FINITE ELEMENT SIMULATION OF MULTILAYER METAL CYLINDER HEAD GASKETS

ABAQUS gasket elements are an efficient and flexible tool to study gasket applications. Nevertheless the usage of the ABAQUS gasket elements is not limited to gasket analysis, but it provides an effective improvement in structural analysis. The results point out that both the predicted contact pressure and the predicted stress distribution depend on the mesh topology. Several combinations of mesh dimension and topology are investigated. The purpose is the definition of a calculation methodology and the demonstration of the application potentiality. Complex models analysis highlights that the set methodology constitutes a very effective tool for the design and optimization of gasket, cylinder head and cylinder block. At last a particular case is studied and a structural improvement to resolve the problem of the low seal was obtained by FEM; the modifications were introduced in the layout and the test on the modified component confirmed the calculation previsions. The qualitative and quantitative indications provided by the calculation are confirmed by the experimental results, whether in condition of cold assembly (color film paper approach) or in condition of hot working (test to motor bench).