What is Engine?

What are Main Types of

Engine?
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   (1 review)

By Rishabh Pandey

 May 3, 2017

Any device which can convert heat energy of fuel into mechanical energy is known as engine or
heat engine. Engine is widely used in automobile industries or we can say that engine is the heart
of an automobile. Basically engine may be classified into two types.

1. External combustion (E.C.) Engine

2. Internal Combustion (I.C.) Engine

Types of Engine:

 
1. External combustion (E.C.) Engine
 
It is an engine in which combustion of fuel take place outside of the engine. In this type of
engine heat, which is generated by burning of fuel is use to convert the water or other low
boiling temperature fluid into steam. This high pressure steam used to rotate a turbine. In this
engine we can use all solid, liquid and gases fuel. These engines are generally used in driving
locomotive, ships, generation of electric power etc.
 
Advantages of E.C. engine-
 

 In these engines starting torque is generally high.

 Because of external combustion we can use cheaper fuels as well as solid fuel.
 They are more flexible compare to internal combustion engines.

 
2. Internal Combustion (I.C.) Engine
 
It is an engine in which combustion of fuel take place inside the engine. When the fuel burns
inside the engine cylinder, it generates a high temperature and pressure. This high pressure force
is exerted on the piston (A device which free to moves inside the cylinder and transmit the
pressure force to crank by use of connecting rod), which used to rotate the wheels of vehicle. In
these engines we can use only gases and high volatile fuel like petrol, diesel. These engines are
generally used in automobile industries, generation of electric power etc.
 
Advantages of I.C. engine-
 

 It has overall high efficiency over E.C. engine.

 These engines are compact and required less space.
 Initial cost of I.C. engine is lower than E.C. engine.
 This engine easily starts in cold because of it uses high volatile fuel.

Types of I.C. Engine

I.C. engine is widely used in automobile industries so it is also known as automobile engine. An
automobile engine may be classified in many manners. Today I am going to tell you some
important classification of an automobile engine.

 
According to number of stroke:
 
1. Two Stroke Engine
 
In a two stroke engine a piston moves one time up and down inside the cylinder and complete
one crankshaft revolution during single time of fuel burn. This type of engine has high torque
compare to four stroke engine. These are generally used in scooters, pumping sets etc.
 
2 Four Stroke Engine .
 
In a four stroke engine piston moves two times up and down inside the cylinder and complete
two crankshaft revolutions during single time of fuel burn. This type of engines has high average
compare to two stroke engine. These are generally used in bikes, cars, truck etc.
 
According to design of engine:
 
1. Reciprocating engine (piston engine)
 
In reciprocating engine the pressure force generate by combustion of fuel exerted on the piston
(A device which free to move in reciprocation inside the cylinder). So the piston starts
reciprocating motion (too and fro motion).  This reciprocating motion converts into rotary
motion by use of crank shaft. So the crank shaft starts to rotate and rotate the wheels of vehicle.
These are generally used in all automobile.
 
2. Rotary engine (Wankel engine)
 
In rotary engine there is a rotor which frees to rotate. The pressure force generate by burning of
fuel is exerted on this rotor so the rotor rotate and starts to rotate the wheels of vehicle. This
engine is developed by Wankel in 1957. This engine is not used in automobile in present days.
 
According to fuel used:
 
1. Diesel engine
 
These engines use diesel as the fuel. These are used in trucks, buses, cars etc.
 
2. Petrol engine
 
These engines use petrol as the fuel. These are used in bikes, sport cars, luxury cars etc.
 
3. Gas engine
 
These engines use CNG and LPG as the fuel. These are used in some light motor vehicles.
 
4. Electric engine
 
It is eco-friendly engine. It doesn’t use any fuel to burn. It uses electric energy to rotate wheel.
 
According to method of ignition:
 
1. Compression ignition engine
 
In these types of engines, there is no extra equipment to burn the fuel. In these engines burning
of fuel starts due to temperature rise during compression of air. So it is known as compression
ignition engine.
 
2. Spark ignition engine
 
In these types of engines, ignition of fuel start by the spark, generate inside the cylinder by some
extra equipment. So it is known as spark ignition engine.
 
According to number of cylinder:
 
1. Single cylinder engine
 
In this type of engines have only one cylinder and one piston connected to the crank shaft.
 
2. Multi-cylinder engine
 
In this type of engines have more than one cylinder and piston connected to the crank shaft.
 
According to arrangement of cylinder:
 
1. In-line engine
 
In this type of engines, cylinders are positioned in a straight line one behind the other along the
length of the crankshaft.

 
2. V-type engine
 
An engine with two cylinder banks inclined at an angle to each other and with one crankshaft
known as V-type engine.

 
3. Opposed cylinder engine
 
An engine with two cylinders banks opposite to each other on a single crankshaft (V-type engine
with 180o angle between banks).

 
 
4. W-type engine
 
An engine same as V-type engine except with three banks of cylinders on the same crankshaft
known as W-type engine.
 
5. Opposite piston engine
 
In this type of engine there are two pistons in each cylinder with the combustion chamber in the
center between the pistons. In this engine a single combustion process causes two power strokes,
at the same time.

 
6. Radial engine
 
It is an engine with pistons positioned in circular plane around the central crankshaft. The
connecting rods of pistons are connected to a master rod which, in turn, connected to the
crankshaft.

 
According to air intake process:
 
1. Naturally aspirated
 
In this types of engine intake of air into cylinder occur by the atmospheric pressure.
 
2. Supercharged engine
 
In this type of engine air intake pressure is increased by the compressor driven by the engine
crankshaft.
 
3. Turbocharged engine
 
In this type of engine intake air pressure is increase by use of turbine compressor driven by the
exhaust gases of burning fuel.
Automobile Types of 

Different Types of Engine

August 25, 2016 Pankaj Mishra 1 Comment Automobile

In this article we will learn about different types of engine. The classification of the engines
depends upon the types of fuel used, cycle of operation, number of stroke, type of ignition,
number of cylinders, arrangement of cylinders, valve arrangement, types of cooling etc. these
engines are used in different areas such as in automotive industries, aircraft industries, marine
industries, etc. according to their suitability they are used in different areas. So let’s discuss
about different engine types one by one.

Types of Engine

Basically the engines are of two types, and these are external combustion engines and internal
combustion engines.

(i). External combustion engine: In external combustion engine, the combustion of fuel takes
place outside the engine. Example: steam engine.
(ii). Internal combustion engine: In internal combustion engine, the combustion of fuel takes
place inside the engine. Two stroke and four stroke petrol and diesel engine are the examples of
internal combustion engine.

There are different types of internal combustion (I.C.) engine and there classification depends
upon various basis.

The I.C. engines are classified on the following basis:

1. Types of Design

(i). Reciprocating engine: In reciprocating engine, there is a piston and cylinder, the
piston does reciprocating (to and Fro) motion within the cylinder. Due to the
reciprocating motion of the piston, it is called reciprocating engine. 2 stroke and four
stroke engines are the common examples of reciprocating engine.
(ii). Rotary engine: In rotary engine, the rotor does rotary motion to produce power.
There is no reciprocating motion. A rotor is present in the chamber which does
rotary motion inside a chamber. Wankel rotary engine , turbine engines are the
rotary types of engine.
2. Types of Fuel Used

On the basis of types of fuel used, the engine is classified as petrol engine, diesel engine and gas
engine.

(i). Petrol engine: The engine which uses petrol for its working is called petrol engine.

(ii). Diesel engine: The engine which uses diesel for its working is called diesel engine.

(iii). Gas engine: An engine using gas fuel for the working is called gas engine.

3.Cycle of Operation

On the basis of cycle of operation the engine types are:

(i). Otto cycle engine: These types of engine works on Otto cycle.

(ii). Diesel cycle engine: The engine working on diesel cycle is called diesel cycle engine.

(iii). Dual cycle engine or semi-diesel cycle engine: The engine that works on both diesel as
well as Otto cycle is called dual cycle engine or semi diesel cycle engine.

4.Number of Strokes

On the basis of number of stroke, the types of engine are:

(i). Four Stroke Engine: It is an engine in which the piston moves four times i.e.2 upward (form
BDC to TDC) and 2 downward (from TDC to BDC) movement in one cycle of power stroke is
called four stroke engines.
 Four Stroke Engine

(ii). Two Stroke Engine: The engine in which the piston does two times motion i.e. one from
TDC to BDC and other from BDC to TDC to produce a power stroke is called two stroke
engines.

 
 Two Stroke Engine

(iii). Hot spot ignition engine: This type of engine is not in practical use.

5. Type of Ignition

On the basis of ignition, the engines are classified as:

(i). Spark ignition engine (S.I. engine): In spark ignition engine there is a spark plug which is
fitted at the engine head. The spark plug produces spark after the compression of the fuel and
ignites the air fuel mixture for the combustion. The petrol engines are spark ignition engine.

(ii). Compression ignition engine (C.I. engine): In Compression ignition engine there is no
spark plug at the cylinder head. The fuel is ignited by the heat of the compressed air. The diesel
engines are compression ignition engine.

Also Read:

 How Free Piston Engine Works?

 Valve Timing Diagram of Two Stroke and Four Stroke Engine
 How DTSi Engine Works – Explained?

6. Number of Cylinders

On the basis of number of cylinders present in the engine, the types of engine are:

 
(i). Single cylinder engine: An engine which consists of single cylinder is called single cylinder
engine. Generally the single cylinder engines are used in motorcycles, scooter, etc.

(ii). Double cylinder engine: The engine which consists of two cylinders is called double
cylinder engine.

(iii). Multi cylinder engine: An engine which consists of more than two cylinders is called multi
cylinder engine. The multi cylinder engine may have three, four, six, eight, twelve and sixteen
cylinder.

7. Arrangement of Cylinders

On the basis of arrangement of cylinders the engines classification is:

(i). Vertical engine: in vertical engines, the cylinders are arranged in vertical position as shown
in the diagram.
(ii). Horizontal engine: In horizontal engines, the cylinders are placed horizontal position as
shown in the diagram given below.

(iii). Radial engine:  The radial engine is reciprocating type internal combustion engine
configuration in which the cylinders radiate outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of
a wheel. When it is viewed from the front, it resembles a stylized star and is called a ‘star’
engine. Before the gas turbine engine is not become predominant, it is commonly used for
aircraft engines.

(iv). V-engine: In v types of engine, the cylinders are placed in two banks having some angle
between them. The angle between the two banks is keep as small as possible to prevent vibration
and balancing problem.

(v). W type engine: In w type engines, the cylinders are arranged in three rows such that it forms
W type arrangement. W type engine is made when 12 cylinder and 16 cylinder engines are
produced.

(vi). Opposed cylinder engine: In opposed cylinder engine, the cylinders are place opposite to
each other. The piston and the connecting rod show identical movement. It is runs smoothly and
has more balancing. The size of the opposed cylinder engine increase because of its arrangement.
8. Valve Arrangement

According to the valve arrangement of the inlet and exhaust valve in various positions in the
cylinder head or block, the automobile engines are classified into four categories. These
arrangements are named as ‘L’, ‘I’, ‘F’ and ‘T’.  It is easy to remember the word ‘LIFT’ to recall
the four valve arrangement.

 
(i). L-head engine: In these types of engine, the inlet and exhaust valves are arranged side by
side and operated by a single camshaft. The cylinder and combustion chamber forms and
inverted L.

(ii). I-head engine: In I-head engines, the inlet and exhaust valves are located in the cylinder
head.  A single valve actuates all the valves. These types of engine are mostly used in
automobiles.

(iii). F-head engine: It is a combination of I-head and F-head engines. In this, one valve usually
inlet valve is in the head and the exhaust valve lies in the cylinder block. Both the sets of valve
are operated by the single camshaft.

(iv). T-head engine: In T-head engines, the inlet valve located at one side and the exhaust valve
on other side of the cylinder. Here two camshafts are required to operate, one for the inlet valve
and other one is for the exhaust valve.

Also Read: 

 Types of Gearbox – Complete Explanation

 Torque Converter Working, Principle, Main Parts and Application.
 Types of Supercharger in Automobile

9. Types of cooling

On the basis of types of cooling, the engines are classified as:

(i). Air cooled engines: In these engines, the air is used to cool the engines. In air cooled engines
the cylinder barrels are separated and metal fins are used which provides radiating surface area
that increase cooling. The air cooled engines are generally used in motorcycles and scooters.

(ii). Water cooled engines: In water cooled engines, the water is used for the cooling of engine.
Water cooled engines are used in cars, buses, trucks and other four wheeled vehicles, heavy duty
motor vehicles. An anti-freezing agent is added in the water to prevent it from freezing during
cold weather. Every water cooled engines has radiator for the cooling of hot water from the
engine.

Beside above types of engine, the internal combustion engine is also classified on the basis
of the following.

1. Speed:

On the basis of speed, the types of engines are:

(i). Low speed engine
(ii). Medium speed engine
(iii). High speed engine

2. Method of Fuel Injection

On the basis of method of fuel injection the engines are classified as:

(i). Carburettor engine

(ii). Air injection engine
(iii). Airless or solid injection engine

3. Method of Governing

(i). Hit and miss governed engine: It is an engine type in which the entry of the fuel is
controlled by the governor. It controls the speed of the engine by cutting off the ignition and fuel
supply of the engine at very high speed.

(ii). Qualitatively governed engine

(iii). Quantitatively governed engine

4. Application

(i). Stationary engine: Stationary engine is an engine in which its framework does not move. It
is used to drive immobile equipment like pump, generator, mill or factory machinery etc.

(ii). Automotive engine: These are the types of engines which are used in automobile industries.
For example: petrol engine, diesel engine, gas engine are internal combustion engines falls in the
category of automotive engine.

(iii). Locomotive engine: The engines which are used in trains are called locomotive engines.

(iv). Marine engine: The engines which are used in marines for boat or ship propulsion is called
marine engine.

(v). Aircraft engine: Types of engine which are used in aircraft is called aircraft engine. Radial
and gas turbine engines are used in aircraft propulsion.

This is all about the different types of engine, if you find anything missing or incorrect than don’t
forget to comment us. And if you enjoy this article than like and share us on Facebook
What is Firing Order of 4 and 6 Cylinder
Engine?
January 8, 2018 Pankaj Mishra 0 Comments

Introduction
“Fire” this word always gives goosebumps to an automobile enthusiast as for him the word fire
resembles with the power, of course it is true, fire is the most important source of energy from
the birth of the mother earth. In an engine as we know fire which is produced by the spark plug is
the main source of energy that converts chemical energy into mechanical energy, this is the basic
principle over which an engine works,  now let’s race the horses of our mind and think How does
the combustion occurs in engine with more than one cylinder? How does the firing of fuel
(combustion) be controlled in multi-cylinder engine? Let’s just dig it out.

Firing order of a multi cylinder engine is the power delivering sequence of each cylinder which
is set by the designer such that the combustion of fuel in different cylinders occurs in a
predefined order that can produce uninterrupted and  maximum power output through the
crankshaft  of an multi-cylinder engine.

The firing order is different for different engine configurations for example – Firing order of 2-
cylinder V-shape engine is different from the firing order of the 4-cylinder inline engine.

Why Do We Need Firing Order?

As we all know a 4-stroke engine which we are using today works on an Otto cycle or a diesel
cycle in which a cycle that includes suction, compression, power and exhaust is completed in 4
strokes or 4 movements of the reciprocating piston and when it comes to the engine having more
than 1 cylinder the process becomes quite complex, so a pre-defined sequence of combustion or
firing of fuel is required as-

 When it comes to more than 1-pistons the load over the crankshaft increases as all the
pistons are connected to the single crank shaft and if the proper firing order is not
provided to the engine than there will be the chances of the crankshaft failure.
 The proper firing order of the engine provides maximum power, smooth running and high
life to the engine and also prevents the engine from unwanted vibrations.
 Out of the all 4-strokes (suction, compression, power and exhaust) required to complete
an engine’s cycle, power stroke is the strongest and generates various stresses
(mechanical or thermal both) that can cause engine failure like knocking, so it is essential
 for a multi-cylinder engine that the power strokes in any 2 adjacent cylinders must not
occur at the same time due to which an engine must have a pre-defined and proper firing
order.
 The improper firing order can affect the engine and crankshaft balancing due to the
generation of uncontrolled stresses due to which harsh running, unwanted sound and
unwanted vibration can be obtained from the engine which can suddenly break any
component of the engine and is quite dangerous for the operator or the people nearby.
 Improper firing order of an engine directly affects the fuel economy of the engine due to
the improper combustion caused by the improper firing order.
 Operator faces engine starting problem because of the disturbed spark timing caused by
the improper firing order of an engine.

Also Read:

What is Stirling Engine – Types, Mian Parts, Working and Application?

How Power Steering System Works? – Best Explanation

How Free Piston Engine Works?

Firing Order of Different Multi Cylinder (2, 4, 6) Engines.

Source

For the proper understanding of the firing order of an engine lets us take few examples of the
different multi-cylinder engine used in today’s automobile cars.
(i) In-Line 2 cylinder engine of a Tata Nano – In Tata Nano,  2-cylinder in-line engine is used
even being the more than 1-cylinder engine, firing order  is not so complex as it is quite obvious
that when cylinder 1 will get firing or the spark plug ignition than the cylinder 2 will be at
compression stroke and the order of the firing will be 1-2.

(ii) In-Line 4 cylinder engine of a Maruti Suzuki Swift– In cars like swift having 4-cylinders
placed in a straight line, the firing order is configured as 1-3-4-2 which means all the cylinders
will have firing or the spark plug ignition according to the 1-3-4-2 sequence, it is found that in a
4 cylinder engine a complete firing order gives 720 degrees of the crankshaft rotation which
means each power stroke by the individual piston gives 180 degree of rotation to the crankshaft.

 All the 4 cylinders in In-line 4 cylinder engine are mounted over four pins of the
crankshaft placed in every 180 degree of the crankshaft.
 For the smooth working of a 4-cylinder engine it is required that each cylinder will have
different stroke at any instant  for example-

At any instant in a inline 4-cylinder engine usually it is seen that when cylinder 1 is having
power stroke than cylinder 4 is usually seen to be suction stroke, cylinder 2 and cylinder 3 are
usually seen to be at exhaust and compression stroke respectively.

(iii) V-Shape 2 cylinder engine of a Harley Davidson Iron 833 bike- In Harley Davidson Iron
833, 2-cylinder engine placed in V-shape is used in which same firing order as in-line 2-cylinder
engine mentioned above is used i.e. 1-2.

(iv) V-Shape 6 cylinder engine of Honda Accord- In the high end cars line Honda Accord and
Audi A-8, high power engine having multiple cylinders are used as in Honda Accord,  6 cylinder
engine placed in V-shape  is used in which a proper and effective firing order is required.

 The firing order in Honda Accord ( 6-cylinders placed in V-shape such that cylinder 1,2,3
are placed in left hand side and 4,5,6,are placed in right)  is configured as 1-5-3-6-2-4,

 Firing order 1-5-3-6-2-4 means the crank pins having piston mounted are arranged in
every 60 degree of the crankshaft.

 As the power impulse is generated in every 720 degree rotation of the crankshaft which
means that power stroke in V6 engine is obtained in every 120 degree rotation of the
crankshaft.

(v) Flat-six cylinder engine used in Porsche 911 GT3-  In some cars like Porsche 911 GT3 6-
cylinders placed  in horizontal plane having opposite direction i.e. cylinder 1,2,3 are placed in
left side and cylinder 4,5,6 are arranged in right side, Are used.

 same as the V6 engine all the pistons are mounted over 6 crank pins placed in every 60
degree of the crankshaft.
  The firing order of this type of engine is configured as 1-4-5-2-3-6 which means that the
firing or spark ignition will occur at every 120 degree of the crankshaft rotation.

The firing order of 2, 3, 4 and 6 cylinder in tabular form are given below:

S.no Number of cylinder Firing Order

1. 2 1-2
1-2-3,
2. 3
1-3-2
1-3-4-2

1-2-4-3
3. 4
1-3-2-4

1-4-3-2
1-5-3-6-2-4

1-4-3-6-2-5

1-6-5-4-3-2

1-2-3-4-5-6

1-4-2-5-3-6
4. 6
1-4-5-2-3-6

1-6-3-2-5-4

1-6-2-4-3-5

1-6-2-5-3-4

1-4-2-6-3-5

From the above mentioned examples it is quite clear that how a firing order is arranged in
different cars having different engine configuration. But the purpose of all the firing order used
in different engine is same that is smooth engine operation,  with less vibration and high power
output.