Harmonic Analysis of the Cam shaft

Introduction:

Uses

In internal combustion engines with pistons, the camshaft is used to operate poppet valves. It consists of
a cylindrical rod running the length of the cylinder bank with a number of oblong lobes protruding from
it, one for each valve. The cam lobes force the valves open by pressing on the valve, or on some
intermediate mechanism, as they rotate.

Failure of the cam shaft due to the torsional vibrations:

While much has been written about the design of camshaft profiles and how to install and time
them in an engine, comparatively few details are available about the actual dynamics in the
valvetrain system due to the torsional vibrations induced.

Much like the engine crankshaft therefore, which can be excited by the forces of combustion and
fail catastrophically when the frequency with which it is excited approaches the component’s
natural frequency of vibration, the camshaft can also be subjected to such effects. Rarely does
this lead to a torsional failure but, if unchecked, the vibration can have disastrous effects on
components such as the valve timing or valve spring control.

If we take the case of an inlet camshaft opening and closing a single valve, the forces involved
and hence the torques induced look similar to those outlined in Fig. 1. If you have ever tried to
turn a camshaft over by hand you will realise that the forces required (and hence the
instantaneous torques) can be surprisingly high, but once moving, the effort is considerably less,
the force used to compress the valve spring being recovered when it expands a few degrees later.
The total energy expended over a complete rotation may be minimal but the instantaneous
forces at any one time to accelerate the valve opening can be amazingly high.

Now, if we consider that 140 cam degrees or so later, after the inlet cam closes, the exhaust cam
will open, producing a similar set of forces but displaced by the 140º or so down the shaft. Again,
the forces may be high, but the overall energy input is low. If we then move along to the next
cylinder in this engine (let us say it has four cylinders) we will realize that the inlet cam forces are
like those of cylinder 1 but displaced by 90º (in the case of an engine firing at 1-3-4-2) and likewise
the exhaust cam.
Repeating the exercise for cylinders 3 and 4, if we start to sum up all these instantaneous forces
algebraically for the full four cylinders, the instantaneous torques produced at each angle around
the camshaft could begin to cancel themselves out along the shaft. As a result, the peak torques
will fall and the overall energy used to power the camshaft could be comparatively small. How
small will depend on the precise timing of the inlet and exhaust cams to each other and the
amount of friction in the system.

Clearly the greater the number of cam lobes along the shaft (say in an inline six – or even, god
forbid, eight cylinder) the greater this smoothing effect.

In all cases, however, these instantaneous forces or torques will generate a level of vibration in
the shaft which, when analysed or split up using a mathematical technique known as a Fourier
analysis, will be represented as a large number of sine waves of different amplitude over a wide
range of oscillating frequencies.

If the natural frequency of the shaft – or indeed any component in the system – is the same or
close to any of these frequencies, and the forcing amplitude is sufficiently large, then unless it is
damped in some way the shaft or component will resonate at that frequency, creating far higher
loads than usual. This could be detrimental to either the performance of the unit or its durability.
In the extreme case, with a hollow camshaft gun-drilled to remove much of the inner core, these
forces could fatigue the component, or if the amplitude of vibration was such that it altered the
valve events in relation to the piston position, then piston-to-valve contact could occur.

This issue is not normally a problem with small, low-speed or short engines, but arises in high-
speed, multi-cylinder, multi-cam units where the need for weight reduction can be greatest or
the search for outright performance paramount.
The rapidly expanding use of diesel engines and a-c variable speed drive systems has made it essential for
test stand users and designers to acquire a working knowledge of torsional effects. Both drive types carry
a much higher risk of associated component failures than either spark ignition engines or other variable
speed motor types. The diesel’s high amplitude torsional output is well known. The problems associated
with a-c drives stem from the very wide range of output torque forcing frequency. Unless such drivelines
are analyzed and modified where necessary, there is a high probability resonance will fall within the
operating speed range and cause component failure. Technical Memorandum 8150 shows how to
estimate torsional resonant frequencies and describes how to avoid destructive effects. Both practical
and theoretical aspects are included. Several typical problems are analyzed, and solutions presented.

All mechanical power producing devices - hydraulic motors, air motors, electric motors, internal
combustion engines - have discrete poles. As a result, their output torque is not developed smoothly but
has periodic torque pulsations or torsional vibrations. These torque variations in turn, produce periodic
velocity variations or accelerations. Thus, in addition to having an average torque and speed value, the
input (forcing function) to a shaft network has a fundamental frequency and multiples or harmonics of
that frequency.

This dynamic forcing function is applied to power transmitting and consuming devices which invariably
include complex mechanical networks. When the fundamental forcing frequency, or one of its harmonics,
is equal to the torsional resonant frequency of the network, a significant torque magnification can occur.
That is, the applied peak-to-peak torque variations can be increased by a significant factor. forcing
frequency. When operating well below resonance, the fundamental torsional pulsations will be seen by
the shaft network without either significant magnification or reduction. Therefore, all component stresses
must be low enough to survive the peak torques and be fatigue rated for the peak-to-peak torque
reversals. Damping will reduce the magnification factor at resonance and can be added by using fluid
couplings. However, they introduce power loss which is not acceptable in most applications. Since all
driveline components must handle the peak torque - the sum of the average driveline torque and the peak
torque variation - one or more of those components can fail even though it is conservatively rated to
handle the average torque. A fatigue failure is most likely to occur when high frequency torsional
vibrations are present. However, if the resultant peak torque is high enough, even a yield failure is
possible.