OPOC 246 Engine

ES3323
Norbert Mongeon
Michael Sweeney

Table of Contents
Table of Figures ............................................................................................................................................. 2
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Problem Statement ................................................................................................................................... 4
Modeling Strategy ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Parts .......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Cylinder Stand (Michael Sweeney) ....................................................................................................... 4
Flywheel (Norbert Mongeon) ............................................................................................................... 6
Assembly ....................................................................................................................................................... 8
Sub-assemblies.......................................................................................................................................... 8
Crankshaft (Michael Sweeney) ............................................................................................................. 8
Inner Piston (Norbert Mongeon) .......................................................................................................... 9
Final assembly ......................................................................................................................................... 10
Mechanism Modeling ................................................................................................................................. 11
Kutzbach equation .................................................................................................................................. 11
Interference Check ...................................................................................................................................... 12
Engine Cycle Description ............................................................................................................................. 13
Engine Timing .......................................................................................................................................... 13
Kinematic Analyses ..................................................................................................................................... 19
Piston Position, velocity .......................................................................................................................... 19
Inner Piston ......................................................................................................................................... 19
Outer Piston ........................................................................................................................................ 22
Connecting Rod Angles ........................................................................................................................... 26
Inner Connecting Rod Angle ............................................................................................................... 26
Outer Connecting Rod Angle .............................................................................................................. 27
Trace Curves............................................................................................................................................ 27
Force Analysis ......................................................................................................................................... 28
Double Speed Force Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 32

Table of Figures
Figure 1Cylinder Stand Base Sketch and Final Part....................................................................................... 4
Figure 2-Diametral hole Placement .............................................................................................................. 5
Figure 3- Linear hole Placement ................................................................................................................... 5

Figure 4-Cylinder Stand Feature Tree ........................................................................................................... 6

Figure 5-Crankshaft Assembly Tree and Final Assembly .............................................................................. 9
Figure 6 Model Tree and Mechanism Tree for Inner Piston ....................................................................... 10
Figure 7 Inner Piston ................................................................................................................................... 10
Figure 8 Model Tree and Mechanism tree for Entire Assembly ................................................................. 11
Figure 9 DOF restricted for Joints used....................................................................................................... 12
Figure 10 Kutzbach equation and calculation ............................................................................................. 12
Figure 11-Final Assembly Interferences Shown in Red ............................................................................... 13
Figure 12 Timing Crank Angle 0 .................................................................................................................. 14
Figure 13 Timing Crank Angle 90 ................................................................................................................ 15
Figure 14 Timing Crank Angle 180 .............................................................................................................. 16
Figure 15 Timing Crank Angle 270 .............................................................................................................. 17
Figure 16-Graph of separation of exhaust port and edge of respective piston ......................................... 18
Figure 17 Exhaust Port Timing .................................................................................................................... 18
Figure 18-Graph of Inner Piston position with respect to midstroke (Zero Position) ................................ 20
Figure 19-Graph of Inner Piston Velocity.................................................................................................... 21
Figure 20-Graph of Inner Piston acceleration ............................................................................................. 22
Figure 21 Outer Piston Position .................................................................................................................. 23
Figure 22 Outer Piston Velocity .................................................................................................................. 24
Figure 23 Outer Piston Acceleration ........................................................................................................... 25
Figure 24 Inner Connecting Rod Angle ....................................................................................................... 26
Figure 25 Outer Connecting Rod Angle....................................................................................................... 27
Figure 26 Connecting Rod Trace Curves ..................................................................................................... 28
Figure 27-Forces on Crankshaft in X-Direction ........................................................................................... 28
Figure 28-Forces on Crankshaft in Y-direction ............................................................................................ 29
Figure 29- Forces in x direction at double speed ........................................................................................ 33
Figure 30- Forces in Y Direction Double Speed ........................................................................................... 33
Figure 31-Net forces on the crankshaft at double speed ........................................................................... 34

Introduction
The idea for an opposed-piston opposed-cylinder engine (OPOC engine) is not new but it is an
improving design that may reach markets in the next decade and revolutionize the gasoline engines that
we use in our cars. This projects intent is to CAD and analyze an OPOC engine. The particular OPOC
engine that we focused on was built by James Donnelly. Although it is not a combustion engine and runs
off of compressed air, it is a good starting point to begin to understand the OPOC configuration and
analyze several aspects of the engine.

Problem Statement
Model James Donnelleys OPOC engine in Creo implementing design intent learned in class. In
addition, provided position, velocity, and acceleration for the pistons along with the inertia forces of the
moving masses applied to the crankshaft. Study the timing of the engine, motion of the connecting rods
and run an interference check.

Modeling Strategy
Parts
Cylinder Stand (Michael Sweeney)

Figure 1Cylinder Stand Base Sketch and Final Part

The initial shape of the cylinder stand was constructed using a mid-plane extrusion. The center
of the circular feature was chosen to be the center of the circular feature for convenience purposes.
Other constraints used include equal lengths, Horizontal Line, and Vertical Line. The mid-point of the left
most line was chosen to be coincident with the x-axis to control the position of the left most line.

The second feature added was the large hole at the top of the stand. This feature was inserted
very easily by adding a datum axis coincident with the center of the large circular feature at the top of
the stand. The end condition was set to through all to comply with the design intent. The hole will
always be through all despite the thickness of the extrusion.

The next feature added was the initial hole for the bolt
pattern. This hole was placed by referencing the diameter
between two holes in the bolt pattern as the drawing indicated.
The end condition was also set to thru all. The rest of the holes
were placed using a pattern around the center datum axis. The
conditions of the pattern were set to 6 holes patterned for a
Figure 2-Diametral hole Placement

total of 360 degrees.

Next the fixture hole was added to the body of the

stand. The hole was defined linearly as per the drawing. While
this is not critical for function it may be necessary for
manufacturing purposes. The end condition was also set to thru
Figure 3- Linear hole Placement

all.

The final features added include the tapped holes at the bottom of the stand. One hole was
placed linearly as per the drawing. Since design intent and symmetry were considered since the
beginning of construction the x-z plane was in the middle of the part. This tapped hole could then be
simply mirrored over this plane. As the model changes through design iterations these two tapped

holes will remain symmetrical and preserve the design intent. The final feature added was the cosmetic
rounds.

Figure 4-Cylinder Stand Feature Tree

Flywheel (Norbert Mongeon)

Figure 5 Flywheel and Model Tree of Flywheel

Modeling the flywheel consisted of using the revolve feaure to make the basic shape and using
hole features to inset properly dimensioned holes. The revolve feature was first because design intenet
and modeling strategy empasize creaing material before removing material. The sketch for the revolve
feature was done on the top plane and revolved around the z-axis with diameter dimensions. This
located the origin on the front face of the flywheel exactly where a hole feature would be placed. The
origin was also an excellent spot for the next step which was to pattern holes around it using a diameter
type offset reference. The pattern used the original hole and made 6 others at equal intervals. This
leaves the seven holes need for the flywheel. This can be seen in the feature tree under Pattern 1 of
Hole 1.

Figure 6 Flywheel Revolve Sketch and Hole Feature

The next step was to insert the hole that is aliged on the z-axis. This hole was not modeled in the
revolve feature because during manufacturing it would most likely be drilled. To alighn the z-axis and
the front face o the flywheel was selected. Lastly, there is a setscrew hole in the flywheel. This was

made using the hole feauture and selecting the surface the hole is to be drilled through and aligning it
with the top plane. UNC 2-56 was used to define the diameter and thread of the hole.

Assembly
Sub-assemblies
Crankshaft (Michael Sweeney)
The crankshaft assembly is composed of 6 unique parts, the valve shaft, the crank webs, the
crank disks the inner journal, the outer journals, the flywheel shaft, and the fly wheel. Since all of the
parts rotate together around the axes of the valve shaft the assembly process is very repetitive. Initially
the flywheel shaft was brought in and constrained to three of the assembly planes with three of its own
planes. This fully constrains the flywheel shaft. Next the crank disk was constrained to the flywheel
shaft. First the hole in the crank disk was made coincident with the outside of the flywheel shaft, thus
aligning the axes. Secondly the front of the flywheel shaft was made coincident with flat face of the
crank web. This inserts the flywheel shaft into the crank web and restricts the last degree of translation
leaving only one degree of rotation. To remove this degree of rotation a plane in the crank web were
made coincident to restrict rotation and fully define the crank web. This process repeats itself down the
connecting rod. First a component is aligned to the previous components axis, then translation is
restricted, and finally rotation. It is extremely critical to ensure all of the components are aligned
properly as the engines timing is controlled by the position of the crankshaft.

Figure 7-Crankshaft Assembly Tree and Final Assembly

Inner Piston (Norbert Mongeon)

The Inner Piston sub-assembly is composed of three parts. They are the piston, inner piston
wrist pin, and a short connecting rod. The goal of the connections in this sub-assembly was to create a ujoint in order to obtain one degree of freedom in the Kutzbach equation so a force analysis could be run.
This u-joint consisted of two pins and is equivalent to a 2 DOF joint. This means it leaves 2 DOF left. The
first pin join makes the axis of the holes in the piston and the axis of the wrist pin coincident, it stops
translation of the wrist pin through those holes by constraining two vertical planes together, and it
constrains another degree of translational motion by constraining two horizontal planes together. The
next pin joint mates the wristpin to the connecting rod. Alignment is done by creating two axis that are
perpendicular to the wristpin, one on the wristpin and one on the connecting rod. When these axis are
mated to each other the connecting rod will rotate the wrist pin when it is moved.

Figure 8 Model Tree and Mechanism Tree for Inner Piston

Figure 9 Inner Piston

Final assembly
Below is the assembly tree and joints from the mechanism tree for the entire engine.

Figure 10 Model Tree and Mechanism tree for Entire Assembly

Mechanism Modeling
Kutzbach equation
In order for to complete the calculations for reaction forces there can only be one degree of
freedom allowed by our connections. There are various connections/joints in Creo. Each joint has a
specific number of DOFs that it contains.
Once we put our assembly together we used the Kutzbach equation to determine how may
DOFs there were. Below are our calculations using this equation. We used joints J1 and J2. J1 is a pin and
restricts five DOFs and J2 is a cylindrical which restricts four DOFs.
Joint
Pin

Translational restriction
3

Rotational restriction
2

Total DOFs restricted

5

Cylindrical

Figure 11 DOF restricted for Joints used

These are the locations for our joints.

Pin Joints:

Pistons to wrist pins (4)

Connecting rods to wrist pins (4)
Valve body to closest crank (1)
o Total of 9

Cylindrical Joint:

Connecting rods to journals (4)

Pistons to cylinders (4)
o Total of 8

Figure 12 Kutzbach equation and calculation

Interference Check
We ran an interference check with all the fasteners suppressed. We noticed that there was
some interference between the journals and the connecting rods. This was fixed by using the 0.025
offset from the valve body to the closest crank disk, as described by James Donnelly. We shortened the
pipefittings that are screwed into the valve body so there would be no collisions with the valve shaft.
Lastly, we adjusted the rod spacers to they would not interfere with the outer cylinder wall.

With those changes, our next interference

check ran as we envisioned. The only interference
that it picked up was between the journals and
their crank disks. This is because the journals are
press fitted into the crank disks.

Figure 13-Final Assembly Interferences Shown in Red

Engine Cycle Description

Engine Timing
Engine timing is important because it defines the process that powers the motor. The OPOC 246
motor is powered by compressed air and therefore it has two cycles. They are intake-power and
exhaust. The intake-power stroke happens when the compressed air is entering a cylinder through the
intake flange. This pressurized air expands and pushes on both the pistons away from each other. This
force is then translated to rotating the crankshaft. The next cycle is the exhaust cycle. During this cycle
air exits the cylinder through the two exhaust ports that were drilled on either side of the intake flange
and the pipe. Now that there is no pressure inside the cylinder the crankshaft rotates and pushes the
pistons back together, setting up for the next intake stroke.
It is important to note that this engine has two cylinders that are always on opposite stokes.
When the right cylinder is on an intake stroke, the left cylinder will be on its exhaust stroke. This also
means that only one cylinder is providing power at a time. Lastly, there will be a very small amount of

compression accruing at the bottom of the exhaust stroke since all of the exhaust ports close off while
the pistons are still moving together. However, the force pushing those pistons together is large enough
to override this compression.
The following pictures show a breakdown of this engines timing starting at a crank angle of zero
and rotating a full 360 in the counter-clock-wise direction.
Crank Angle 0
The left cylinder is mid power stroke while the right cylinder is mid exhaust stoke

Figure 14 Timing Crank Angle 0

Crank Angle 90
The left cylinder is transitioning from power stroke to the exhaust stroke while the right cylinder
is transitioning from the exhaust to the power stroke. The picture on the right shows the valve body
with the valve shaft at the respected angle. Air pressure is being applied to the right pipefitting which
leads to the right piston. Air pressure is cut off and an additional exhaust port opens for the pipefitting
that feeds the left cylinder.

Figure 15 Timing Crank Angle 90

Crank Angle 180

At this point the timing is opposite from that at crank angle zero. The left cylinder is mid power
stroke and the right cylinder is mid exhaust stroke.

Figure 16 Timing Crank Angle 180

Crank Angle 270

At this point the timing is opposite from that at crank angle 90. The left cylinder transitions
from exhaust to power while the right cylinder transitions from power to exhaust. The picture on the
right once again shows the valve shaft and valve body interacting. Compressed air is being fed to the left
cylinder while the right cylinder is undergoing decompression.

Figure 17 Timing Crank Angle 270

Exhaust Port Timing

Now after going through each step in the cycles, it is interesting to look when the two exhaust
ports on each cylinder open and close. The graph below was shows four points, open and closing of each
port on the right cylinder with respect to crank angle.

Figure 18-Graph of separation of exhaust port and edge of respective piston

Excel was used to find the exact of opening and closing. Notice how the Right and left cylinder timing is
offset by 180.
Action
Left exhaust opens
Right exhaust opens
Left exhaust closes
Right exhaust closes

Right Cylinder
208.9
226.8
313.2
331.2

Left Cylinder
28.9
46.8
133.2
151.2

Figure 19 Exhaust Port Timing

The timing for each cylinder can be modeled as a step function as seen in the graphs below.

Figure 20 Right Cylinder Timing vs Crank Angle

Figure 21 Left Cylinder Timing vs Crank Angle

Kinematic Analyses
Piston Position, velocity
Inner Piston
The following graphs describe the kinematic motion of the right inner piston with respect to the
crank angle. The crank shaft is rotating at a constant velocity of 1440 degrees per second

counterclockwise around the z-axis.

Figure 22-Graph of Inner Piston position with respect to midstroke (Zero Position)

This graph of piston position describes the motion we would expect from a piston. The piston
begins at the zero position when the crank is also at zero. The piston moves in the positive x direction to
finish the exhaust stroke it reaches maximum displacement (Top dead center) when the crank is at 90
degrees. The piston then begins its power stroke and returns to the zero position when the crank is at
180 degrees. The piston finishes the power stoke and reaches the bottom of the cylinder when the crank
is at 270 degrees. At 360 degrees the piston returns back to the zero position. It is also noteworthy that
the graph is not sinusoidal. Piston motion is dependent on the radius of the crankshaft and the length of
the connecting rod. As these two values vary with respect to each other the shape of the pistons
kinematic graphs will also change.

Figure 23-Graph of Inner Piston Velocity

The values of the piston velocity graph is dependent upon the crank speed chosen for the
simulation. In this case our crank speed was set to 1440 degrees per second or 4 revolutions per second.
However, the shape of the pistons velocity will not change due to crank speed. The inner pistons
velocity reaches a maximum value at about 9 degrees and 170 degrees. These values occur just after
mid-stroke following the power stroke and just before mid-stroke during the exhaust stroke. One would
expect that the pistons motion is offset by 180 degrees. However, since the position graph is not a
sinusoid the velocity graph will also not be a sinusoid because it is the derivative of the position graph. In
our simulation the max speed reached by the pistons was 6.66 inches per second. This speed was
achieved in both the positive and negative x-direction. Also of note is the piston reaching zero in/sec
when the crank is at exactly 90 degrees and exactly 270 degrees. For this brief instance in time the
piston is actually stopped.

Figure 24-Graph of Inner Piston acceleration

Since acceleration is the derivative of velocity it is expected that when acceleration is equal to
zero maximum velocity will occur. This is clearly the case as the acceleration graph crosses the x-axis just
after the crank is at zero degrees and just before the crank has reached 180 degrees. Our data showed
max velocities at 9 and 170 degrees so this graph is in agreement with our data. The acceleration graph
also shows that when the piston stops at 90 and 270 degrees its undergoing its largest local
acceleration. The largest total acceleration occurs at the bottom of the pistons stroke when the crank is
at 90 degrees. This can be visually confirmed since the connecting rod is pushing the piston up from the
bottom of its stroke (90 degrees), and yanking it backwards at the top of its stroke (270 degrees). These
local max accelerations are good indications that the max force on this piston will be at 90 and 270
degrees.

Outer Piston
The following graphs describe the kinematic motion of the right outer piston with respect to the
crank angle. The crank shaft is rotating at the same constant velocity of 1440 degrees per second
counterclockwise around the z-axis.

Figure 25 Outer Piston Position

This position graph shows that the right outer piston starts to move in the negative x-direction.
This is opposite from the inner piston at this crank angle. It is understandable since these the inner and
outer pistons move opposite to each other. When the inner piston is moving in the positive direction the
outer piston is moving toward it in the negative direction. This scenario is the exhaust stroke.

Figure 26 Outer Piston Velocity

The velocity of the outer piston is simply the derivative of its position. This graph shows the
outer piston has its greatest velocity at 0 and 180 and that it has zero velocity when it is changing
directions at 90 and 270.

Figure 27 Outer Piston Acceleration

The acceleration of the outer piston is simply the derivative of its velocity. The greatest
acceleration occurs at 90 and 270 while acceleration is zero at 0 and 180.

Connecting Rod Angles

Inner Connecting Rod Angle

Figure 28 Inner Connecting Rod Angle

The inner connecting rod angle varies between -9.6 degrees and 9.6 degrees. It reaches 0
degrees when the crankshaft is at 90 and 270 degrees. At this point the inner pistons are at the top and
bottom of their respective stroke.

Outer Connecting Rod Angle

Figure 29 Outer Connecting Rod Angle

The outer connecting rod angle is offset from the inner connecting rod angle by 180. They still
reach 0 degrees when the crankshaft is at 90 and 270 degrees and are at the top and bottom of their
respective stroke as with the inner connecting rods.

Trace Curves
Below are the trace curves for the vertices on the inner and outer connecting rods. It is
important to note that they are ellipse, not circles. This is because the connecting rods are constrained
to the pistons.

Figure 30 Connecting Rod Trace Curves

Force Analysis
To calculate the forces on the crank shaft 4 connection reaction measures were created. These
connection reaction measures were set to determine forces either in the x or y direction of the
assembly.

Figure 31-Forces on Crankshaft in X-Direction

As expected, the maximum forces each connecting rod exerts in the x-direction on the
crankshaft occurs when the pistons are changing direction at 90 and 270 degrees. Interestingly the two
outer pistons always exert forces in the same direction as each other as do the inner pistons. This is
because they are always moving in the same direction and when the cranks shaft tries to change this
motion they produce reactions in the same direction. The same can be said for the inner pistons. It
should also be noted that the outer connecting rods exert more force on the crankshaft than the inner
connecting rods. This is to be expected because not only are the out connecting rods bigger but there
are 4 of them and only 2 inner connecting rods. Newtons second law makes it clear that more mass is
equal to more force for similar accelerations.

Figure 32-Forces on Crankshaft in Y-direction

The graph of forces in the y-direction is not as self-explanatory as the forces in the x-direction.
Interestingly the forces in the y-direction are equal to zero at 90 and270 degrees. This is the point where
the x-forces are maximum. At this point the crankshaft and connecting rods are all aligned in the xdirection so it makes sense that the y-component here would be 0. It is also interesting that the y

component reaches its own maximum at about 0 and 180 degree off sets. When one considers what the
y-component is representative of this is not so strange. The y-component of the crankshaft reactions is
acting perpendicular to the connecting rod and causing this connecting rod to rotate back and forth. This
perpendicular force is applying a torque to the connecting rod and giving it an angular acceleration. The
connecting rods acceleration is maximized when it changes its direction of motion. This occurs when the
crankshaft is at 0 and 180 degrees. As with the piston the forces are not at exactly 0 and 180 because
the graph of motion is not a pure sinusoid. The maximum y-forces are occurring where they would be
expected.

To further analyze how these forces interact the X-components were summed together to form
he blue line beginning at zero lb*in/s^2, the y-forces were then summed together to create the light
blue line, and the magnitude of these combined forces was also created. This graph shows some very
important things. The first is that the x-component forces are much greater than the y forces. While the
value will change the x-forces will always be greater for all values of crank speed. Secondly, the max

total force occurs on the crankshaft when the crank is at 90 and 270 degrees. Here the y-forces are
equal to zero and the entire force is acting in the x-direction.
While the designers claim that this design reduces crankshaft loads our analysis of this particular
engine does not support that claim. However, this engine configuration could reduce crank shaft forces.
When the graph of individual x-forces is examined it is clear that the force on the outer pistons is not
being entirely offset by the forces on the inner pistons. This is due to their difference in mass. If this
engine was configured to have a similar mass for both the inner and outer pistons the forces on the
crankshaft would be much closer to zero. To sum this all up, the actual internal combustion engine could
be configured in such a way to add mass to the inner piston and connecting rods and reduce mass to the
outer pistons and connecting rods. If done properly the sum of forces could be greatly reduced. As for
this small model engine it is not balanced and there are loads on the crankshaft.

Free Body Diagram of Shaft

Below is a free body diagram of the forces when bending moment on the crankshaft is at a
maximum. This happens the crankshaft is at 90 and 180. All the forces are being applied in the x
direction and there are no forces in the y direction. This first diagram is a representation at 90. The
outer pistons have greater forces on the crankshaft because they have more connecting rods with more
mass. It may seem odd that the outer left piston applies more force than the outer right piston. This is
because the accelerations of these pistons are not completely sinusoidal. When referring back to the
acceleration graphs the left piston has more acceleration and therefore more force when it is
transitioning from its intake/power stroke to its exhaust stroke. The same is with the right inner piston.

90

180
Figure 33 FBD of Crankshaft at Maximum Bending

Double Speed Force Analysis

As the forces on the crankshaft are dependent on the crank speed the same analysis was run
with the crank speed double to 2880 degrees/second or 8 revs per second.

Figure 34- Forces in x direction at double speed

Figure 35- Forces in Y Direction Double Speed

Figure 36-Net forces on the crankshaft at double speed

While the previous values of forces on the crankshaft are somewhat meaningless because the
crank was rotating at an arbitrary speed. These values can be compared to max values at double speed.
This will create a relationship between forces on the crankshaft and the speed at which the crank is
rotating. To do this data from the original speed and data from the double speed analysis was exported
to Microsoft excel. The ratio of the original force to the double speed force was then calculated. For all
of these values the ratio was found to be exactly 4 within a one-hundred thousandth. This is clearly an
indication that for this engine there is a quadratic relationship between the forces on the crank and the
speed at which the crank is rotating. Essentially an approximation could be made that the forces on the
crankshaft are approximately equal to a constant multiplied by the crank velocity squared. This constant
could easily be determined by finding the forces with a crank speed of one.
= 2