Transient thermal analysis of different types of IC engine cylinder fins by varying thickness and introducing slots

Abstract

Fins are extended surfaces used between two fluids for heat transfer between the hotter and colder fluid or between a solid and a fluid. There are various types of fins, viz. angular fins, circular fins, and rectangular fins. Engine piston chamber is the most precarious part of any automobile imperiled to extreme thermal shocks, hence prone to thermal stresses. Therefore, fins are introduced to cool the cylinder, which helps to improve engine performance considerably. In this study, rectangular and circular types of fins were selected, and its effect on temperature distribution and heat flux has been studied for with and without the introduction of slots. Firstly, different fins were modelled by using AUTODESK FUSION 360, then meshing and post-processing were done using ANSYS WORKBENCH. The results (plots of temperature and heat flux distribution) obtained for various case studies have been analyzed and compared which showcased that the slotted circular fin geometry having higher fin thickness (3 mm in this case) is the preferred fin geometry compared to other types of fin.