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bebosalh04
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This chapter examines the operating characteristics of reciprocating internal com-

bustion engines. These include the mechanical output parameters of work, torque,
and power; the input requirements of air, fuel, and combustion; efficiencies; and
emission measurements of engine exhaust.

2-' ENGINE PARAMETERS

For an engine with bore B (see Fig. 2-1), crank offset a, stroke length S, turning at an
engine speed of N:

S = 2a (2-1)
Average piston speed is:

Up = 2SN (2-2)
Nis generally given in RPM (revolutions per minute), Up in m/sec (ft/sec), and
B, a, and S in m or cm (ft or in.).
Average piston speed for all engines will normally be in the range of 5 to 15
m/sec (15 to 50 ft/sec), with large diesel engines on the low end and high-perfor-
mance automobile engines on the high end. There are two reasons why engines

35
operate in this range. First, this is about the safe limit which can be tolerated by
material strength of the engine components. For each revolution of the engine, each
piston is twice accelerated from stop to a maximum speed and back to stop. At a
typical engine speed of 3000 RPM, each revolution lasts 0.02 sec (0.005 sec at 12,000
RPM). If engines operated at higher speeds, there would be a danger of material
failure in the pistons and connecting rods as the piston is accelerated and deceler-
ated during each stroke. From Eq. (2-2) it can be seen that this range of acceptable
piston speeds places a range on acceptable engine speeds also, depending on engine
size. There is a strong inverse correlation between engine size and operating speed.
Very large engines with bore sizes on the order of 0.5 m (1.6 ft) typically operate in
the 200- to 4oo-RPM range, while the very smallest engines (model airplane) with
bores on the order of 1 cm (0.4 in.) operate at speeds of 12,000 RPM and higher.
Table 2-1 gives representative values of engine speeds and other operating variables
for various-sized engines. Automobile engines usually operate in a speed range of
500 to 5000 RPM, with cruising at about 2000 RPM. Under certain conditions using
special materials and design, high-performance experimental engines have been
operated with average piston speeds up to 25 m/sec.
The second reason why maximum average piston speed is limited is because of
the gas flow into and out of the cylinders. Piston speed determines the instantaneous
flow rate of air-fuel into the cylinder during intake and exhaust flow out of the cylin-
der during the exhaust stroke. Higher piston speeds would require larger valves to
For a given displacement volume, a longer stroke allows for a smaller bore
(under square), resulting in less surface area in the combustion chamber and corre-
spondingly less heat loss. This increases thermal efficiency within the combustion
chamber. However, the longer stroke results in higher piston speed and higher fric-
tion losses that reduce the output power which can be obtained off the crankshaft. If
the stroke is shortened, the bore must be increased and the engine will be over
square. This decreases friction losses but increases heat transfer losses. Most modern
automobile engines are near square, with some slightly over square and some
slightly under square. This is dictated by design compromises and the technical
philosophy of the manufacturer. Very large engines have long strokes with stroke-
to-bore ratios as high as 4:1.
Minimum cylinder volume occurs when the piston is at TDC and is called the
clearance volume Vc·
The compression ratio of an engine is defined as:

re = VBDC/VTDC = (Ve + Vd)/Ve (2-12)


Modern spark ignition (Sl) engines have compression ratios of 8 to 11, while
compression ignition (Cl) engines have compression ratios in the range 12 to 24.
Engines with superchargers or turbochargers usually have lower compression ratios
than naturally aspirated engines. Because of limitations in engine materials, tech-
nology, and fuel quality, very early engines had low compression ratios, on the order
of 2 to 3. Figure 2-5 shows how values of re increased over time to the 8-11 range
used on modern spark ignition automobile engines. This limit of 8 to 11 is imposed
mainly by gasoline fuel properties (see Section 4-4) and force limitations allowable
in smaller high-speed engines.
Various attempts have been made to develop engines with a variable com-
pression ratio. One such system uses a split piston that expands due to changing
hydraulic pressure caused by engine speed and load. Some two-stroke cycle engines
have been built which have a sleeve-type valve that changes the slot opening on the
exhaust port. The position where the exhaust port is fully closed can be adjusted by
several degrees of engine rotation. This changes the effective compression ratio of
the engine.

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