Funding agency Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India

About the project

Connecting rod is used in the internal combustion engines to transmit the thrust of the piston to the crankshaft. Connecting rod is subjected to millions of repetitive cyclic loadings. It should be strong, rigid as well as light weight to reduce the inertia forces which are produced when the rod and piston stop, change directions and start again at the end of each stroke. The connecting rod must be capable of transmitting axial tension, axial compression, and bending stresses caused by the thrust and pull on the piston, and by centrifugal force without bending or twisting.

Most of the automotive manufacturers across the world except our country have switched from forged steel connecting rods to powder metal(PM) connecting rods. PM connecting rods do not require additional machining hence they are preferred over forged connecting rod in spite of increased raw material cost. The major hesitation in utilizing powder metallurgy connecting rods over conventional forged connecting rod in our country is non availability of test data. This project intends to design, develop and evaluate the efficiency, service life and modes of failure of powder metallurgy connecting rods.

Current requirements One Regular PhD Student