OM

UNIT-II

COMBUSTION IN SI & CI ENGINES

COMBUSTION IN SI ENGINES

Combustion in the SI engine may be broadly divided into two general types,
 Normal combustion
 Abnormal combustion.
Normal combustion:

In normal combustion, the flame initiated by the spark travels across the combustion chamber
in a fairly uniform manner.

Abnormal combustion:

• Under certain operating conditions the combustion deviates from its normal course
leading to loss of performance and possible damage to the engine.

• This type of combustion may be termed as an abnormal combustion.

• The consequences of this abnormal combustion process are the loss of power,
recurring pre-ignition and mechanical damage to the engine.

Types of abnormal combustions:

1. Pre-ignition

2. Knocking (or) Detonation (or) Pinking

Pre-ignition

High temperature carbon deposits formed inside the combustion chamber ignite the air fuel
mixture before normal ignition occurs by spark plug. This ignition due to hot carbon deposits
is called pre-ignition. After some time of Pre-ignition, the normal ignition starts and both the
flames get collided. If Pre-ignition occurs much early in the compression stroke, the work to
compress the charge will be increased.

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So the net power output will be reduced. Also this may cause crank failure due to high load to
compress charge. Pre-ignition causes very high pressure and temperature. It causes the
detonation. Pre-ignition is considered as abnormal combustion.

Knocking (or) Detonation (or) Pinking

There are two general theories of detonation:

1. The auto-ignition theory

2. Detonation theory

A sudden and violent noise (knock) experienced inside the engine cylinder is known as
Detonation. This detonation is due to high pressure waves striking the cylinder walls,
cylinder head and piston with loud noise. When spark occurs, the combustion of fuel near the
spark plug commences. The flame travels through combustion chamber with high speed. The
high pressure and high temperature gases produced by this ignition compress the fresh charge
in front of the moving flame. Hence the temperature and pressure of fresh charge is increased
beyond the limit and a spontaneous ignition takes place in far away from spark plug. This
zone, far away from spark plugs where spontaneous ignition takes place is called ‘detonating
zone’.

This auto ignition spreads throughout the air-fuel mixture making its temperature and
pressure rise further and produces loud pulsating sound called ‘pinking’ or ‘knocking’ or
‘hammer-blow’.

The temperature in the detonating zone is higher than the non-detonating zone. More heat is
lost in the surface of the combustion chamber and as a result, the output of engine is
decreased.

In mild detonation, the engine surface will be heated up. In severe detonation, fracture may
occur on the engine. Due to detonation, carbon may be deposited inside the combustion
chamber. When this carbon deposit gets heated, its temperature will be very high to pre ignite
the fresh charge which is known as pre-ignition.

Detonation occurs after sparking and pre-ignition occurs before sparking. One of the causes
for pre-ignition is detonation. The detonation can be reduced by properly designing the
combustion chamber so that there is always a turbulence of mixture.

STAGES OF COMBUSTION IN SI ENGINES

A typical theoretical pressure-crank angle diagram, during the process of compression (a-b),
combustion (b-c) and expansion (c-d) in an ideal four-stroke spark-ignition engine is shown
in Fig. 11.1. In an ideal engine, as can be seen from the diagram, the entire pressure rise
during combustion takes place at constant volume i.e. at TDC. However in an actual engine
this does not happen.

The combustion process in a SI engine as consisting of three stages:

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 I. Ignition lag
II. Propagation of flame
III. Afterburning

The pressure variation due to combustion in a practical engine is shown in Fig. 11.2. In this
figure, A is the point of passage of spark (say 20°bTDC), B is the point at which the
beginning of pressure rise can be detected (say 8° bTDC) and C the attainment of peak
pressure. Thus AB represents the first stage and BC the second stage and CD the third stage.

Ignition lag:

The first stage (A—B) is referred to as the ignition lag or preparation phase in which growth
and development of a self-propagating nucleus of flame takes place. This is a chemical
process depending upon both temperature and pressure, the nature of the fuel and the
proportion of the exhaust residual gas. Further, it also depends upon the relationship between
the temperature and the rate of reaction.

Propagation of flame:

The second stage (B-C) is a physical one and it is concerned with the spread of the flame
throughout the combustion chamber. The starting point of the second stage is where the first
measurable rise of pressure is seen on the indicator diagram i.e., the point where the line of

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combustion departs from the compression line (point B). This can be seen from the deviation
from the motoring curve.

During the second stage the flame propagates practically at a constant velocity. Heat transfer
to the cylinder wall is low, because only a small part of the burning mixture comes in contact
with the cylinder wall during this period. The rate of heat-release depends largely on the
turbulence intensity and also on the reaction rate which is dependent on the mixture
composition. The rate of pressure rise is proportional to the rate of heat-release because
during this stage, the combustion chamber volume remains practically constant (since piston
is near the top dead centre).

Afterburning:

The starting point of the third stage is usually taken as the instant at which the maximum
pressure is reached on the indicator diagram (point C). The flame velocity decreases during
this stage. The rate of combustion becomes low due to lower flame velocity and reduced
flame front surface. Since the expansion stroke starts before this stage of combustion, with
the piston moving away from the top dead centre, there can be no pressure rise during this
stage.

FLAME FRONT PROPAGATION:

 For efficient combustion the rate of propagation of the flame front within the cylinder
is quite critical.

 The two important factors which determine the rate of movement of the flame front
across the combustion chamber are the reaction rate and the transposition rate.

 The reaction rate is the result of a purely chemical combination process in which the
flame eats its way into the unburned charge.

 The transposition rate is due to the physical movement of the flame front relative to
the cylinder wall and is also the result of the pressure differential between the burning
gases and the unburnt gases in the combustion chamber.

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  Figure. shows the rate of flame propagation. In area I, (A-B), the flame front progresses
relatively slowly due to a low transposition rate and low turbulence. The transposition of the
flame front is very little since there is a comparatively small mass of charge burned at the
start.

 Next the flame front leaves the quiescent zone and proceeds into more turbulent areas (area
II) where it consumes a greater mass of mixture, it progresses more rapidly and at a constant
rate (B-C) as shown in Fig.

 The volume of unburned charge is very much less towards the end of flame travel and so the
transposition rate again becomes negligible thereby reducing the flame speed. The reaction
rate is also reduced again since the flame is entering a zone (area III) of relatively low
turbulence (C-D) in Fig.

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE FLAME SPEED:

1. Turbulence
2. Fuel-Air- Ratio
3. Temperature and Pressure
4. Compression Ratio
5. Engine Output
6. Engine Speed
7. Engine Size

Turbulence:

 The flame speed is quite low in non-turbulent mixtures and increases with increasing
turbulence.
 turbulence increases the heat flow to the cylinder wall.
 It also accelerates the chemical reaction by intimate mixing of fuel and oxygen so that
spark advance may be reduced.
 This helps in burning lean mixtures also.
 The increase of flame speed due to turbulence reduces the combustion duration and
hence minimizes the tendency of abnormal combustion.
 However, excessive turbulence may extinguish the flame resulting in rough and noisy
operation of the engine.

Fuel-Air- Ratio:

 The fuel-air ratio has a very significant influence on the flame speed. The highest flame
velocities (minimum time for complete combustion) are obtained with somewhat richer
mixture (point A) as shown in Fig.
 When the mixture is made leaner or richer (see point A in Fig.) the flame speed
decreases.
 Less thermal energy- is released in the case of lean mixtures resulting in lower flame
temperature.

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  Very rich mixtures lead to incomplete combustion which results again in the release of
less thermal energy.

Temperature and Pressure:

 Flame speed increases with an increase in intake temperature and pressure.

 A higher initial pressure and temperature may help to form a better homogeneous air-
vapour mixture which helps in increasing the flame speed.
 This is possible because of an overall increase in the density of the charge.

Compression Ratio:

 A higher compression ratio increases the pressure & temperature of the working mixture
which reduce the initial Preparation phase of combustion and hence less ignition advance
is needed.
 High pressures & temperatures of the compressed mixture also speed up the second Phase
of combustion.
 Increased compression ratio reduces the clearance volume and therefore increases the
density of the cylinder gases during burning.
 This increases the peak pressure and temperature and the total combustion duration is
reduced.
 Thus engines having higher compression ratios have higher flame speeds.

Engine Output:

 The cycle pressure increases when the engine output is increased with increased
throttle opening the cylinder gets filled to a higher density. This results in increased
flame speed.
 When the output is decreased by throttling, the initial and final compression pressures
decrease and the dilution of the working mixture increases.

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Engine Speed:

 The flame speed increases almost linearly with engine speed since the increase in engine
speed increases the turbulence inside the cylinder.
 The time required for the flame to traverse the combustion space would be halved, if the
engine speed is doubled.
 Double the engine speed and hence half the original time would give the same number of
crank degrees for flame propagation.
 The crank angle required for the flame propagation during the entire phase of combustion,
will remain nearly constant at all speeds.

Engine Size:

 The size of the engine does not have much effect on the rate of flame propagation.
 In large engines the time required for complete combustion is more because the flame has
to travel a longer distance.
 This requires increase crank angle duration during the combustion.
 This is one of the reasons why large sized engines are designed to operate at low speeds.

THE PHENOMENON OF KNOCK IN SI ENGINES

If the temperature of the unburnt mixture exceeds the self-ignition temperature of the fuel and
remains at or above this temperature during the period of pre-flame reactions (ignition lag),
spontaneous ignition or auto-ignition occurs at various pin-point locations. This phenomenon
is called knocking. The process of auto-ignition leads towards engine knock.

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The phenomenon of knock maybe explained by referring to Fig.ll.6(a) which shows the ross-
section of the combustion chamber with flame advancing from the spark plug location A
without knock whereas Fig.ll.6(c) shows the combustion process with knock. In the normal
combustion the flame travels across the combustion chamber from A towards D. The
advancing flame front compresses the end charge BB'D farthest from the spark plug, thus
raising its temperature. The temperature is also increased due to heat transfer from the hot
advancing flame-front. Also some pre-flame oxidation may take place in the end charge
leading to further increase in temperature. In spite of these factors if the temperature of the
end charge had not reached its self-ignition temperature, the charge would not auto-ignite and
the flame will advance further and consume the charge BB'D.

This is the normal combustion process which is illustrated by means of the pressure-time
diagram, Fig. 11.6(b). However, if the end charge BB'D reaches its auto-ignition temperature
and remains up to the time of pre-flame reactions the charge will auto-ignite leading to
knocking combustion. In Fig.ll.6(c),it is assumed that when flame has reached the position
BB', the charge ahead of it has readied critical auto-ignition temperature. During the flame
front could move from BB' to only CC' then the charge ahead of CC' would auto-ignite.

Because of the auto-ignition, another flame front starts traveling in the opposite direction to
the main flame front. When the two flame fronts collide a severe pressure pulse is generated.
The gas in the chamber is subjected to compression and rarefaction along the pressure pulse
until pressure equilibrium is restored. This disturbance can force the walls of the combustion
chambers to vibrate at the same frequency as the gas. Gas vibration frequency in automobile
engines is of the order of 5000 cps. The pressure-time trace of such a situation is shown hi
Fig. 11.6(d).

when auto-ignition occurs, two different types of vibration may be produced. In one case a
large amount of mixture may auto-ignite giving rise to a very rapid increase in pressure
throughout the combustion chamber and there will be a direct blow on the engine structure.
The human ear can detect the resulting thudding sound and consequent noise from free
vibrations of the engine parts. In the other case, large pressure differences may exist in the
combustion chamber and the resulting gas vibrations can force the walls of the chamber to
vibrate at the same frequency as the gas. An audible sound may be evident.

The impact of knock on the engine components and structure can cause engine failure and in
addition the noise from engine vibration is always objectionable. The pressure differences in
the combustion chamber cause the gas to vibrate and scrub the chamber walls causing
increased loss of heat to the coolant.

Effects of knocking in SI Engine

1. Noise and Roughness

Knocking produces a loud pulsating noise and pressure waves. These waves vibrates back
and forth across the cylinder. The presence of this vibratory motion causes crank shaft
vibration and the engine runs roughly.
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2. Mechanical Damage

i. The high pressure wave generated during knocking can increase rate of wear of parts in
combustion chamber. Severe erosion of piston crown, cylinder head and small holes created
on inlet and outlet valves may result in complete damage of the engine.

ii. Due to Detonation, high noise level occurs in engine. In small engines, the noise can be
easily detected and corrective measures can be taken, but in large engines, it is difficult to
detect knocking noise and hence corrective measures cannot be taken which results in
complete damage of the piston.

3. Carbon deposits: Detonation leads to a huge amount of carbon deposition at the engine
outlet.

4. Increase in heat transfer: Knocking is accompanied with the increase in rate of heat
transfer across the combustion chamber walls.

5. Decrease in power output and efficiency: Due to increase in the rate of heat transfer, the
power output as well as efficiency of the engine decreases.

6. Pre-Ignition: The increase in heat transfer on the walls causes local over heating of the
spark plug which may reach a temperature high enough to ignite the charge before the
passage of spark, thus leading to pre-ignition. An engine detonating over a long period of
time often results in pre-ignition which is the real danger of detonation.

EFFECT OF ENGINE VARIABLES ON KNOCK

1. DENSITY FACTORS:

Compression Ratio: Compression ratio of an engine is an important factor which determines

both the pressure and temperature at the beginning of the combustion process. Increase in
compression ratio increases the pressure and temperature of the gases at the end of the
compression stroke. This decreases the ignition lag of the end gas and thereby increasing the
tendency for knocking. The overall increase in the density of the charge due to higher
compression ratio increases the pre-flame rations in the end charge thereby increasing the
knocking tendency of the engine. The increase in the knocking tendency of the engine with
increasing compression ratio is the main reason for limiting the compression ratio to a lower
value.

Mass of Inducted Charge: A reduction in the mass of the inducted charge into the cylinder
of an engine by throttling or by reducing the amount of supercharging reduces both
temperature and density of the charge at the time of ignition. This decreases the tendency of
knocking.

Inlet Temperature of the Mixture: Increase in the inlet temperature of the mixture makes
the compression temperature higher thereby, increasing the tendency of knocking. Further,
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volumetric efficiency will be lowered. Hence, a lower inlet temperature is always preferable
to reduce knocking. It is important that the temperature should not be so low as to cause
starting and vaporization problems in the engine.

Temperature of the Combustion Chamber Walls: Temperature of the combustion

chamber walls play a predominant role in knocking. In order to prevent knocking the hot
spots in the combustion chamber should be avoided. Since, the spark plug and exhaust valve
are two hottest parts in the combustion chamber, the end gas should not be compressed
against them.

Retarding the Spark Timing: By retarding the spark timing from the optimized timing, i.e.,
having the spark closer to TDC, the peak pressures are readied farther clown on the power
stroke and are thus of lower magnitude. This might reduce the knocking. However, the spark
timing will be different from the MBT timing. This will affect the brake torque and power
output of the engine.

Power Output of the Engine: A decrease in the output of the engine decreases the
temperature of the cylinder and the combustion chamber walls and also the pressure of the
charge thereby lowering mixture and end gas temperature. This reduces the tendency to
knock.

2 TIME FACTORS:

Increasing the flame speed or increasing the duration of the ignition lag or reducing the time
of exposure of the unburned mixture to auto-ignition condition will tend to reduce knocking.
The following factors, in most cases, reduce the possibility of knocking.

Turbulence: Turbulence depends on the design of the combustion chamber and on engine
speed. Increasing turbulence increases the flame speed and reduces the time available for the
end charge to attain auto-ignition conditions thereby decreasing the tendency to knock.

Engine Speed: An increase in engine, speed increases the turbulence of the mixture
considerably resulting in increased flame speed, and reduces the time available for pre-flame
reactions. Hence knocking tendency is reduced at higher speeds.

Flame Travel Distance: The knocking tendency is reduced by shortening the time required
for the flame front to traverse the combustion chamber. Engine size (combustion chamber
size), and spark plug position are the three important factors governing the flame travel
distance.

Engine Size: The flame requires a longer time to travel across the combustion chamber of a
larger engine. Therefore, a larger engine has a greater tendency for knocking than a smaller
engine since there is more time for the end gas to auto-ignite. Hence, a spark-ignition engine
is generally limited to size of about 150 mm bore.

Combustion Chamber Shape: Generally, the more compact the combustion chamber is, the
shorter is the flame travel and the combustion time and hence better antiknock characteristics.

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Therefore, the combustion chambers are made as spherical as possible to minimize the length
of the flame travel for a given volume. If the turbulence in the combustion chamber is high,
the combustion rate is high and consequently combustion time and knocking tendency are
reduced. Hence, the combustion chamber is shaped in such a way as to promote turbulence.

Location of Spark Plug: In order to have a minimum flame travel, the spark plug is centrally
located in the combustion chamber, resulting in minimum knocking tendency. The flame
travel can also be reduced by using two or more spark plugs in case of large engines.

3. COMPOSITION FACTORS:

Fuel-Air Ratio: The flame speeds are affected by fuel-air ratio. Also the flame temperature
and reaction time are different for different fuel-air ratios Maximum flame temperature is
obtained when φ= 1.1 to 1.2 whereas φ = 1 gives minimum reaction time for auto-ignition

Figure 11.7 shows the variation of knock limited compression ratio with respect to
equivalence ratio for iso-octane. The maximum tendency to knock takes place for the fuel-air
ratio which gives minimum reaction time as discussed earlier. Thus, the most predominant
factor is the reaction time of the mixture in this case.

In general except at rich end, the behaviour in the engine follows the same pattern as the fuel-
air ratio versus reaction time discussed earlier. The drop in Klimep at very rich end is caused
by large drop in thermal efficiency.

Octane Value of the Fuel: A higher self-ignition temperature of the fuel and a low pre-flame
reactivity would reduce the tendency of knocking. In general, paraffin series of hydrocarbon
have the maximum and aromatic series the minimum tendency to knock. The naphthene
series comes in between the two. Usually, compounds with more compact molecular structure
are less prone to knock. In aliphatic hydrocarbons, unsaturated compounds show lesser
knocking tendency than saturated hydrocarbons, the exception being ethylene. acetylene and
propylene.

Octane Number (ON)

Octane Number (gaseous fuel) indicates the anti-knock properties of a fuel, based on the
comparison of mixtures of Iso octane and normal heptane.

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Fuel rating for SI engine

Octane value is for SI engines

Octane Number :(Applicable for SI Engine) This is a number to rate the petrol fuel
according to its detonating tendency. If the fuel has the tendency to detonate less, then it has
high octane number and vice versa.

 Iso-octane is a high rating fuel (i.e. detonation is less).

 Normal heptane is a low rating fuel (i.e. detonation is more).

Iso-octane and normal heptane are mixed together and this sample mixture is used for
running a test engine.

The octane number of the fuel is the percentage of octane in this sample mixture which
detonates in similar way as the fuel under the same condition.

High octane fuel’s number is 100. This type of fuel will not have tendency to detonate. We
can make given fuel into octane number 90 to 100 by adding tetra ethyl lead.

But this addition will reduce the engine life. Fuels with higher octane ratings are used in high
performance gasoline engines that require higher compression ratio.

Fuels with lower octane number are ideal for diesel engines, because diesel engines do not
compress the fuel but rather compress only air and then inject the fuel.

FUEL REQUIREMENT AND FUEL RATING

1 Important properties of fuel in SI Engine

The fuel characteristics that are important for the performances of internal combustion
engines are

 Volatility of the fuel.

 Detonation characteristics.
 Good thermal properties like heat of combustion and heat of evaporation.
 Sulphur content.
 Aromatic content.
 Cleanliness of fuel.

2 Important characteristics of SI Engine fuel

Every engine is designed for a particular fuel according to its desired qualities. For good
performance of SI engine, the fuel used must have the proper characteristics like,

 It should readily mix with air to make a uniform mixture at inlet.

 It must be knock resistant.
 It should not pre-ignite easily.
 It should not tend to decrease the volumetric efficiency of the engine.
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  Its sulphur content should be low.
 It must have adequate calorific value.
 It must have proper viscosity.

Combustion Chamber – SI Engine

• The design of combustion chamber has an important influence upon the engine performance
and its knock properties.

The design of combustion chamber involves the shape of the combustion chamber, the
location of the sparking plug and the disposition of inlet and exhaust valves.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD COMBUSTION CHAMBER

• Combustion chamber produces High power output

• High thermal efficiency and low specific fuel consumption
• Smooth engine operation

DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMBUSTION CHAMBERS IN SI ENGINES

1. T-head combustion chamber.

2. L-head combustion chamber.
3. I-head (or overhead valve) combustion chamber.
4. F-head combustion chamber.

T Head Type Combustion chambers

The T-head combustion chambers were used in the early stage of engine development.

These chambers were first introduced by Ford Motor Corporation in 1908. These chambers
having two valves on either side of the cylinder and it requires two camshafts to operate both
valves. From the manufacturing point of view, providing two camshafts is a disadvantage.

The distance across the combustion chamber is very long due to this knocking tendency is
high in this type of engines.

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L-head:

T-head type of combustion chamber is modified as L-head type, which provides the two
valves on the same side of the cylinder and the valves are operated by a single camshaft. In
this type two different designs are present.

The main objectives of the Ricardo's turbulent head design is to obtain fast flame speed and
reducing knocking tendency.

In these types, Valve mechanism is simple and easy to lubricate.

• Detachable head easy to remove for cleaning and decarburizing without disturbing either
the valve gear etc.

In this typ of head the air flow has to two right angle turns to enter the cylinder. This causes a
loss of initial velocity head & loss in turbulence level resulting in a slow combustion process.

In Ricardo's turbulent head- The main body of the combustion chamber is concentrated over
the valves leaving a slightly restricted passage communicating with the cylinder and it’s
creating additional turbulence during the compression stroke due to this we can reduces the
knocking tendency by shortening the effective flame travel length.

I Head Type or Overhead Valve:

In this type both the valves are located on the cylinder head that’s why these are called
Overhead Valve.

These heads are having less surface to volume ratio and therefore less heat loss occur in this
type.

Flame travel length in this type is less and therefore it provides less knocking
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These heads are having higher volumetric efficiency from larger valves or valve lifts

F-Head Type:

It is a compromise between L-head and I-head types. In this type exhaust valve is arranged in
the cylinder head and the inlet valve arranged in the cylinder block.

The main disadvantage of this type is that the inlet valve and the exhaust valve are separately
actuated by two cams mounted on to camshafts driven by the crank shaft through gears.
These engines provide High volumetric efficiency.

COMBUSTION IN CI ENGINES

In CI engine, combustion occurs because of the high temperature of the compressed air. Since
the fuel is ignited with the high temperature of compressed air, it is called auto-ignition. For
the auto ignition, compression ratio should be maximum (about 12). It requires heavier
construction. So CI engines are heavier and bigger.

Four stages of combustion in CI Engine.

1. Ignition delay period.
2. Period of rapid or uncontrolled combustion.
3. Period of controlled combustion.
4. After burning.
1. Ignition Delay period

A period in between the start of injection and start of combustion is called delay period.
(Shown in Fig) The fuel will not ignite immediately after the injection of fuel into the
combustion chamber. There is a definite period of inactivity between the time when the fuel
hits the hot compressed air in the combustion chamber and the time it starts burning.

The ignition delay period is also called the preparatory phase during which some fuel already
gets admitted but not yet ignited.

If the delay period is more, more fuel will be injected inside the cylinder and more will be the
pressure rise. This causes diesel knock.

Some delay period is needed to dispense and atomise the fuel in the air for complete
combustion. So we have to keep the delay period as short as possible.

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The delay period in the CI engine is a very great influencing factor on both engine design and
performance.

It influences the following:

(i) The combustion rate

(ii) Knocking
(iii) Starting ability
(iv) The presence of smoke in the exhaust

This delay period is divided into physical delay period and chemical delay period.

(i) Physical delay

The physical delay is the time period, in between the beginning of injection and the starting
of chemical reaction. During the period, the fuel is atomized, vaporized, mixed with air and
its temperature is raised to its self-ignition temperature.

This physical delay normally depends on the type of fuel i.e for light viscous fuel, the
physical delay is less while for heavy viscous fuels, and the physical delay is more.

The physical delay can be greatly reduced by using high injection pressure, high combustion
chamber temperature and high turbulence in order to break the jet and improve evaporation.

(ii) Chemical delay

During the chemical delay period, reactions start slowly and then gets accelerate till ignition
takes place. Generally, the chemical delay period is longer than the physical delay period. It
depends on the temperature of the surrounding. At high temperature, the chemical reactions
are faster leading to less chemical delay. The ignition lag in SI Engine is a similar
phenomenon like the chemical delay in CI Engine.

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2. Period of Rapid Combustion (or) Uncontrolled Combustion

After delay period, this period starts. This period is counted from the end of delay period to
the point of maximum pressure on the indicator diagram. In this stage, the pressure rise is
rapid. About one-third of heat is released at this stage.

The rate of pressure raised in this stage depends on

1. The amount of fuel sprayed in the delay period.

2. The degree of turbulence.
3. Fineness of fuel-spray.

3. Period of Controlled Combustion: This is the third stage starting after rapid combustion
period. The fuel injected in the stage is burnt immediately and any further pressure rise can
be controlled by injection rate. The period of controlled combustion is coming to an end at
maximum cycle temperature.

4. After Burning: The un-burnt fuel particles will get inflamed even after fuel injection is
over. This is called after burning. This after burning may continue in the expansion stroke
upto 700to 800 of crank angle from TDC.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT DELAY PERIOD IN DIESEL ENGINE

(i) Compression ratio

(ii) Intake temperature
(iii) Intake pressure
(iv) Engine size
(v) Fuel temperature
(vi) Injection time
(vii) Output

1. Compression ratio

The increase in compression ratio reduces ignition lag. Due to increased intensity of
compressed air and the closer contact of molecules, the time of action is reduced when fuel is
injected.

2. Intake temperature

Increase in intake temperature, increases the air temperature after compression, resulting in
reduced delay period.

3. Intake pressure (super charging)

Increase in intake pressure reduces the auto ignition temperature and hence reduces the delay
period. The peak pressure will be higher as the compression pressure increases with intake
pressure.

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4. Engine size

The engine size has little effect on the delay period in the order of milliseconds. Large
engines operate at low revolutions per minute because of inherent stress limitations. The
delay period in terms of crank angle is smaller and hence less fuel enters the cylinder during
this period.

5. Fuel temperature

Increase in fuel temperature will reduce both physical and chemical delay.

KNOCKING (OR) DIESEL KNOCK

If the delay period is prolonged, a large amount of diesel will be injected in the chamber.
Combustion of the large amount of fuel may cause high pressure rise and this high pressure
rise cause knocking.

The methods to prevent knocking

1. By reducing the delay period by doping.

Note: Doping is the process of adding 1% ethyl nitrates to accelerate the combustion and as a
result, we can reduce knocking.
2. By raising the compression ratio, we can raise the temperature of air much higher than that
required for auto ignition of the fuel. By doing so, we can reduce knocking.
Note: In petrol engine, detonation occurs if we increase compression ratio. Here in CI engine,
we can prevent knocking by increasing compression ratio.
3. By increasing the turbulence of the compressed air, we can prevent knocking.
4. By adjusting the fuel injector so as to inject only a small quantity of fuel in beginning.
5. By super charging, we can reduce knocking.
Note: Super charging is the process of increasing the inlet pressure of air. But super charging
will increase the tendency of detonation in SI engine.
6. By increasing the injector pressure, we can atomize the fuel efficiently to avoid knocking.

The phenomenon of knock in CI engine

In CI engine, the injection of fuel takes place for a definite interval of time.

(a) If the, ignition delay of fuel being injected is short, the actual burning of first few droplets
of fuel will commence in relatively short time. After injection only the small amount of fuel
is accumulated in the chamber. When the burning commences, the rate of rise in pressure will
exert a smooth force on the piston. Fig. 2.12.

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(b) As the ignition is further delayed, relatively large amount of fuel gets accumulated inside
the chamber. Hence upon combustion, there is a rapid rise in rate of pressure, which results in
rough engine operation.

(c) If the ignition delay is quite longer, large amount of fuel gets accumulated in chamber.
Hence upon combustion, the instantaneous rise in pressure takes place, which results in
vibration of engines called knocking.

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In CI engine, knocking occurs near the beginning of combustion where in SI Engine,
knocking occurs near the end of combustion.

Comparison of knock on SI and CI Engines

Knocking is a phenomenon which may occur in any type of engine when excess heat is
generated. The amount of heat generated to cause knocking may vary depending upon the
engine. However, in CI and SI engine, knock predominantly occurs due to auto ignition of the
air-fuel mixture. The Fig. 2.15 shows a graph which traces the path of the knocking
phenomenon. Although an auto ignition leads to knocking of both CI and SI engines, a few
significant differences can be observed with in the processes.

Time: In an SI engine, the auto ignition occurs near the end of the combustion which leads to
knocking. It is evident from the graph that auto ignition starts only after the peak pressure in
the SI engine. Hence, to avoid knocking, the auto ignition of the end gas needs to be avoided.
On the contrary, in a CI engine an auto-ignition occurs before the peak pressure, at the start
of the combustion. Hence to prevent the knock in a CI engine, auto-ignition before the
combustion needs to be eliminated.

Pre-ignition: Since the air-fuel mixture is sent together for the combustion process, pre-
ignition could play a major role in the knocking of a spark-ignition engine. In a CI engine,
only compressed air is taken in and the fuel is injected only before the Top dead centre. Thus
there is no possibility for a pre ignition in a compression-ignition engine.

Intensity of knock: A spark-ignition engine is more likely to undergo a detonation process

during a knock, when compared to a compression ignition engine. This is due to the
explosive auto ignition of the homogeneous air-fuel mixture in a SI engine, where as in a CI
engine the intensity of knock is less severe as the air-fuel mixture is not homogeneous.

Pressure and other factors: A CI engine operates at higher pressure limits when compared
to an SI engine. During a normal cycle in a CI engine, an audible noise is always present.
Due to operations at high pressures and excess heat, the fuel is ignited even before the Top
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dead centre. Hence when the audible noise prevails and causes heavy vibrations in the engine,
it is said that the engine is knocking. Also the factors which prevent knock in a SI engine may
promote knocking in a CI engine. A few factors which reduce knocking in both the engines
have been given below.

Cetane Number (CN)

Cetane Number (diesel fuel) refers to the ease at which diesel fuel ignites at a relatively low
temperature. Lower cetane number will result in cold starting problems. Higher cetane
number results in faster ignition.

Diesel Index

The Diesel index indicates the ignition quality of the fuel. It is found to correlate,
approximately to the cetane number of commercial fuels. Diesel index and cetane number
are usually about 50. Lower value will result in smoky exhaust.

Fuel Rating for CI Engine

Cetane Number (applicable for CI engine) Octane number is for rating Petrol. Cetane
number is for rating Diesel. The cetane number is a number to rate diesel fuel’s ability to auto
ignite quickly when it is injected into the high pressure, high temperature air in the cylinder.

Higher the cetane number, lesser is the ‘Diesel knocking’ tendency.

The cetane number of the diesel is the percentage of cetane in this sample mixture which
knocks in a similar way as the diesel under the same condition.

 Lower cetane number, higher are the hydrocarbon emission in the exhaust gases.
 Lower cetane number, higher are the noise level.
 Lower cetane number, increases the ignition delay.

Note: Generally, fuel having higher octane number means it has low cetane value.

Primary Considerations in the Design of Combustion Chambers for C.I Engines

1. High thermal efficiency.

2. Ability to use less expensive fuel (multi-fuel).
3. Ease of starting.
4. Ability to handle variations in speed.
5. Smoothness of operation i.e. avoidance of diesel knock and noise.
6. Low exhaust emission.
7. Nozzle design.
8. High volumetric efficiency.
9. High brake Mean effective pressure..

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Types of Combustion Chambers

1. Direct Injection (DI) Type: This type of combustion chamber is also called an Open
combustion chamber. In this type the entire volume of combustion chamber is located in the
main cylinder and the fuel is injected into this volume.

2. Indirect Injection (IDI) Type: in this type of combustion chambers, the combustion space
is divided into two parts, one part in the main cylinder and the other part in the cylinder head.
The fuel –injection is effected usually into the part of chamber located in the cylinder head.

These chambers are classified further into:

a) Swirl chamber-in which compression swirl is generated.

b) Pre combustion chamber-in which combustion swirl is induced.
c) Air cell-in which both compression and combustion swirl are induced.

Direct Injection Chambers – Open Combustion Chambers

• An open combustion chamber is defined as one in which the combustion space is essentially
a single cavity with little restriction from one part of the chamber to the other and hence with
no large difference in pressure between parts of the chamber during the combustion process.

Main Advantages of DI Type Of Chambers

• Minimum heat loss during compression because of lower surface area to volume ratio and
hence, better efficiency .
• No cold starting problems.
• Fine atomization because of multi hole nozzle.

Various Types of DI Combustion Chamber

• Shallow Depth Chamber: In shallow depth chamber the depth of the cavity provided in the
piston is quite small. This chamber is usually adopted for large engines running at low
speeds. Since the cavity diameter is very large, the squish is negligible.

• Hemispherical Chamber: This chamber also gives small squish. However, the depth to
diameter ratio for a cylindrical chamber can be varied to give any desired squish to give
better performance.

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Cylindrical Chamber: This design was attempted in recent diesel engines. This is a
modification of the cylindrical chamber in the form of a truncated cone with base angle of
30°. The swirl was produced by masking the valve for nearly 1800 of circumference. Squish
can also be varied by varying the depth.

• Toroidal Chamber: The idea behind this shape is to provide a powerful squish along with
the air movement, within the toroid chamber. Due to powerful squish the mask needed on
inlet valve is small and there is better utilisation of oxygen. The cone angle of spray for this
type of chamber is 150° to 160°.

In Direct Injection Chambers

Ricardo’s Swirl Chamber

• Swirl chamber consists of a spherical shaped chamber separated from the engine cylinder
and located in the cylinder head. During the compression stroke about 50% of the air is
transferred this chamber

• Throat is connects the chamber to the cylinder which enters the chamber in a tangential
direction so that the air coming into this chamber is given a strong rotary movement inside
the swirl chamber and after combustion, the products rush back into the cylinder through
same throat at much higher velocity . This causes considerable heat loss to walls of the
passage which can be reduced by employing a heat insulated passage.

• This type of combustion chamber finds its application where fuel quality is difficult to
control, where reliability under adverse conditions is more important than fuel economy.
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Pre Combustion Chamber

• Pre-combustion chamber consists of an anti-chamber connected to the main chamber

through a number of small holes.

The pre-combustion chamber is located in the cylinder head and its volume is about 40% of
the total combustion, space. During the compression stroke the piston forces the air into the
pre-combustion chamber.

• The fuel is injected into the pre-chamber and the combustion is initiated. The resulting
pressure rise forces the flaming droplets together with some air and their combustion
products to rush out into the main cylinder at high velocity through the small holes.

Thus it creates both strong secondary turbulence and distributes the flaming fuel droplets
throughout the air in the main combustion chamber. nearly 80% of energy is released in main
combustion chamber .

Air-Cell Chamber: In this chamber the clearance volume is divided into two parts, one in
the main cylinder and the other called the energy cell. The energy cell is divided into two
parts, major and minor, which are separated from each other and from the main chamber by
narrow orifices.

During compression, the pressure in the main chamber is higher than that inside the energy
cell due to restricted passage area between the two.

At the TDC, the difference in pressure will be high and air will be forced at high velocity
through the opening into the energy cell and this moment the Fuel injector injects the fuel
into the main combustion chamber space towards the open neck of the air cell.

Combustion starts initially in the main chamber where the temperature is comparatively
higher but the rate of burning is very slow due to absence of any air motion.

In the energy cell, the fuel is well mixed with air and high pressure is developed due to heat-
release and the hot burning gases blow out through the small passage into the main chamber.

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This high velocity jet produces swirling motion in the main chamber and thereby thoroughly
mixes the fuel with air resulting in complete combustion.

The design is not suitable for variable speed operation as the combustion induced swirl has
no relationship to the speed of the engine.

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