UNIT 1 CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION

Heat engine:
A heat engine is a device which transforms the chemical energy of a fuel into thermal energy and uses
this energy to produce mechanical work. It is classified into two types-
(a) External combustion engine
(b) Internal combustion engine

External combustion engine:

In this engine, the products of combustion of air and fuel transfer heat to a second fluid which is the
working fluid of the cycle.
Examples:
 In the steam engine or a steam turbine plant, the heat of combustion is employed to generate
steam which is used in a piston engine (reciprocating type engine) or a turbine (rotary type
engine) for useful work.
 In a closed cycle gas turbine, the heat of combustion in an external furnace is transferred to gas,
usually air which the working fluid of the cycle.
Internal combustion engine:
In this engine, the combustion of air and fuels take place inside the cylinder and are used as the direct
motive force. It can be classified into the following types:
1. According to the basic engine design- (a) Reciprocating engine (Use of cylinder piston arrangement),
(b) Rotary engine (Use of turbine)
2. According to the type of fuel used- (a) Petrol engine, (b) diesel engine, (c) gas engine (CNG, LPG), (d)
Alcohol engine (ethanol, methanol etc)
3. According to the number of strokes per cycle- (a) Four stroke and (b) Two stroke engine
4. According to the method of igniting the fuel- (a) Spark ignition engine, (b) compression ignition engine
and (c) hot spot ignition engine
5. According to the working cycle- (a) Otto cycle (constant volume cycle) engine, (b) diesel cycle

(constant pressure cycle) engine, (c) dual combustion cycle (semi diesel cycle) engine.

6. According to the fuel supply and mixture preparation- (a) Carburetted type (fuel supplied through the
carburettor), (b) Injection type (fuel injected into inlet ports or inlet manifold, fuel injected into the
cylinder just before ignition).
7. According to the number of cylinder- (a) Single cylinder and (b) multi-cylinder engine
8. Method of cooling- water cooled or air cooled
9. Speed of the engine- Slow speed, medium speed and high speed engine
10. Cylinder arrangement-Vertical, horizontal, inline, V-type, radial, opposed cylinder or piston engines.
11. Valve or port design and location- Overhead (I head), side valve (L head); in two stroke engines: cross
scavenging, loop scavenging, uniflow scavenging.
12. Method governing- Hit and miss governed engines, quantitatively governed engines and qualitatively
governed engine
14. Application- Automotive engines for land transport, marine engines for propulsion of ships, aircraft

engines for aircraft propulsion, industrial engines, prime movers for electrical generators.
Comparison between external combustion engine and internal combustion engine:

External combustion engine Internal combustion engine

*Combustion of air-fuel is outside the engine * Combustion of air-fuel is inside the engine
cylinder (in a boiler) cylinder (in a boiler)
*The engines are running smoothly and silently * Very noisy operated engine
due to outside combustion
*Higher ratio of weight and bulk to output due * It is light and compact due to lower ratio of
to presence of auxiliary apparatus like boiler weight and bulk to output.
and condenser. Hence it is heavy and
cumbersome.
*Working pressure and temperature inside the * Working pressure and temperature inside the
engine cylinder is low; hence ordinary alloys are engine cylinder is very much high; hence special
used for the manufacture of engine cylinder alloys are used
and its parts.
*It can use cheaper fuels including solid fuels *High grade fuels are used with proper
filtration
*Lower efficiency about 15-20% *Higher efficiency about 35-40%
* Higher requirement of water for dissipation of *Lesser requirement of water
energy through cooling system
*High starting torque *IC engines are not self-starting

Main components of reciprocating IC engines:

Cylinder: It is the main part of the engine inside which piston reciprocates to and fro. It should have high
strength to withstand high pressure above 50 bar and temperature above 2000 oC. The ordinary engine
is made of cast iron and heavy duty engines are made of steel alloys or aluminum alloys. In the multi-
cylinder engine, the cylinders are cast in one block known as cylinder block.

Cylinder head: The top end of the cylinder is covered by cylinder head over which inlet and exhaust
valve, spark plug or injectors are mounted. A copper or asbestos gasket is provided between the engine
cylinder and cylinder head to make an air tight joint.

Piston: Transmit the force exerted by the burning of charge to the connecting rod. Usually made of
aluminium alloy which has good heat conducting property and greater strength at higher temperature.
Figure 1 shows the different components of IC engine.
 Fig. 1. Different parts of IC engine

Piston rings: These are housed in the circumferential grooves provided on the outer surface of the
piston and made of steel alloys which retain elastic properties even at high temperature. 2 types of
rings- compression and oil rings. Compression ring is upper ring of the piston which provides air tight
seal to prevent leakage of the burnt gases into the lower portion. Oil ring is lower ring which provides
effective seal to prevent leakage of the oil into the engine cylinder.
Connecting rod: It converts reciprocating motion of the piston into circular motion of the crank shaft, in
the working stroke. The smaller end of the connecting rod is connected with the piston by gudgeon pin
and bigger end of the connecting rod is connected with the crank with crank pin. The special steel alloys
or aluminium alloys are used for the manufacture of connecting rod.

Crankshaft: It converts the reciprocating motion of the piston into the rotary motion with the help of
connecting rod. The special steel alloys are used for the manufacturing of the crankshaft. It consists of
eccentric portion called crank.
Crank case: It houses cylinder and crankshaft of the IC engine and also serves as sump for the lubricating
oil.
Flywheel: It is big wheel mounted on the crankshaft, whose function is to maintain its speed constant. It
is done by storing excess energy during the power stroke, which is returned during other stroke.
Terminology used in IC engine:
1. Cylinder bore (D): The nominal inner diameter of the working cylinder.
2. Piston area (A): The area of circle of diameter equal to the cylinder bore.
3. Stroke (L): The nominal distance through which a working piston moves between two successive
reversals of its direction of motion.
4. Dead centre: The position of the working piston and the moving parts which are mechanically
connected to it at the moment when the direction of the piston motion is reversed (at either end point
of the stroke).
(a) Bottom dead centre (BDC): Dead centre when the piston is nearest to the crankshaft.
(b) Top dead centre (TDC): Dead centre when the position is farthest from the crankshaft.
5. Displacement volume or swept volume (Vs): The nominal volume generated by the working piston
when travelling from the one dead centre to next one and given as,

Vs=A × L

6. Clearance volume (Vc): the nominal volume of the space on the combustion side of the piston at the
top dead centre.
7. Cylinder volume (V): Total volume of the cylinder.
V= Vs + Vc

FOUR STROKE ENGINE:

- Cycle of operation completed in four strokes of the piston or two revolution of the piston.

(i) Suction stroke (suction valve open, exhaust valve closed)-charge consisting of fresh air mixed with the
fuel is drawn into the cylinder due to the vacuum pressure created by the movement of the piston from
TDC to BDC.
(ii) Compression stroke (both valves closed)-fresh charge is compressed into clearance volume by the
return stroke of the piston and ignited by the spark for combustion. Hence pressure and temperature is
increased due to the combustion of fuel
(iii) Expansion stroke (both valves closed)-high pressure of the burnt gases force the piston towards BDC
and hence power is obtained at the crankshaft.
(iv) Exhaust stroke (exhaust valve open, suction valve closed)- burned gases expel out due to the
movement of piston from BDC to TDC.

Fig. 2. Cycle of operation in four stroke engine

Two stroke engine:
 No piston stroke for suction and exhaust operations
 Suction is accomplished by air compressed in crankcase or by a blower
 Induction of compressed air removes the products of combustion through exhaust ports
 Transfer port is there to supply the fresh charge into combustion chamber

Fig. 3. Cycle of operation in two stroke engine

Comparison of Four-stroke and two-stroke engine:

Four-stroke engine Two-stroke engine

1. Four stroke of the piston and two Two stroke of the piston and one revolution of
revolution of crankshaft crankshaft
2. One power stroke in every two revolution One power stroke in each revolution of
of crankshaft crankshaft
3. Heavier flywheel due to non-uniform Lighter flywheel due to more uniform turning
turning movement movement
4. Power produce is less Theoretically power produce is twice than the
four stroke engine for same size
5. Heavy and bulky Light and compact
6. Lesser cooling and lubrication Greater cooling and lubrication requirements
requirements
7. Lesser rate of wear and tear Higher rate of wear and tear
8. Contains valve and valve mechanism Contains ports arrangement
9. Higher initial cost Cheaper initial cost
10. Volumetric efficiency is more due to Volumetric efficiency less due to lesser time of
greater time of induction induction
11. Thermal efficiency is high and also part Thermal efficiency is low, part load efficiency
load efficiency better lesser
12. It is used where efficiency is important. It is used where low cost, compactness and
Ex-cars, buses, trucks, tractors, industrial light weight are important.
engines, aero planes, power generation Ex-lawn mowers, scooters, motor cycles,
etc. mopeds, propulsion ship etc.

Comparison of SI and CI engine:

SI engine CI engine
Working cycle is Otto cycle. Working cycle is diesel cycle.
Petrol or gasoline or high octane fuel is used. Diesel or high cetane fuel is used.
High self-ignition temperature. Low self-ignition temperature.
Fuel and air introduced as a gaseous mixture in Fuel is injected directly into the combustion
the suction stroke. chamber at high pressure at the end of
compression stroke.
Carburettor used to provide the mixture. Injector and high pressure pump used to supply
Throttle controls the quantity of mixture of fuel. Quantity of fuel regulated in pump.
introduced.
Use of spark plug for ignition system Self-ignition by the compression of air which
increased the temperature required for
combustion
Compression ratio is 6 to 10.5 Compression ratio is 14 to 22
Higher maximum RPM due to lower weight Lower maximum RPM
Maximum efficiency lower due to lower Higher maximum efficiency due to higher
compression ratio compression ratio
Lighter Heavier due to higher pressures

Valve timing diagram:

The exact moment at which the inlet and outlet valve opens and closes with reference to the position of
the piston and crank shown diagrammatically is known as valve timing diagram. It is expressed in terms
of degree crank angle. The theoretical valve timing diagram is shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4. Theoretical valve timing diagram

But actual valve timing diagram is different from theoretical due to two factors-mechanical and dynamic
factors. Figure 4 shows the actual valve timing diagram for four stroke low speed or high speed engine.
Opening and closing of inlet valve
 Inlet valve opens 12 to 30ᵒ CA before TDC to facilitate silent operation of the engine under
high speed. It increases the volumetric efficiency.
 Inlet valve closes 10-60ᵒ CA after TDC due to inertia movement of fresh charge into cylinder
i.e. ram effect.

Fig. 5. Actual valve timing diagram for low and high speed engine

Opening and closing of exhaust valve

Exhaust valve opens 25 to 55ᵒ CA before BDC to reduce the work required to expel out the burnt gases
from the cylinder. At the end of expansion stroke, the pressure inside the chamber is high, hence work
to expel out the gases increases.
Exhaust valve closes 10 to 30ᵒ CA after TDC to avoid the compression of burnt gases in next cycle. Kinetic
energy of the burnt gas can assist maximum exhausting of the gas. It also increases the volumetric
efficiency.
Note: For low and high speed engine, the lower and upper values are used respectively.

Valve overlap
During this time both the intake and exhaust valves are open. The intake valve is opened before the
exhaust gases have completely left the cylinder, and their considerable velocity assists in drawing in the
fresh charge. Engine designers aim to close the exhaust valve just as the fresh charge from the intake
valve reaches it, to prevent either loss of fresh charge or unscavenged exhaust gas.

Port timing diagram:

-Drawn for 2-stroke engine
-No valve arrangement
-3 ports- inlet, transfer and exhaust
 Figure. 6. Port timing diagram for 2-stroke engine

Firing order:
The order or sequence in which the firing takes place, in different cylinders of a multi-cylinder engine is
called Firing Order.
In case of SI engines the distributor connects the spark plugs of different cylinders according to Engine
Firing Order.
Advantages
(a) A proper firing order reduces engine vibrations
(b) Maintains engine balancing.
(c) Secures an even flow of power.
 Firing order differs from engine-to-engine.
 Probable firing orders for different engines are :
− 3 cylinder = 1-3-2
− 4 cylinder engine (inline) = 1-3-4-2
1-2-4-3
− 4 cylinder horizontal opposed engine = 1-4-3-2
(Volkswagen engine)
− 6-cylinder in line engine = 1-5-3-6-2-4
(Cranks in 3 pairs) 1-4-2-6-3-5
1-3-2-6-4-5
1-2-4-6-5-3
− 8 cylinder in line engine 1-6-2-5-8-3-7-4
1-4-7-3-8-5-2-6
8 cylinder V type 1-5-4-8-6-3-7-2
1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8
1-6-2-5-8-3-7-4
1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2
 Cylinder 1 is taken from front of inline and front right side in V engines
WORKING CYCLE:
(a) Otto cycle
 Thermodynamic cycle for SI/petrol engine
 Reversible adiabatic compression and expansion process
 Constant volume heat addition (combustion) and heat rejection process (exhaust)

Fig. 7. P-V Diagram of Otto cycle

(b) Diesel cycle
 Thermodynamic cycle for low speed CI/diesel engine
 Reversible adiabatic compression and expansion process
 Constant pressure heat addition (combustion) and heat rejection process (exhaust)

Fig. 8. P-V Diagram of Diesel cycle

(c) Dual cycle or limited pressure cycle-
 Thermodynamic cycle for high speed diesel and hot spot ignition engine
 Reversible adiabatic compression and expansion process
Constant pressure and constant volume heat addition (combustion) and heat rejection
process

Fig. 9. P-V diagram of Dual cycle