Reciprocating engine dynamic properties

Scuola di Dottorato di Ricerca 2010 - Road vehicle and engine engineering science
24
A V6 engine is a V engine with six cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of three cylinders,
usually set at either a right angle or an acute angle to each other, with all six pistons driving a common
crankshaft.
Due to the odd number of cylinders in each bank, V6 designs are inherently unbalanced, regardless of
their V-angle. All straight engines with an odd number of cylinders suffer from primary dynamic
imbalance, which causes an end-to-end rocking motion. Each cylinder bank in a V6 has an odd number
of pistons, so the V6 also suffers from the same problem unless steps are taken to mitigate it. In the
horizontally-opposed flat-6 layout, the rocking motions of the two straight cylinder banks offset each
other, while in the inline-6 layout, the two ends of engine are mirror images of each other and
compensate every rocking motion. Concentrating on the first order rocking motion, the V6 can be
assumed to consist of two separate straight-3 where counterweights on the crankshaft and a counter
rotating balancer shaft compensate the first order rocking motion. At mating, the angle between the
banks and the angle between the crankshafts can be varied so that the balancer shafts cancel each
other 90 V6 (larger counter weights) and the even firing 60 V6 with 60 flying arms (smaller
counter weights). The second order rocking motion can be balanced by a single co-rotating balancer
shaft.
The most efficient cylinder bank angle for a V6 is 60 degrees, minimizing size and vibration. While
60 V6 engines are not as well balanced as inline-6 and flat-6 engines, modern techniques for
designing and mounting engines have largely disguised their vibrations. Unlike most other angles, 60
degree V6 engines can be made acceptably smooth without the need for balance shafts. When Lancia
pioneered the 60 V6 in 1950, a 6-throw crankshaft was used to give equal firing intervals of 120.
However, more modern designs often use a 3-throw crankshaft with what are termed flying arms
between the crankpins, which not only give the required 120 separation but also can be used for
balancing purposes. Combined with a pair of heavy counterweights on the crankshaft ends, these can
eliminate all but a modest secondary imbalance which can easily be damped out by the engine mounts.
Two firing order are possible: 1-5-3-6-2-4 or 1-2-4-6-5-3.
V60- 6 cylinder engine
Reciprocating engine dynamic properties
Scuola di Dottorato di Ricerca 2010 - Road vehicle and engine engineering science
25
The Buick V6 was notable because it introduced the concept of uneven firing, as a result of using the
90 V8 cylinder angle without adjusting the crankshaft design for the V6 configuration. Rather than
firing every 120of crankshaft rotation, the cylinders would fire alternately at 90and 150, resulting
in strong harmonic vibrations at certain engine speeds. These engines were often referred to by
mechanics as "shakers", due to the tendency of the engine to bounce around at idle speed. To
overcome the problem of uneven firing intervals with a 90V6 engine, Buick in America retained three-
throw crankshaft but ingeniously replaced the common, double-length, crankpins by adjacent single
crankpins that were staggered by 30 in opposite directions to produce a so-called split-pin
crankshaft.
More modern 90 V6 engine designs avoid these vibration problems by using
crankshafts with offset split crankpins and often by adding balancing shafts to
balance the 1
st
order free moment. Examples include the later versions of the Buick V6,
and earlier versions of the Mercedes-Benz V6 and AUDI V6. The Mercedes V6, although
designed to be built on the same assembly lines as the V8, used split crankpins, a counter-
rotating balancing shaft, and careful acoustic design to make it almost as smooth as the
inline-6 it replaced. However, in later versions Mercedes changed to a 60 angle, making
the engine more compact and allowing elimination of the balancing shaft. Despite the
difference in V angles, the Mercedes 60 V6s were built on the same assembly lines as
90V8s.
V90/30offset - 6 cylinder
engine
Reciprocating engine dynamic properties
Scuola di Dottorato di Ricerca 2010 - Road vehicle and engine engineering science
26
AUDI V6/90Gas
engine
30Split crank
pin
V90/30offset - 6 cylinder
engine
Balancing shaft to balance
the 1
st
order free moment