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The conflicting legislative and performance requirements of the modern automotive engine dictates the detailed optimisation of all features of the design. With this impetus increasing attention is being given to the coolant system where the requirements are for minimum coolant volume and uniform flow distribution. Optimisation of the complex three dimensional coolant system geometry by means of experiment has proven extremely difficult. It is with this background that computational fluid dynamics may prove to have real engineering value providing design solutions that can be incorporated early in the engine design program. A prerequisite however is to demonstrate the accuracy of the analytical technique. This paper describes the comparison of predicted and measured flow fields in a four cylinder engine block.

Designers are under increasing pressure to provide powertrain systems which meet tougher market and legislative requirements for:- performance, emissions and economy reliability and durability noise and refinement To meet increasing competition, powertrain products need to be “fast to market and right first time”. This implies the evolution of existing technology, comprising multi cylinder reciprocating engines and gear transmissions, drawing on a database of decades of powerplant design experience. It is with this background that CAE has proven engineering value supporting key areas of powertrain engineering to meet these technological challenges in a cost effective and timely manner. This paper follows the analytical engineering of a four cylinder engine crankshaft from concept to production design. Particular emphasis is placed on the integration of concept design software tools and the combination of finite element analysis and dynamic models with reduced degrees of freedom.