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In a separate SAE paper (Cylinder Head Design Process to Improve High Cycle Fatigue Performance), cylinder head high cycle fatigue (HCF) analysis approach and damage calculation method were developed and presented. In this paper, the HCF damage calculation method is used for risk assessment related to customer drive cycles. Cylinder head HCF damage is generated by repeated stress alternation under different engine operation conditions. The cylinder head high cycle fatigue CAE process can be used as a transfer function to translate engine operating conditions to cylinder head damage/life. There are many inputs, noises, and design parameters that contribute to the cylinder head HCF damage CAE transfer function such as cylinder pressure, component temperature, valve seat press fit, and cylinder head manufacturing method. Material properties and the variation in material properties are also important considerations in the CAE transfer function.

For aluminum automotive cylinder head designs, one of the concerning failure mechanisms is thermo-mechanical fatigue from changes in engine operating conditions. After an engine is assembled, it goes through many different operating conditions such as cold start, through warm up, peak power, and intermediate cycles. Strain alternation from the variation in engine operation conditions change may cause thermo-mechanical fatigue (TMF) failure in combustion chamber and exhaust port. Cylinder heads having an integrated exhaust manifold are especially exposed to this failure mode due to the length and complexity of the exhaust gas passage. First a thermo-mechanical fatigue model is developed to simulate a known dynamometer/bench thermal cycle and the corresponding thermo-mechanical fatigue damage is quantified. Additionally, strain state of the cylinder head and its relation to thermo-mechanical fatigue are discussed. The bench test was used to verify the TMF analysis approach.

Typically, modern automotive engine designs include separate cylinder heads and cylinder blocks and utilize a multilayer steel head gasket to seal the resulting joint. Cylinder head bolts are used to hold the joint together and the non-linear properties of head gasket provide capability to seal the movement within the joint, which is essential for engine durability and performance. There are three major failure modes for head gasket joint: fluid or gas leakage due to low sealing pressure, head gasket bead cracking due to high gap alternation and scrubbing/fretting due to pressure and temperature fluctuations causing lateral movement in the joint. During engine operation, the head gasket design should be robust enough to prevent all three failure modes and the resulting design must consider all three major failure modes to provide acceptable performance.

Cylinder head design is a highly challenging task for modern engines, especially for the proliferation of boosted, gasoline direct injection engines (branded EcoBoost® engines by Ford Motor Company). The high power density of these engines results in higher cylinder firing pressures and higher operating temperatures throughout the engine. In addition to the high operating stresses, cylinder heads are normally heat treated to optimize their mechanical properties; residual stresses are generated during heat treatment, which can be detrimental for high-cycle fatigue performance. In this paper, a complete cylinder head high cycle fatigue CAE analysis procedure is demonstrated. First, the heat treatment process is simulated. The transient temperature histories during the quenching process are used to calculate the distribution of the residual stresses, followed by machining simulation, which results in a redistribution of stress.