Multi-Cylinder Engine

Multi-cylinder engine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For multiple-cylinder steam engines, see Compound steam engine and Triple-expansion steam engine
A multi-cylinder engine is a reciprocating internal combustion engine

with multiple cylinders. It can be either a 2-stroke or 4-stroke engine,
and can be either Diesel or spark-ignition. The cylinders and the
crankshaft which is driven by and co-ordinates the motion of the pistons
can be configured in a wide variety of ways. Multi-cylinder engines
offer a number of advantages over single-cylinder engines, chiefly with
their ability to neutralize imbalances by having corresponding
mechanisms moving in opposing directions during the operation of the
engine.[1] A multiple-cylinder engine is also capable of delivering
higher revolutions per minute (RPM) than a single-cylinder engine of
equal displacement, because the stroke of the pistons is reduced,
decreasing the distance necessary for a piston to travel back and forth
per each rotation of the crankshaft, and thus limiting the piston speed A cutaway illustration of a V6, 24-valve,
for a given RPM. Typically, the more cylinders an engine has, the DOHC engine, an example of aVee-
higher the RPM's it can attain for a given displacement and technology configured six-cylinder engine.
level, at a cost of increased friction losses and complexity. Peak torque
is also reduced, but the total horsepower is increased due to the higher
RPM's attained.
Although there are 1, 3 and 5-cylinder engines, almost all other inline
engines are built with even numbers of cylinders, as it's easier to
balance out the mechanical vibrations. Another form of multiple-
cylinder internal combustion engine is the radial engine, with cylinders
arranged in a star pattern around a central crankshaft. Radial engines
are most commonly used as aircraft engines, and in basic single-row
configuration are typically built with odd numbers of cylinders (from 3
to 9), as odd numbers are easier to balance in this configuration. "Twin- A flat-twin engine.
row" or "multi-row" radials are also built, which is basically two or
more single-row radials connected front-to-back and driving a common
crankshaft. In this "twin row", or "multi-row" configuration, the total
number of cylinders will be an even number, although each row still has
an odd number. For example, a typical single row radial such as the
Wright Cyclone has 9 cylinders. The twin row Wright Twin Cyclone is
based on this engine and thus has two banks of 9 cylinders, for a total of
18, an even number.
Contents
A 1905 Wolseley straight-12 engine.
1 Common configurations
1.1 Two-cylinder engines
1.2 Three-cylinder engines
1.3 Four-cylinder engines
1.4 Five-cylinder engines
1.5 Six-cylinder engines
1.6 Eight-cylinder engines
1.7 Ten-cylinder engines
1.8 Twelve-cylinder engines
2 Larger configurations
3 References
Common configurations
Two-cylinder engines
Configurations of two-cylinder engines include:
Straight-twin engine, or "parallel twin" with two cylinders in An Fiat AS.6 engine for a Macchi-
parallel sharing a crankshaft. Castoldi M.C.72 racing seaplane. While
V-twin engine, or "V2" engine, two cylinders in V configuration, it is often considered a "V24 engine", it
sharing a crankshaft. is actually two V12 engines bolted
Flat-twin engine, a flat engine with 2 opposed cylinders on the together in tandem, driving separate
same crankshaft angled 180° to each other. crankshafts.
Three-cylinder engines
Configurations of three-cylinder engines include:
Straight-three engine, also called the inline-triple, inline-3, or I-3 engine, the most common three-
cylinder internal combustion engine.
V3 engine, seen on some two-stroke racing motorcycles.
W engine with three cylinders (W3), such as the Anzani 3-cylinder fan engines, ("W"and radial three-
cylinder engines of 1905 to 1915, used in the Blériot XI which first flew the English Channel among
other applications).
Four-cylinder engines
Configurations of four-cylinder engines include:
Inline-four engine, an engine with 4 cylinders in a straight line and most common 4 cylinder engine
layout.
V4 engine, an engine with 4 cylinders arranged in a V configuration.
Flat-four engine, a flat engine with 4 cylinders horizontally opposed to each other at 180° apart.
Square four engine (U4 engine), two banks of 2 cylinders, each driving a single crankshaft and geared to
a common output shaft.
Five-cylinder engines
Configurations of five-cylinder engines include:
Straight-five engine, an engine with 5 cylinders in a straight line.

VR5 engine, an engine with 5 cylinders staggered slightly, allowing cylinder bore centerlines to be closer
together, reducing overall engine length.
V5 engine, an engine with 5 cylinders in a V configuration
Six-cylinder engines
Configurations of six-cylinder engines include:
V6 engine, a V engine with six cylinders.

VR6 engine, a compromise between a V6 and straight-6 engine, shorter than a straight-6 and narrower
than a V-6.
Straight-six engine, an engine with six cylinders aligned in a straight line.
Flat-six engine, a flat engine with two banks of 3 cylinders horizontally opposed at 180° apart.
Eight-cylinder engines
Configurations of eight-cylinder engines include:
V8 engine, an engine with 8 cylinders arranged in a V configuration.

Straight-eight engine, an engine with 8 cylinders in a straight line.
Flat-eight engine, a flat engine with 8 cylinders horizontally opposed to each other at 180° apart.
W8 engine, an engine with 8 cylinders in four banks of 2, arranged in a "W" configuration.
Ten-cylinder engines
Configurations of ten-cylinder engines include:
V10 engine, a V-engine with ten cylinders.

Straight-10 engine, an engine with ten cylinders aligned in a single row.
Twelve-cylinder engines
Configurations of twelve-cylinder engines include:
Straight-12 engine, a straight engine with twelve cylinders.

V12 engine, a V engine with twelve cylinders.
Flat-twelve engine, a flat engine with twelve cylinders.
W12 engine, a W engine with twelve cylinders in either four groups of 3, or three groups of 4.
Larger configurations
V14 engine
V16 engine
F16 engine
U16 engine
W16 engine
V18 engine
W18 engine
V20 engine
V24 engine
References
1. Victor Albert Walter Hillier, Peter Coombes, Hillier's Fundamentals of Motor Vehicle Technology, Book
1 (2004), p. 47.
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What are some common configurations of multi-cylinder engines?

What are some common configurations of multi-cylinder engines?

What are some examples of different types of radial engines?

What are some examples of different types of radial engines?

Multi-cylinder engine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A multi-cylinder engine is a reciprocating internal combustion engine

Configurations of two-cylinder engines include:

Configurations of three-cylinder engines include:

Configurations of four-cylinder engines include:

Configurations of five-cylinder engines include:

Straight-five engine, an engine with 5 cylinders in a straight line.

Configurations of six-cylinder engines include:

V6 engine, a V engine with six cylinders.

Configurations of eight-cylinder engines include:

V8 engine, an engine with 8 cylinders arranged in a V configuration.

Configurations of ten-cylinder engines include:

V10 engine, a V-engine with ten cylinders.

Configurations of twelve-cylinder engines include:

Straight-12 engine, a straight engine with twelve cylinders.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Multi-cylinder_engine&oldid=784126885"

This page was last edited on 6 June 2017, at 16:23.

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