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Crankshafts

Crankshafts are one of the most crucial components of internal combustion engines
and are subjected to very high dynamic loads during engine use.

From: Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicle Technologies for Improved

Environmental Performance, 2014

Related terms:

Camshafts

Compressors

Connecting Rods

Crankcases

Diesel Engines

Flywheels

Pistons

Friction

Main Bearing

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The crankshaft

Hiroshi Yamagata, in The Science and Technology of Materials in Automotive Engines,

2005

8.1 Functions

The crankshaft converts reciprocative motion to rotational motion. It contains

counter weights to smoothen the engine revolutions. There are two types of
crankshaft, the monolithic type (Fig. 8.1), used for multi-cylinder engines, and
the assembled type (Fig. 8.2) fabricated from separate elements, which is mainly
used for motorcycles. The type of crankshaft determines what kind of connecting
rods are used, and the possible combinations of crankshafts and connecting rods and
their applications are listed in Table 8.1.

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8.1. Monolithic crankshaft for a four-stroke engine. The fueling holes are for
lubrication.

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8.2. An assembly type crankshaft for a single-cylinder motorcycle. A connecting
rod, a needle bearing and crankshaft bearings are already assembled.

Table 8.1. Combination of crankshafts with connecting rods. The monolithic

crankshaft uses the assembled connecting rod, while the assembled crankshaft uses
the monolithic connecting rod

Crankshaft typeCon-rod typeEngineMonolithicAssemblyMulti-cylinder four-stroke car

engine, outboard marine
enginesAssemblyMonolithicSingle- or twin-cylinder four-
stroke engine, two-stroke engine

Crankshafts are made from forged steel or cast iron. Crankshafts for high-volume,
low-load production vehicles are generally constructed from nodular cast iron,
which has high strength (see Appendix D). Fuel-efficient engines require a high
power-to-displacement ratio, which has increased the use of forged crankshafts. The
proportions of the materials used for crankshafts in car engines in 2003 were
estimated to be, cast iron 25%, toughened (quenched and high-temperature tempered)
or normalized steel 20%, and micro-alloyed steel 55%. Table 8.2 shows the chemical
compositions of steel crankshafts.

Table 8.2. Chemical compositions of crankshaft materials(%). JIS-S45C, S50C and

S55C are plain carbon steel. In general, these are used in normalized state. JIS-
SCM415, 420 and 435 are Cr-Mo steel, which are usually used in a quench- hardened
state. The inside portion of a thick rod is unlikely to harden with quenching
because of the slow cooling rate. Steels containing increased Cr and Mo can harden
the deep inside portion of a thick rod

Chemical
compositionsCSiMnP, SCrMoVJIS-S45C0.450.250.80.03–––JIS-S50C0.50.250.80.03–––JIS-
S55C0.550.250.80.03–––JIS-SCM4150.150.250.80.03–––JIS-SCM4200.20.250.80.0310.2–JIS-
SCM4350.350.250.80.0310.2–Micro-alloyed steel0.50.250.80.03––0.1

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Advanced and conventional internal combustion engine materials

L.L. Myagkov, ... I. Makhkamova, in Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicle

Technologies for Improved Environmental Performance, 2014

11.6.1 Crankshafts

Crankshafts are one of the most crucial components of internal combustion

engines and are subjected to very high dynamic loads during engine use. The
selection of materials and manufacturing methods depend on the type of engine and
the geometry and design of the crankshaft. It is necessary to use high strength
materials to ensure a long operational life. Steel crankshafts are usually
manufactured by forging or die forging or by casting if the material is cast iron.

In low and medium speed engines, crankshafts are frequently made of low alloy
carbon steels such as 1034, 1035, 1038 (UK: 060A35, 080A32, 080A35, 080A5, 080 M36,
1449-40CS, 40HS, C35; Russia: 35); 1040 and 1042 (UK: 060A40, 080A40, 080 M40, C40,
C40E, CS40; Russia: 40); 1050, 1055 (UK: 060A52, 070 M55, 080 M50, C50E, C55;
Russia: 50); 1037 (UK: Gr.A; Germany: GS20Mn5; Russia: 35Г); 1039, 1041, 1043 (UK:
150 M36; Russia: 40Г); 1045, 1046 (UK: 080 M46, C45, C45E; Russia: 45Г); 1053 (UK:
080 M50, C50E; Russia: 50Г).

Crankshafts for automobile and tractor engines are made of 1044, 1045, 1045H (UK:
060A47, 080 M, 080 M46, 1449-50CS, 1449-50HS, 50HS, C45, C45E; Russia: 45); 1040,
1046 (UK: 080 M46, C45, C45E; Russia: 45Г); 1053 (UK: 080 M50, C50E; Russia: 50Г)
steels and also of 5135, 5140, 5140H, 5140RH (UK: 37Cr4, 41Cr4, 530A36, 530A40,
530H36, 530H40, 530 M40; Russia: 40X); 3135, 3140H (UK: 640 M40; Russia: 40XH);
1144, 1345, 1345H (Germany: 46Mn27; Russia: 45Г2); 4340 (UK: 817A37, 818 M40;
Russia: 40X2H2MA) steel alloys. Thermal treatment of the steel after hardening and
low temperature tempering provides the martensite structure of the material.

Steels such as chromium vanadium, chromium-molybdenum, nickel-chromium and nickel-

chromium molybdenum alloys 4130, 4130H (UK: 25CrMo4; Russia: 30XMA); 4340 (UK:
817A37, 818 M40; Russia: 40X2H2MA); 25H2N4WA (Poland) or 25X2H4MA (Russia), 38XH3MA
(Russia) or SNC28 (Japan) are used for manufacturing crankshafts for highspeed,
high power diesel engines for various applications.

Crankshafts in marine, stationary, locomotive and tractor engines are often made by

casting modified cast iron, such as 60-40-18 (UK: EN-GJS-420-12; Russia: BЧ40) with
a globular graphite and pearlite-ferrite structure. Carbon steels and alloy steels
may also be used for this purpose.

Cast iron crankshafts are cheaper and less time consuming to manufacture than those
made from forged steel. Metal may be more economically used in the casting
process when the design of the crankshaft becomes more complex. The wear resistance
of the main and crankpin bearings increases due to the presence of graphite in cast
iron. The reliability of the crankshaft is also improved due to the high cyclic
strength of cast iron. However, it should be noted that the mechanical strength of
cast iron crankshafts is inferior to those forged from steel and it is more
difficult to determine internal casting defects.

When Babbitt bearings or hard alloys such as leaded bronze are used for
manufacturing bearing shells, heat treatment is used to obtain the high levels of
hardness required for increased wear resistance in the crankshaft journals.

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Friction clutch

Heinz Heisler MSc., BSc., F.I.M.I., M.S.O.E., M.I.R.T.E., M.C.I.T., M.I.L.T.,

in Advanced Vehicle Technology (Second Edition), 2002

2.2.2 Torsional damping of driven plate

Crankshaft torsional vibration(Fig. 2.6) Engine crankshafts are subjected to

torsional wind-up and vibration at certain speeds due to the power impulses.
Superimposed onto some steady mean rotational speed of the crankshaft will be
additional fluctuating torques which will accelerate and decelerate the crankshaft,
particularly at the front pulley end and to a lesser extent the rear flywheel end
(Fig. 2.6). If the flywheel end of the crankshaft were allowed to twist in one
direction and then the other while rotating at certain critical speeds, the
oscillating angular movements would take up the backlash between meshing gear teeth
in the transmission system. Consequently, the teeth of the driving gears would be
moving between the drive (pressure side) and non-drive tooth profiles of the driven
gears. This would result in repeated shockloads imposed on the gear teeth, wear,
and noise in the form of gear clatter. To overcome the effects of
crankshaft torsional vibrations a torsion damping device is normally incorporated
within the driven plate hub assembly which will now be described and explained.

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Fig. 2.6. Characteristics of crankshaft torsional vibrations undamped and damped

Construction and operation of torsional damper springs (Figs 2.2, 2.3 and 2.7) To

transmit torque more smoothly and progressively during take-up of normal driving
and to reduce torsional oscillations being transmitted from the crankshaft to the
transmission, compressed springs are generally arranged circumferentially around
the hub of the driven plate (Figs 2.2 and 2.3). These springs are inserted in
elongated slots formed in both the flange of the splined hub and the side plates
which enclose the hub's flange (Fig. 2.3). These side plates are riveted together
by either three or six rivet posts which pass through the flanged hub limit slots.
This thus provides a degree of relative angular movement between hub and side
plates. The ends of the helical coil springs bear against both central hub flange
and the side plates. Engine torque is therefore transmitted from the friction face
linings and side plates through the springs to the hub flange, so that any
fluctuation of torque will cause the springs to compress and rebound accordingly.

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Fig. 2.7. Characteristics of driven plate torsional spring torques to deflection

take-up

Multistage driven plate torsional spring dampers may be incorporated by using a

range of different springs having various stiffnesses and spring location slots of
different lengths to produce a variety of parabolic torsional load-deflection
characteristics (Fig. 2.7) to suit specific vehicle applications.

The amount of torsional deflection necessary varies for each particular

application. For example, with a front mounted engine and rear wheel drive vehicle,
a moderate driven plate angular movement is necessary, say six degrees, since the
normal transmission elastic wind-up is almost adequate, but with an integral
engine, gearbox and final drive arrangement, the short transmission drive length
necessitates considerably more relative angular deflection, say twelve degrees,
within the driven plate hub assembly to produce the same quality of take-up.

Construction and operation of torsional damper washers (Figs 2.2, 2.3 and 2.8) The

torsional energy created by the oscillating crankshaft is partially absorbed and
damped by the friction washer clutch situated on either side of the hub flange
(Figs 2.2 and 2.3). Axial damping load is achieved by a Belleville dished washer
spring mounted between one of the side plates and a four lug thrust washer.

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Fig. 2.8. Characteristics of driven plate torsional damper thrust spring

The outer diameter of this dished spring presses against the side plate and the
inner diameter pushes onto the lugged thrust washer. In its free state the
Belleville spring is conical in shape but when assembled it is compressed almost
flat. As the friction washers wear, the dished spring cone angle increases. This
exerts a greater axial thrust, but since the distance between the side plate and
lugged thrust washer has increased, the resultant clamping thrust remains almost
constant (Fig. 2.8).

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Automotive Engine Materials

R.C. McCune, G.A. Weber, in Encyclopedia of Materials: Science and Technology, 2001

2.3 Crankshaft

The crankshaft, supported by the journal bearings and crankcase in in-line and V-

configurations, transmits the force of combustion, via the pistons and connecting
rods, through the transmission to the driveline, or in hybrid configurations to an
electrical generator/storage system. The crankshaft receives multiple points
of torque from the various cylinders of the engine block and is thus subject to
both bending moments as well as torsional loading, requiring materials of both high
strength and fatigue endurance. For engines under significant loads, the
traditional crankshaft material is forged, alloyed steel,
including microalloyed grades containing small additions of vanadium, titanium,
or niobium, which permit development of superior surface strength, resistance to
fatigue, and surface durability in the bearing contacts (Hashimoto et al. 1982). In
recent years, smaller, lower-power internal combustion engines have exploited the
use of nodular cast iron, having both economic implications for manufacture and
excellent vibration damping capability (Nallicheri et al. 1991). The journal
surfaces of crankshafts are usually induction hardened to resist scuffing wear on
cold-start conditions when journal lubrication may be minimal.

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MAN Diesel

Doug Woodyard, in Pounder's Marine Diesel Engines and Gas Turbines (Ninth Edition),
2009

V28/33D Engine Details

Crankshaft: manufactured from a high-tensile NiCrMo continuous grain flow steel

forging.

Crankcase: machined from spheroidal graphite cast iron and featuring underslung

main bearings retained by two vertical studs and two cross-bolts per side for
overall stiffness. The main bearing caps are secured by hydraulically tensioned
studs to ensure maximum integrity of the crankcase system. A 52° V-angle minimizes
torsional effects and allows location of the intercooler between the cylinder
banks, reducing overhang loadings while minimizing engine height. Inspection covers
on both sides of the engine provide access to internal components, and selected
covers carry the explosion relief valves. Engine mounting on either anti-vibration
mounting or solid seating is by separate bolt-on feet.

Cylinder liners: individual units incorporating deep flanges, strategically cooled

by a separate water jacket enabling a dry crankcase to be used, reducing overall
weight. The running surfaces are plateau honed and finished to improve oil
retention throughout the liner life; a cutting ring is fitted at the top of the
liner to eliminate the build-up of carbon on the piston crowns and minimize lube
oil consumption.

Bearings: the generously dimensioned main bearings feature easily replaceable thin
wall, steel-backed aluminium–tin shells.

Camshafts: modular design with one cam element per cylinder; they are hollow and
form the main lube oil supply to the engine. Optimized cam profiles for
electronically controlled fuel injection minimize Hertzian stresses, enhancing
reliability and extending component life. The camshaft drive is located at the free
end of the engine; the crankshaft gear drives via a compound idler gear for each
camshaft.

Piston: two-piece design with a lightweight body and alloy steel crown. A three-
ring pack comprises two chrome-ceramic compression rings and an oil control ring.
The case-hardened gudgeon pin is fully floating and retained by a circlip at each
end. Lube oil is fed from the connecting rod through drillings in the gudgeon pin
and piston to a cooling chamber in the piston crown. The oil is then discharged
through drillings in the underside of the piston crown back to the sump.

Connecting rods: made of forged high-tensile alloy steel; the rods have obliquely
split large ends that carry fully grooved bearings with the cap secured by four
hydraulically tensioned studs.

Cylinder heads: the individual heads have a thick combustion face incorporating
coolant drillings. The two inlet and two exhaust valves, all with cooled seats,
surround the central fuel injector. Twin inlet ports connect directly to the air
manifold, and there is a single tandem exhaust port outlet in the top face for ease
of maintenance. The heads are held in place by four hydraulically tensioned studs.

Valve gear: each pair of valves, operated via pushrods and rockers, is driven from
the camshaft via bucket tappet-type followers mounted in a separate housing bolted
to the crankcase.

Air manifold: these are modular castings mounted down the vee of the crankcase and
incorporating passages for the lube oil and water systems.

Exhaust system: modular and compact, the system comprises single cylinder units
bolted to the cylinder head and connected to the next unit with expansion bellows.
The whole exhaust system is arranged in a lagged enclosure made up of two-cylinder
units for ease of maintenance. The exhaust pipes are top mounted and connected to
their respective bellows by vee-band clamps; and quick-release couplings are used
on the rigid heat shield.

Charge cooler: the cylindrical two-stage charge cooler is contained in a housing

that includes part of the inlet ducting. The assembly is mounted directly on top of
the air manifold to provide good support. Special attention was paid to minimizing
overhangs on external brackets to reduce the impact of shock loadings in fast
commercial vessel or naval applications.

Turbochargers: twin high-efficiency axial turbine turbochargers are mounted on a

cast bracket at the free end of the engine.

Fuel system: an electronically controlled pump-pipe injector system is used, with

the fuel pump mounted in the cam follower housing which forms part of the body of
the pump. Low pressure, modular fuel supply and return rails connect each pump to
the next, and the short high-pressure pipes to the injectors are double skinned.
The electronic control for the fuel pump and injector is mounted locally on the
engine. The electronic system facilitates control of the fuel quantity and
injection timing independent of engine speed, enabling performance to be optimized
for the specific application.

Lubricating oil system: all contained on the engine. The lube oil pump is mounted
directly on the free end of the crankcase and driven from the camshaft gear drive.
The plate-type oil cooler is mounted horizontally on top of the filter housing at
the free end of the engine, the duplex filter incorporating an integral oil
thermostat.

Cooling system: a twin-circuit cooling system is used, with both pumps mounted on
the free end of the engine and driven by the camshaft gear, and provision for a
sea-water pump. The charge cooler thermostat is integrally mounted in
the turbocharger bracket.

Starting system: the air starting motor incorporates a control valve, pressure
regulator and strainer, and engages with a gear ring on the flywheel. A barring
motor can be supplied as a service tool or fitted as standard when it is fully
protected against inadvertent starting of the engine.

Governor: the engine is served by a digital engine management system which controls
its operation and communicates via a CAN bus link to a set of intelligent cylinder
control modules that drive the pump and injector solenoids. The system dictates the
fuelling, timing and pressure base upon pre-set mapped information. The CAN bus
link is also used to convey diagnostic information back to the master
controller for display and action. The cylinder control modules provide emergency
governing in the event of a master controller or CAN bus failure. Other similar
redundant features are incorporated to promote maximum engine availability.

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MAN Low-Speed Engines

Doug Woodyard, in Pounder's Marine Diesel Engines and Gas Turbines (Ninth Edition),
2009

Running Gear

The crankshafts of the larger engines are of built-up type with forged steel crank
throws pressed on to forged steel journals. Crankshafts for the smallest (520-mm
bore) engine have one-piece forged shafts of up to the highest number of cylinders.
The main bearings are of the so-called block bearing type comprising three-metal
shells, which can be replaced without subsequent fitting. The crankpin bearing is
also of three-metal type with a comparatively thick white-metal layer.

The crosshead (Figure 15.8) features hydrostatic lubrication, a principle that

ensures an adequate oil film between the crosshead pin and the single white-metal-
lined bearing shell. The high oil pressure required for this purpose is generated
by double plunger high-pressure lubricators, which are directly driven by linkages
from the connecting rod to force oil under pressure into the lower crosshead
bearing shell.

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Figure 15.8. Crosshead design

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Noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) in diesel engine system design

Qianfan Xin, in Diesel Engine System Design, 2013

11.8 Cranktrain and engine block noises

The crankshaft torsional vibration, the thin sections in the engine block and the
covers (e.g., the valve cover, the oil pan) bolted to the crankcase and the
cylinder block are important sources of NVH. Sophisticated commercial software is
available (e.g., Ricardo’s ENGDYN) to predict the time-domain response of the
coupled cranktrain and engine block system with nonlinear oil film lubrication
models (e.g., Offner et al, 2004). The radiated noise can be calculated from the
surface normal velocity using the Rayleigh equation. The radiated sound power and
the noise radiation efficiency can be calculated for each vibrating surface that is
approximated as a flat plate. The sound intensity can also be calculated across the
surface. Critical modes of vibration of the powertrain can be identified.
Cranktrain dynamics and its interaction with the cylinder block can be reliably
studied in simulation.

Details of crankshaft, crankcase, and engine block vibration and noise are provided
by Russell (1972), Ochiai and Yokota (1982), and Maetani et al. (1993). Engine
mounts were reviewed by Shangguan (2009). Cranktrain dynamics and engine balance
have been extensively covered in the literature (e.g., Thomson, 1978; Lee et al.,
2000).

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Fatigue and Fracture Analysis

Kuang-Hua Chang, in e-Design, 2015

9.8.3 Tutorial Example: Crankshaft

A crankshaft, which is a load-bearing component in a slider-crank mechanism and is

shown in Figures 9.35(a), is employed as a tutorial example for HCF calculation
using SolidWorks Simulation. The major geometric dimensions of the crankshaft are
shown in Figure 9.35(b). Note that two small fillets (radius 0.05 in.) were added
to the intersections between the two cylinders at the end and the crank body. A
bearing load of 250 lb was added to the outer cylindrical surface of the shaft (the
cylinder on the top end), and the outer cylindrical surface of the lower cylinder
was fixed, as shown in Figure 9.36(a). The crankshaft was meshed with 11,867
tetrahedral finite elements (Figure 9.36(b)). A static analysis was carried out,
and the von Mises stress plot, shown in Figure 9.36(c), had a stress concentration
with a stress level of 12,450 psi. Note that this stress was lower than the
material yield strength of AL2014, Sy = 13,998 psi, provided in
the SolidWorks material library.

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Figure 9.35. (a) Slider-crank mechanism and (b) crankshaft.

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Figure 9.36. Crankshaft finite element model: (a) load and boundary condition, (b)
finite element mesh, and (c) von Mises stress fringe plot.

An HCF analysis was carried out, assuming that the 250 lb bearing load was fully
reversed. The equivalent von Moses stress method was chosen for fatigue
calculation. For AL2014, the S-N diagram provided by SolidWorks Simulation is shown
in Figure 9.37(a). The crack initiation fatigue life fringe plot is shown
in Figure 9.37(b), in which the lowest life is located at the area where the
maximum von Mises stress occurs, as often expected. The lowest life is about
320,000 cycles. This result can be verified by drawing a horizontal line for the
maximum stress 12,450 psi on the S-N diagram, intersecting the stress line with
the S-N curve, and projecting the corresponding fatigue life on the horizontal
axis.

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Figure 9.37. Fatigue life of the crankshaft: (a) S-N diagram and (b) fatigue life

fringe plot.

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Fatigue design and safety factor for scroll compressor wraps

D. Gross, in 8th International Conference on Compressors and their Systems, 2013

5.2.2 Boundary conditions: pockets pressures

To simulate precisely one crankshaft revolution, calculations are carried out for
every 3° of crankshaft rotation. Danfoss’s thermodynamic simulation software
provides the pocket position and pocket pressure for each crankshaft angle. One
issue here is how to apply the boundaries conditions of the pocket pressure for
each angle of crankshaft. In fact the meshing of the orbiting scroll remains the
same for all calculations, whereas the pocket position and pocket pressure change
during a turn of crankshaft. A computer program (coded in APDL) was developed to
automatically apply, independently of the structural grid, the pressure inside the
involutes on the ANSYS model boundaries. The main difficulty in this process is
that the element boundaries did not necessarily correspond to the pocket pressures
boundaries.

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Figure 14. Pocket pressure view at different crankshaft angle during compression

process on orbiting scroll

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