, SG 700/2 seemed to have better fatigue strength and demonstrated to be more efficient in vibration-damping. The local production viability was backed by cost analysis. The research paper offers a context-based solution to the design of the crankshaft, which improves reliability, lowers reliance on imported components, and promotes sustainable production of automotive components in Nigeria.
Keywords
Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Crankshaft, Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Fatigue, Von Mises Stress.