Faculty of Engineering and Quantity Surveying
Lab Report
Experiment 2: Crank and Connect Rod
NAME MATRICULATION NO.
Chew Jia Ming I16010685
Er Karen I20018814
Elvis Low Wei Bing I19017130
Taurai Leonard Muodzi I18014831
Program : BCEGI/BCEI
Lecturer : Dr. Tan Kang Huai
Table of Content
A. Introduction 1
B. Objectives 2
C. Methodology 2
D. Result and Calculation 3
E. Discussion 9
F. Conclusion 9
G. Reference 10
A. Introduction
In a reciprocating piston engine, the connecting rod or con rod connects the
piston to the crank or crankshaft. They create a fundamental mechanism with the
crank that converts linear motion into rotational motion. Connecting rods can also
convert rotating motion into linear motion. Because a connecting rod is stiff, it can
transmit either a push or a pull, allowing the rod to rotate the crank in both half of a
revolution, i.e. piston pushing and piston pulling. Almost all internal combustion
engines nowadays employ this technique to convert the energy of the fuel explosion
into the most usable and controlled spinning of the crankshaft and flywheel.
The distance between the piston and the centre of the crank is controlled by the
triangle created by the crank, the connecting rod, and the line from the piston to the
centre of the crank, as illustrated in Figure 1. The triangle OAP is entirely defined
since the crank and connecting rod lengths are fixed and the crank angle is
[Link] this geometry, the distance s is given by:
When the crank and connecting rod are in line at P'along the axis, and l + r is the
distance from O to P', P is in its rightmost position. Because this position is used as
the reference point in the experiment, the observed distance is provided by:
This indicates that x is a function of the crank angle, and the relationship is not
linear.
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B. Objectives
To determine the relationship between crank angle and stroke.
To study the effect of changing the crank radius and connecting rod length.
To compare the experimental result with theoretical results.
C. Methodology
Equipment
Crank and Connecting Rod Apparatus LS-1211
Procedure
1. Set the adjustable crank length to desired value.
2. Rotate the first number which is connected to the ground to set both the other
numbers into movement.
3. Note the value obtained from the protractor scale for the connecting rod and the
sliding scale for the shaft/crank and record them in Table 4.1
4. Repeat the experiment for different value of the radius of rotation and length of
connecting rod.
5. Plot the graph of displacement versus crankshaft rotation angle, θ.
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D. Result and Calculation
Table 1 : Type of the Crank and the Connecting Rod
Length of the crank Length of the connecting rod
a1 = 25mm L1 = 200mm
a2 = 37.5mm L2 = 225mm
a3 = 50mm L3 = 250mm
Table 2: Table for Crank Length and The Degree of Connecting Rod (for displacement)
Crank and Degree θ
connecting 0° 45° 90° 135° 180° 225° 270° 315° 360°
rod
L1 a1 0.00 9.00 29.00 44.00 50.00 44.00 29.00 9.00 0.00
a2 0.00 15.20 44.50 68.50 74.50 68.50 44.50 15.20 0.00
a3 0.00 19.00 67.00 93.00 99.00 93.00 67.00 19.00 0.00
L2 a1 0.00 8.50 31.00 49.00 55.00 49.00 31.00 8.50 0.00
a2 0.00 11.50 44.00 68.00 75.00 68.00 44.00 11.50 0.00
a3 0.00 20.50 60.00 92.00 101.00 92.00 60.00 20.50 0.00
L3 a1 0.00 7.00 27.00 42.50 51.00 42.50 27.00 7.00 0.00
a2 0.00 9.80 42.50 70.50 74.50 70.50 42.50 9.80 0.00
a3 0.00 19.00 58.00 101.00 101.00 101.00 58.00 19.00 0.00
Graph 1: Graph of 25 mm crank with 200 mm connecting rod
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Graph 2: Graph of 25 mm crank with 225 mm connecting rod
Graph 3: Graph of 25 mm crank with 250 mm connecting rod
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Graph 4: Graph of 37.5 mm crank with 200 mm connecting rod
Graph 5: Graph of 37.5 mm crank with 225 mm connecting rod
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Graph 6: Graph of 37.5 mm crank with 250 mm connecting rod
Graph 7: Graph of 50 mm crank with 200 mm connecting rod
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Graph 8: Graph of 50 mm crank with 225 mm connecting rod
Graph 9: Graph of 50 mm crank with 250 mm connecting rod
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E. Discussion
According to Table 1, the longer the crank length, L1, L2, and L3, the bigger the
displacement in all angles. To discuss the graphs in the L1 group, the area beneath the
graph grew larger as the crank length increased. Following that, three graphs drawn
from the L2 group were nearly similar. The L3 group, on the other hand, has three
separate graphs shown.
In reality, the most significant displacement was always at 180 degrees.
Furthermore, all of Table1's plots were bell-shaped. This is supported by the research
report (2016, StuDocu). To discuss the gradient of the graphs, it was discovered that
all of the graphs had the sharpest slope between 135 and 225 degrees. The gentlest
slope, on the other hand, will always be at 180 degrees.
To elaborate, the larger the force, as long as theta remains constant. Reducing
parallax error while obtaining readings would help to lessen the inaccuracy caused in
this experiment. Aside from that, do not utilise a worn hole in a crank or connecting
rod. Avoid making mistakes during the operation. For instance, the fact that L3 group
graphs were not smooth might be due to one of the errors mentioned. In terms of
enhancing the experiment, the work of measuring might be delegated to electronic
devices or apparatus. The accuracy inaccuracy would be much reduced as a result of
this. Also, instead of using softer material, use stronger material to prevent the gear
from wearing out.
A velocity graph and an acceleration graph were included in the report studied
(2016, Studocu). The experimenters might be utilising digital equipment to compute
velocity and acceleration, resulting in near-perfect graphs. In addition, the angles
employed in the experiment were significantly greater than those used in this
experiment. As a result, a more accurate result was obtained.
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F. Conclusion
In this experiment, the results from graphs 1 to 9 showed that the connection
between angular and reciprocal displacement controlled the displacement of the piston
by increasing or decreasing the length of the crank. The longer the connecting rod, the
larger the distance between the piston and the centre of rotation at rotational angles of
0° to 180°. Process the experiment several times and gather the average data or
computation to get a better outcome in this experiment. Finally, the angular velocity
will remain constant. Because of this need, this study (2018, Orhan. C) develops a
control theory to limit the crank fluctuations of a four-bar mechanism operated by a
DC motor and linked to a gearbox.
G. Reference
StuDocu, 2016, CRANK AND SLIDER MECHANISM,
[Link]
technology-lahore/basic-mechanics/crank-and-slider-this-is-lab-report/3549489
[Available at: 20 September 2020]
Orhan.C, 2018, Application of moving sliding mode control for a DC motor
driven four bar mechanism,
[Link] at:
22 September 2020]
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