INTERNALCOMBUSTIONENGINE

 

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES

An Engine is a device which transforms the chemical energy of a fuel into thermal energy and uses this thermal energy to produce mechanical work. Engines normally convert thermal energy into mechanical work and therefore they are called heat engines.

Heat engines can be broadly classified into :

i) External combustion engines ( E C Engines)

ii) Internal combustion engines ( I C Engines )

External combustion engines are those in which combustion takes place outside the engine. For example, In steam engine or steam turbine the heat generated due to combustion of fuel and it is employed to generate high pressure steam, which is used as working fluid in a reciprocating engine or turbine. 

Internal combustion engines can be classified as Continuous IC engines and Intermittent IC engines.

In continuous IC engines products of combustion of the fuel enters into the prime mover as the working fluid. For example : In Open cycle gas turbine plant. Products of combustion from the combustion chamber enters through the turbine to generate the power continuously

In Intermittent internal combustion engine combustion of fuel takes place inside the engine cylinder. Power is generated intermittently (only during power stroke) and flywheel is used to provide uniform output torque. Usually these engines are reciprocating engines. The reciprocating engine mechanism consists of piston which moves in a cylinder and forms a movable gas tight seal. By means of a connecting rod and a crank shaft arrangement, the reciprocating motion of piston is converted into a rotary motion of the crankshaft. They are most popular because of their use as main prime mover in commercial vehicles.

CLASSIFICATION OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

1. According to thermodynamic cycle

i) Otto cycle engine or Constant volume heat supplied cycle.

ii) Diesel cycle engine or Constant pressure heat supplied cycle

iii) Dual-combustion cycle engine

2. According to the fuel used:

i) Petrol engine ii) Diesel engine iii) Gas engine

2. According to the cycle of operation:

i) Two stroke cycle engine ii) Four stroke cycle engine

4. According to the method of ignition:

i) Spark ignition (S.I) engine ii) Compression ignition (C I ) engine

5. According to the number of cylinders.

i) Single cylinder engine ii) Multi cylinder engine

6. According to the arrangement of cylinder:

I) Horizontal engine ii) Vertical engine iii) V-engine

v) In-line engine vi) Radial engine, etc.

7. According to the method of cooling the cylinder:

I) Air cooled engine ii) Water cooled engine

8. According to their applications:

i) Stationary engine ii) Automobile engine iii) Aero engine

iv) Locomotive engine v) Marine engine, etc.

1. Cylinder :- It is a container fitted with piston, where the fuel is burnt and power is

produced.

2.Cylinder Head/Cylinder Cover:-

One end of the cylinder is closed by means of cylinder head. This consists of inlet valve for admitting air fuel mixture and exhaust valve for removing the products of combustion.

3. Piston:- Piston is used to reciprocate inside the cylinder. It transmits the energy to crankshaft through connecting rod.

4. Piston Rings:- These are used to maintain a pressure tight seal between the piston and cylinder walls and also it transfer the heat from the piston head to cylinder walls.

5. Connecting Rod:- One end of the connecting rod is connected to piston through piston pin while the other is connected to crank through crank pin. It transmits the reciprocator motion of piston to rotary crank. 

6. Crank:- It is a lever between connecting rod and crank shaft.

7. Crank Shaft:- The function of crank shaft is to transform reciprocating motion in to a rotary motion.

8. Fly wheel:- Fly wheel is a rotating mass used as an energy storing device.

9. Crank Case:- It supports and covers the cylinder and the crank shaft. It is used to store the lubricating oil.

Bore: The inside diameter of the cylinder is called the bore.

Stroke: The linear distance along the cylinder axis between the two limiting positions of the piston is called stroke.

Top Dead Centre (T.D.C) The top most position of the piston towards cover end side of the cylinder” is called top dead centre. In case of horizontal engine, it is called as inner dead centre

Bottom Dead Centre (B.D.C) The lowest position of the piston towards the crank end side of the cylinder is called bottom dead centre. In case of horizontal engine, it is called outer dead centre (O.D.C).

Clearance Volume The volume contained in the cylinder above the top of the piston,

when the piston is at the top dead centre is called clearance volume.

Compression ratio It is the ratio of total cylinder volume to clearance volume

Four-Stroke Petrol Engine OR Four stroke Spark Ignition Engine (S.I. engine)

The four-stroke cycle petrol engines operate on Otto (constant volume). Since ignition in these engines is due to a spark, they are also called spark

ignition engines.

 The four different strokes are:

i) Suction stroke

ii) Compression stroke

iii) Working or power or expansion stroke

iv) Exhaust stroke.

Suction Stroke : During suction stroke, the piston is moved from the top dead centre tothe bottom dead centre by the crank shaft. The crank shaft is revolved either by the momentum of the flywheel or by the electric starting motor. The inlet valve remains open and the exhaust valve is closed during this stroke. The proportionate air-petrol mixture is sucked into the cylinder due to the downward movement of the piston.

Compression Stroke: During compression stroke, the piston moves from bottom dead centre to the top dead centre, thus compressing air petrol mixture. Due to compression, the pressure and temperature are increased and is shown by the line BC on the P- V diagram. Just before the end of this stroke the spark - plug initiates a spark, which ignites the mixture and combustion takes place at constant volume as shown by the line CD. Both the inlet and exhaust valves remain closed during this stroke.

Working Stroke: The expansion of hot gases exerts a pressure on the piston. Due to this pressure, the piston moves from top dead centre to bottom dead centre and thus the work is obtained in this stroke. Both the inlet and exhaust valves remain closed during this stroke. The expansion of the gas is shown by the curve DE.

Exhaust Stroke: During this stroke, the inlet valve remains closed and the exhaust valve opens. The greater part of the burnt gases escapes because of their own expansion. The drop in pressure at constant volume is represented by the line EB. The piston moves from bottom dead centre to top dead centre and pushes the remaining gases to the atmosphere. When the piston reaches the top dead centre the exhaust valve closes and cycle is completed. This stroke is represented by the line BA on the P- V diagram. The operations are repeated over and over again in running the engine. Thus a four stroke engine completes one working cycle, during this the crank rotate by two revolutions.

The four stroke cycle diesel engine operates on diesel cycle or constant pressure cycle.

Since ignition in these engines is due to the temperature of the compressed air, they

are also called compression ignition engines.

TWO STROKE CYCLE ENGINE

In two stroke cycle engines, the suction and exhaust strokes are eliminated. There are only two remaining strokes i.e., the compression stroke and power stroke and these are usually called upward stroke and downward stroke respectively. Also, instead of valves, there are inlet and exhaust ports in two stroke cycle engines. The burnt exhaust gases are forced out through the exhaust port by a fresh charge which enters the cylinder nearly at the end of the working stroke through the inlet port. The process of removing burnt exhaust gases from the engine cylinder is known as scavenging.

 Two Stroke Cycle Petrol Engine

The principle of two-stroke cycle petrol engine is shown in Figure 7. Its two strokes are described as follows:

Upward Stroke :

During the upward stroke, the piston moves from bottom dead centre to top dead centre, compressing the air-petrol mixture in the cylinder. The cylinder is connected to a closed crank chamber. Due to upward movement of the piston, a partial vacuum is created in the crankcase, and a new charge is drawn into the crank case through the uncovered inlet port. The exhaust port and transfer port are covered when the piston is at the top dead centre position as shown in Figure 7 (b). The compressed charge is ignited in the combustion chamber by a spark provided by the spark plug. Downward Stroke: As soon as the charge is ignited, the hot gases force the piston to move downwards, rotating the crankshaft, thus doing the useful work. During this stroke the inlet port is covered by the piston and the new charge is compressed in the crank case . Further downward movement of the piston uncovers first the exhaust port and then the transfer port .The burnt gases escape through the exhaust port. As soon as the transfer port opens, the compressed charge from the crankcase flows into the cylinder. The charge is deflected upwards by the hump provided on the head of the piston and pushes out most of the exhaust gases. It may be noted that the incoming air-petrol mixture helps the removal of burnt gases from the engine cylinder. If in case these exhaust gases do not leave the cylinder, the fresh charge gets diluted and efficiency of the engine will decrease. The cycle of events is then repeated.