OPTIMIZATION APPROACH
The objective of optimization technique is to minimize the mass of the connecting rodand reduce the cost of production. The connecting rod subjected to tensile load at crank end, while using factor of safety 3 as recommended by Shenoy (2004). The maximumstress of the connecting rod monitored and make sure it is not over the allowable stress.The load of the connecting rod optimized is comprised of the tensile load of 26.7 kN atcrank end. Linear buckling analysis was performed on the connecting is 26.7 kN. The buckling load factor is considered also 3. The optimization technique methodologyflowchart is shown in Figure 1.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This section presents the details results of FE Analysis, selection of the mesh type andinfluence of mesh type, identification of mesh convergence and optimization of theconnecting rod.
FiniteElementModelingandAnalysis