Design and Analysis of a Connecting Rod Using FEA

Abstract

The connecting rod is one of the most vital components of an internal combustion engine, transferring reciprocating piston motion into crankshaft rotary motion while enduring significant compressive and tensile stresses. This paper presents static and modal analysis of a connecting rod using three different materials: Structural Steel, Titanium Alloy (Ti-6Al-4V), and Aluminium Alloy (Al 7075). The 3D model is designed in SolidWorks based on actual dimensions and analyzed in ANSYS Workbench using finite element methods. Static analysis determines von Mises stress distribution and total deformation under operational loading conditions, while modal analysis identifies natural frequencies and mode shapes to assess vibration characteristics. Results show that Titanium Alloy exhibits the best combination of low stress concentration (142.3 MPa maximum von Mises stress), minimal deformation (0.024 mm), and favorable natural frequency characteristics (first mode at 1,847 Hz), making it the optimal material choice for high-performance connecting rod applications.