Elements of Mechanical Engineering Subject code: BEMEM203

Module 3 (Part A)

IC Engines

Heat Engines

Definition: A heat engine is a machine, which converts heat energy into mechanical energy.
The combustion of fuel such as coal, petrol, diesel generates heat. This heat is supplied to a
working substance at high temperature. By the expansion of this substance in suitable
machines, heat energy is converted into useful work. Heat engines can be further divided into
two types:
i. External combustion and
ii. Internal combustion (IC Engines).

External Combustion Engines

Here, the working medium, the steam, is generated in a boiler, located outside the engine and
allowed in to the cylinder to operate the piston to do mechanical work.

Internal Combustion Engines

IC engines (heat engines) are used to convert the chemical energy of fuel into thermal energy
and then into useful mechanical work. In internal combustion engine, the combustion of fuel
takes place inside the engine cylinder and heat is generated within the cylinder. They are used
in automobiles, aircraft, railways, earthmoving machines, etc.

Classification of IC Engines
1. Based on fuel used
a. Diesel engine – Diesel is used as fuel
b. Petrol engine – Petrol is used as fuel
2. Based ignition of fuel
a. Spark ignition engine (Carburetor type engines)
b. Compression ignition engine (Injector type engines)
3. Based on working Cycle
a. Four Stroke cycle engine- When the cycle is completed in two revolutions of the
crankshaft, It is called as four stroke engine.
b. Two Stroke cycle Engine – When the cycle is completed in one revolution of the
crankshaft, It is called as two stroke engine

Parts of an IC Engine
• Cylinder: It is a cylindrical container where fuel combustion occurs.
• Cylinder head: It is the top surface of the cylinder.
• Piston: It is a cylindrical part that reciprocates when fuel combustion takes place.
• Piston rings: It is used in the pistons to avoid mixing fuel air into other areas of
engines and to avoid mixing lubricating oil with the fuel air in the combustion
chamber.
• Combustion chamber: It is an area where the combustion takes place. It will be
below thecylinder and over the piston.
• Crankshaft: It is a rotating part connected with a crank and connecting rod. Flywheel
is also attached to the crankshaft.
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Elements of Mechanical Engineering Subject code: BEMEM203

• Flywheel: It is a disc mounted on the crankshaft that stores mechanical energy.

• Crankcase: It is a part which houses parts like the crank and cylinder. It contains
lubricating oil.
• Cam: It is a part used to move the valves (inlet and exhaust).
• Camshaft: It is a shaft which supports the cam.
• Spark plug: It is used in petrol engines to ignite the fire for combustion.
• Fuel injector: It is used in diesel engines to spray diesel fuel (small particles) which gets fired
due to the high temperature of the air.

Figure 1. Parts of an IC engine

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Four-Stroke Petrol Engine

Parts of Petrol Engines
1. The piston of the engine moves from top to bottom i.e., in a reciprocating motion. It
occurs from Top Dead Centre (TDC) to the Bottom Dead Centre (BDC).
2. Cylinder houses the piston and other mechanical parts like connecting rod, crank, etc.
3. The cylinder also contains some ports/gateways/gates like inlets and outlets.
4. These ports have valves which are mechanically operated using rotating cams.
5. One valve is called the inlet valve and the other is the outlet (or exhaust) valve.
6. Spark plug is attached to the cylinder head which gives sparks at regular intervals,
which helps in the combustion of petrol.
7. Due to this combustion, the area is called the combustion chamber which is below the
cylinderhead and above the piston.
8. Piston is connected to connecting rod and connecting rod to the crank.
9. When the piston reciprocates, the crank rotates in a circular motion.

Principle of Working of Petrol Engines

1. Petrol engines work on the principle of the Otto cycle.
2. They work on a constant volume cycle.
3. Four strokes in petrol engines are:
o Suction [a]
o Compression [b]
o Working [c]
o Exhaust [d]

Working of Petrol Engines

1. Suction stroke:
a. Inlet valve is open.
b. Exhaust valve is closed.
c. As the engine starts running (also called cranking or starting the engine), the
crank rotates. Due to this, the piston moves from TDC to BDC. Hence, volume
is increased, and pressure is decreased. Due to the pressure difference between
the inside and outside of the cylinder, the air-petrol mixture gets inside the
combustion chamber.
d. Air-petrol mixture comes from a mechanical device called a carburettor. A
new technology called Fuel Injection (FI) replaces the carburettor, which is
much more efficient.
e. In this case, half rotation of the crank is completed.
2. Compression stroke:
a. Inlet valve is closed.
b. Exhaust valve is closed.
c. Piston moves from BDC to TDC.
d. A device called a flywheel gives the energy to the piston to reciprocate from
BDC to TDC.
e. In this case, another half rotation of the crank is completed.
f. During this stroke, the mixture of air-petrol gets compressed. This causes the

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temperature to rise.
g. After the piston reaches TDC, the spark plug throws electrical sparks to the
air-petrol mixture. This makes the fuel burn and releases hot gases.
h. This causes the temperature to increase at constant volume.
i.Usually in petrol engines, the compression ratio ranges from 1:7 to 1:11.
3. Working stroke:
a. Inlet valve is closed.
b. Exhaust valve is closed.
c. Piston moves from TDC to BDC due to the immense pressure the combustion
occurred in the previous step.
d. Due to this, another half rotation of the crank is completed.
e. Since this process happens due to combustion, the engine produces
power/work afterthis stroke.
f. Now, the pressure decreases and volume increases.
4. Exhaust stroke:
a. Inlet valve is closed.
b. Exhaust valve is open.
c. Piston moves from BDC to TDC. Due to this motion, exhaust gases are forced
to exit the engine.
d. Pressure increases and volume decreases.

Figure 2. Four strokes of a petrol engine

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 Elements of Mechanical Engineering Subject code: BEMEM203

Four-Stroke Diesel Engine

Parts of Diesel Engines
• Rudolf Diesel is the one behind the invention of diesel engines. The diesel engine is an
internal combustion engine that utilizes diesel fuel to perform the combustion process.
The working principle of the diesel engine is almost the same as the petrol engine, but
there is little difference in the step effort of this machine.
• In an engine, fuel reaches the cylinder bore through the following path:
Fuel tank → Feed pump → Filter → Injection pump → Injector nozzle → Cylinder
• The fuel tank is for storing fuel. Generally, it is made of sheet metal. Fuel tanks
have a fuel gauge to check the fuel level. The feed pump is used to feed fuel to the
filter and injection pump. The fuel system must pressurize the fuel to open the nozzle.
The pressure required to inject fuel into the combustion chamber to offset the
pressure of compression is typically 350 to 450 psi. This work is mainly done by the
injection pump. The injector nozzle injects fuel into the combustion chamber. The
injector nozzle atomizes fuel, which is the breaking up of fuel into small particles.
The fuel must be atomized when it enters the combustion chamber. Atomization
occurs at a pressure between 1,500 to 4,000 psi.
Working of Diesel Engines
1. Suction stroke:
a. The suction step is also called intake stroke, which is the process of entering
the air into the cylinder chamber. This air intake occurs when the piston moves
down from TDC (Top Dead Centre) to BDC (Bottom Dead Centre). This
movement will increase the volume in the engine cylinder.
b. On another side, the inlet valve opens, as a result, the piston will suck the air
from the intake manifold, so that air from the outside enters the intake valve
filling the cylinder chamber.
2. Compression stroke:
a. The compression step is the process of compressing the air inside the cylinder
chamber.
b. It is known that the diesel engine is not equipped with spark plugs. It is
because the diesel engine can burn without sparking from the spark plug. This
is known as self- combustion.
c. However, to occur self-combustion, air must be compressed until the
temperature rises above the diesel fuel burning point. Thus, the diesel injected
into the high temperature can burn by itself.
d. This compression step takes place after the suction step, when the piston has
reached BDC at the end of the suction step, the piston will again rise to the
TDC. As a result, there is a narrowing of the cylinder volume. In this condition,
both the intake valve and exhaust valve are closed, so that the narrowing of the
cylinder space will compress theair inside.
3. Working stroke:
a. The combustion step is the main process of the engine. In this process, the
diesel is fedthrough the injector into the combustion chamber.
b. As we discussed, the air temperature will rise until above of diesel burning

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point. And when the piston reaches TDC, the air is already at its highest
temperature level (exceeding the diesel burning point). In this condition, the
diesel is injected via injectors, making the fuel atomized through the injector.
As a result, there was a burning that produced expansion power.
c. This expansion power will push the piston to move down to the BDC. The
expansion is also used to make the vehicle run. Because the power is so high.
4. Exhaust stroke:
a. The exhaust step is the process of removing combustion residual gases from
the combustion chamber. This process occurs when the piston returns to TDC
after being exposed to the expansion of combustion power.
b. At this step, the exhaust valve opens so that the upward movement of the
piston will push the combustion residual gas to get out into the exhaust
manifold.

Figure 2. Four strokes of a diesel engine

Difference between petrol engines and diesel engines

Topics or Principles Petrol Engine Diesel Engine
Fuel used Petrol Diesel
Ignition happens due to Spark Plug Fuel Injector
Working principle Otto cycle Diesel cycle
Fuel cost High Low
Compression ratio 1:7 to 1:11 (low) 1:20 to 1:22 (high)
Noise Low High
Maintenance cost Low High
Vibration Low High
Thermal efficiency Low High
Work or power developed Low High
Engine speed High Low
Ignition type Spark Ignition (SI) Compression Ignition (CI)

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Two Stroke Cycle Engine (Petrol Engine)

In two stroke cycle engines, the whole sequence of events i.e., suction, compression, power and
exhaust are completed in two strokes of the piston i.e. one revolution of the crankshaft. There is
no valve in this type of engine. Gas movement takes place through holes called ports in the
cylinder. The crankcase of the engine is air tight in which the crankshaft rotates.

Upward stroke of the piston (Suction + Compression)

When the piston moves upward it covers two of the ports, the exhaust port and transfer port,
which are normally almost opposite to each other. This traps the charge of air- fuel mixture
drawn already in to the cylinder. Further upward movement of the piston compresses the charge
and also uncovers the suction port. Now fresh mixture is drawn through this port into the
crankcase. Just before the end of this stroke, the mixture in the cylinder is ignited by a spark
plug Thus, during this stroke both suction and compression events are completed.

Downward stroke (Power + Exhaust)

Burning of the fuel rises the temperature and pressure of the gases which forces the piston to
move down the cylinder. When the piston moves down, it closes the suction port, trapping the
fresh charge drawn into the crankcase during the previous upward stroke. Further downward
movement of the piston uncovers first the exhaust port and then the transfer port. Now fresh
charge in the crankcase moves in to the cylinder through the transfer port driving out the burnt
gases through the exhaust port. Special shaped piston crown deflect the incoming mixture up
around the cylinder so that it can help in driving out the exhaust gases . During the downward
stroke of the piston power and exhaust events are completed.

Figure 2. Four stroke petrol engine

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