Research on the global matching relationship between the key components of engine cylinder heads

The motivation of this paper is to develop a straightforward approach to provide an optimal solution to cylinder head design. In this research, a topological plot is first defined to represent the load bearing topology of the cylinder head. A simplified model enabling a designer to clearly understand the global matching relationship between the key components of a cylinder head is then identified from the topological plot. After characterizing the stress/strain behavior through parametric analysis, an interesting phenomenon associated with stress convergence in the cylinder head is observed. A concise mathematical explanation for this phenomenon is then derived from the well-known Kuhn–Tucker conditions, leading to a novel optimization criterion for cylinder head design. In this criterion, the optimal solution is described as an ideal “balanced point” among the main design parameters in terms of weight distribution of the key components. The benefits and advantages of the proposed method are finally confirmed by a concrete design case.