Coupled Thermo-Structural Simulation of Al2618, Al4032, and Al6061 Pistons in a Single-Cylinder Diesel Engine
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Abstract
This study presents a thermo-structural finite element analysis of a single-cylinder diesel piston using ANSYS, comparing three aluminum alloys: Al2618-T61, Al4032-T6, and Al6061-T6. A coupled simulation approach was applied, where steady-state thermal results were imported into static structural analysis. Realistic boundary conditions, including applied combustion pressure, symmetry constraints, and cylindrical pin supports, were implemented based on Yanmar TF55 engine geometry. Results indicate that Al6061-T6 experienced the highest deformation and stress, nearing its yield limit at elevated temperatures. In contrast, Al2618-T61 and Al4032-T6 maintained structural integrity, with lower stress and elastic deformation within safe limits. Al4032 demonstrated superior dimensional stability, while Al2618 exhibited better strength under thermal load. These findings validate the importance of coupled thermal-structural analysis and material selection in piston design. The proposed framework offers reliable guidance for developing more durable, thermally resilient pistons for modern diesel engines.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c): Agus Baharudin, Wawan Purwanto, M. Yasep Setiawan, Dwi Sudarno Putra, Ahmad Arif, Jheri Hermanto (2025)
How to Cite
Baharudin, A., Purwanto, W., Setiawan, M., Putra, D., Arif, A., & Hermanto, J. (2025). Coupled Thermo-Structural Simulation of Al2618, Al4032, and Al6061 Pistons in a Single-Cylinder Diesel Engine. MOTIVECTION : Journal of Mechanical, Electrical and Industrial Engineering, 7(2), 229-244. https://doi.org/10.46574/motivection.v7i2.471
References
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[2] B. Liu, S. K. Aggarwal, siyu Zhang, H. U. Tchakam, and H. Luo, “Thermo-mechanical coupling strength analysis of a diesel engine piston based on finite element method,” Int. J. Green Energy, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 732–744, 2024, doi: 10.1080/15435075.2023.2211139.
[3] Z. Chen, J. Li, J. Liao, and F. Shi, “Stress and fatigue analysis of engine pistons using thermo-mechanical model,” J. Mech. Sci. Technol., vol. 33, no. 9, pp. 4199–4207, 2019, doi: 10.1007/s12206-019-0815-y.
[4] Q. Zhaoju, L. Yingsong, Y. Zhenzhong, D. Junfa, and W. Lijun, “Diesel engine piston thermo-mechanical coupling simulation and multidisciplinary design optimization,” Case Stud. Therm. Eng., vol. 15, no. August, p. 100527, 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.csite.2019.100527.
[5] Y. Liu et al., “Study on transient thermal state of steel piston in diesel engine under cold start condition,” Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 244, no. November 2023, p. 122744, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2024.122744.
[6] G. Hareesh B J, “Thermo Mechanical Analysis and Weight Reduction of Piston using CATIA and ANSYS,” Int. J. Sci. Res., vol. 12, no. 6, pp. 1368–1371, 2022, doi: 10.21275/sr23416232055.
[7] C. Joel, S. Anand, S. Padmanabhan, and S. Prasanna Raj Yadav, “Thermal analysis of carbon-carbon piston for commercial vehicle diesel engine using CAE tool,” Int. J. Ambient Energy, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 163–167, 2021, doi: 10.1080/01430750.2018.1525594.
[8] B. Zheng, J. Zhang, and Y. Yao, “Finite element analysis of the piston based on ANSYS,” Proc. 2019 IEEE 3rd Inf. Technol. Networking, Electron. Autom. Control Conf. ITNEC 2019, no. Itnec, pp. 1908–1911, 2019, doi: 10.1109/ITNEC.2019.8729409.
[9] H. Zhang and J. Wu, “Thermal strength and transient dynamics analysis of a diesel engine piston,” J. Vibroengineering, vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 2563–2571, 2014.
[10] C. Kumar and N. K. Singh, “Responses of aluminium alloy pistons under mechanical and thermal loads,” Mater. Sci. Forum, vol. 969 MSF, pp. 231–236, 2019, doi: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.969.231.
[11] M. Su and B. Young, “Mechanical properties of high strength aluminium alloy at elevated temperatures,” CE/PAPERS, vol. 1, no. 2–3, 2017, doi: 10.1002/cepa.334.
[12] M. Aghaie-Khafri and A. Zargaran, “Low-cycle fatigue behavior of AA2618-T61 forged disk,” Mater. Des., vol. 31, no. 9, pp. 4104–4109, 2010, doi: 10.1016/j.matdes.2010.04.043.
[13] T. Sathish, S. Dinesh Kumar, and S. Karthick, “Modelling and analysis of different connecting rod material through finite element route,” Mater. Today Proc., vol. 21, no. xxxx, pp. 971–975, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.matpr.2019.09.139.
[14] Y. Gunawan, Samhuddin, F. Masud, N. Endriatno, M. Yamin, and Muslimin, “Design and Load Analysis Toward the Strength of Rim Modification Using SolidWorks Software on Motorcycle as a City Transportation,” Int. J. Eng. Comput. Sci., vol. 9, no. October 2020, pp. 25246–25252, 2020, doi: 10.2991/aer.k.200220.016.
[15] S. K. Sharma, P. K. Saini, and N. K. Samria, “Computational modeling of temperature field and heat transfer analysis for the piston of diesel engine with and without air cavity,” Jordan J. Mech. Ind. Eng., vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 139–147, 2015.
[16] Y. Lu, X. Zhang, P. Xiang, and D. Dong, “Analysis of thermal temperature fields and thermal stress under steady temperature field of diesel engine piston,” Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 113, pp. 796–812, 2017, doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2016.11.070.
[17] F. Zhao, “Modeling and thermal-mechanical coupling analysis of piston in car engines,” Ann. Chim. Sci. des Mater., vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 83–92, 2021, doi: 10.18280/acsm.450111.
[18] J. K. Sharma, R. Raj, S. Kumar, R. K. Jain, and M. Pandey, “Finite element modelling of Lanthanum Cerate (La2Ce2O7) coated piston used in a diesel engine,” Case Stud. Therm. Eng., vol. 25, p. 100865, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.csite.2021.100865.
[19] Z. Qian, Y. Hu, C. Fei, Z. Shu, S. Zhu, and Y. Du, “Finite Element Analysis of Thermal and Stress Fields of Diesel Engine Piston with GZO/YSZ Dual-Ceramic Layer Thermal Barrier Coating,” Coatings, vol. 15, no. 3, 2025, doi: 10.3390/coatings15030259.
[20] A. Ghoujehzadeh, M. A. Mohtadi-Bonab, and D. Jahani, “Optimization and finite element analysis of an aluminum piston in the Peugeot XU7JPL3 engine for enhanced efficiency and durability,” Discov. Mech. Eng., vol. 4, no. 1, 2025, doi: 10.1007/s44245-025-00091-w.
[21] Y. Du, C. Fei, Z. Qian, S. Zhu, Z. Shu, and K. Zhou, “Simulation analysis of thermal insulation performance of diesel engine piston based on PEO and La2Zr2O7 thermal barrier coating,” Case Stud. Therm. Eng., vol. 59, no. January, p. 104460, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.csite.2024.104460.
[22] Z. Shu et al., “Thermal Analysis of Mullite Coated Piston Used in a Diesel Engine,” Coatings, vol. 12, no. 9, pp. 1–11, 2022, doi: 10.3390/coatings12091302.
[23] Q. Jing, Y. Dong, J. Liu, H. Li, Y. Liu, and S. Zhang, “Analysis and Optimization Study of Piston in Diesel Engine Based on ABC-OED-FE Method,” Math. Probl. Eng., vol. 2021, 2021, doi: 10.1155/2021/3205695.
[24] S. H. Performance, “4032 Aluminium Alloy Product Data Sheet,” 2019.
[25] U. Singh, J. Lingwal, A. Rathore, S. Sharma, and V. Kaushik, “Comparative analysis of different materials for piston and justification by simulation,” Mater. Today Proc., vol. 25, no. xxxx, pp. 925–930, 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.matpr.2020.03.078.
[26] J. Mahmoudi, “Thermo-Mechanical Analysis of a Typical Vehicle Engine Using PTC-Creo,” J. Mech. Mater. Mech. Res., vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 1–15, 2022, doi: 10.30564/jmmmr.v5i2.4600.
[27] A. Ahmed, M. S. Wahab, A. A. Raus, K. Kamarudin, Q. Bakhsh, and D. Ali, “Mechanical Properties, Material and Design of the Automobile Piston: An Ample Review,” Indian J. Sci. Technol., vol. 9, no. 36, 2016, doi: 10.17485/ijst/2016/v9i36/102155.
[28] H. Topkaya, M. Q. Brewster, and H. Aydın, “Comprehensive Investigation of Partitioned Thermal Barrier Coating: Impact on Thermal and Mechanical Stresses, and Performance Enhancement in Diesel Engines,” Appl. Sci., vol. 14, p. 20, 2024.
[29] A. International, “Properties of Wrought Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys,” 2018. doi: 10.31399/asm.hb.v02.a0001060.
[30] Z. C. Sims et al., “High performance aluminum-cerium alloys for high-temperature applications,” Mater. Horizons, vol. 4, no. 6, pp. 1070–1078, 2017, doi: 10.1039/c7mh00391a.
[31] O. D. Inusah, J. K. Nkrumah, and V. A. Atindana, “Static and Thermal Analysis of Aluminium (413,390,384 and 332) Piston Using Finite Element Method,” Model. Numer. Simul. Mater. Sci., vol. 14, no. 01, pp. 1–38, 2024, doi: 10.4236/mnsms.2024.141001.
[32] P. R. Jeyakrishnan, K. Balasubramanian, M. R. Balasubramaniyan, G. K. Sudharson, and S. V. Panicker, “An avant garde study on design and analysis of honey comb structured piston,” Mater. Today Proc., vol. 37, no. Part 2, pp. 600–607, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.matpr.2020.05.621.
[33] T. S. Sachit, R. V. Nandish, and Mallikarjun, “Thermal analysis of Cr2O3 coated diesel engine piston using FEA,” Mater. Today Proc., vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 5074–5081, 2018, doi: 10.1016/j.matpr.2017.12.086.
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[35] V. Mereuta, “Static and Thermal Analysis of Piston using FEM Analysis,” Int. J. Res. Appl. Sci. Eng. Technol., vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 201–206, 2018, doi: 10.22214/ijraset.2018.1032.