Chapter Four

Prepared by : Helen G.
Performance equations and Engine characteristics
Introduction
§ At a design and development stage an engineer would design an engine
with certain aims in his mind. The aims may include the variables like
indicated power, brake power, brake specific fuel consumption,
exhaust emissions, cooling of engine, maintenance free operation etc.
§ The other task of the development engineer is to reduce the cost and
improve power output and reliability of an engine. In trying to achieve
these goals he has to try various design concepts.
§ After the design the parts of the engine are manufactured for the
dimensions and surface finish and may be with certain tolerances.
Con’t……………..
§ In order verify the designed and developed engine one has to
go for testing and performance evaluation of the engines.
§ Thus, in general, a development engineer will have to
conduct a wide variety of engine tests starting from simple
fuel and air-flow measurements to taking of complicated
injector needle lift diagrams, swirl patterns and photographs
of the burning process in the combustion chamber.
 Measurement and testing
Brake power
The power developed by an engine and measured at the output shaft is
called the brake power (bp).It is measured by dynamometer and is
given by,

where
T =WxR
W = Net load acting on the brake drum, N
R = Effective radius of the brake drum, m
N = RPM of the crank shaft
T = Resisting torque, Nm
 Con’t…….
Principle of a Dynamometer
Figure shows the basic principle of a dynamometer. A rotor driven by
the engine under test is electrically, hydraulically or magnetically
coupled to a stator.
Con’t…………..
For every revolution of the shaft, the rotor periphery moves
through a distance 2πr against the coupling force F. Hence, the
work done per revolution is .
W = 2πRF
The external moment or torque is equal to S × L where, S is the
scale reading and L is the arm. This moment balances the
turning moment R × F, i.e. S × L = R × F
Therefore, Work done/revolution = 2π SL
Work done/minute = 2π SLN
where, N is rpm. Hence, power is given by
Brake power P = 2π NT
 Con’t…………
Indicated Power
§ The power produced inside the engine cylinder by burning of fuel is
known as Indicated power (I.P.) of engine. The physical equation for
the i.p.

where, pm = Mean effective pressure, N/m2,

L = Length of the stroke, m,
A = Area of the piston, m2,
N = Rotational speed of the engine, rpm (It is N/2 for four stroke
engine), and
k = Number of cylinders.
Con’t…………….
§ Thus, we see that for a given engine the power output can be
measured in terms of mean effective pressure.

where,
a = Area of the actual indicator diagram, cm2
l = Base width of the indicator diagram, cm
s = Spring value of the spring used in the indicator, N/m2/cm
Con’t…….
Friction power (f.p.)
§ The difference between the i.p. and the b.p is the friction
power (f.p.) and is that power required to overcome the
frictional resistance of the engine parts,
f.p. = i.p. – b.p.
Con’t……………
Measurement of Speed
§ One of the basic measurements is that of speed. A wide
variety of speed measuring devices are available in the
market.
§ They range from a mechanical tachometer to digital and
triggered electrical tachometers.
§ The best method of measuring speed is to count the number
of revolutions in a given time. This gives an accurate
measurement of speed. Many engines are fitted with such
revolution counters.
§ A mechanical tachometer or an electrical tachometer can also
be used for measuring the speed.
Con’t…………..
Fuel Consumption Measurement
Fuel consumption is measured in two ways :
(a) The fuel consumption of an engine is measured by
determining the volume flow in a given time interval and
multiplying it by the specific gravity of the fuel which should
be measured occasionally to get an accurate value.
(b) Another method is to measure the time required for
consumption of a given mass of fuel.
Con’t………….
Accurate measurement of fuel consumption is very important
in engine testing work.
As already mentioned two basic types of fuel measurement
methods are :
• Volumetric type
• Gravimetric type.
 Con’t…………….
Measurement of Air Consumption
§ One can say the mixture of air and fuel is the food for an engine. For
finding out the performance of the engine accurate measurement of
both is essential.
§ In IC engines, the satisfactory measurement of air consumption is
quite difficult because the flow is pulsating, due to the cyclic nature of
the engine and because the air a compressible fluid. Therefore, the
simple method of using an orifice in the induction pipe is not
satisfactory since the reading will be pulsating and unreliable.
§ The various methods and meters used for air flow measurement
include
(a) Air box method, and
(b) Viscous-flow air meter.
Con’t…………
Measurement of Exhaust Smoke
All the three widely used smoke meters, namely, Bosch,
Hartridge, and PHS are basically soot density (g/m3)
measuring devices, that is, the meter readings are a function of
the mass of carbon in a given volume of exhaust gas.
 Con’t………..
MEASUREMENT OF EXHAUST EMISSION
§ Substances which are emitted to the atmosphere from any opening of
the exhaust port of the engine are termed as exhaust emissions. If
combustion is complete and the mixture isstoichiometric the products
of combustion would consist of carbon dioxide (CO2) and water
vapour only.
§ However, there is no complete combustion of fuel and hence the
exhaust gas consists of variety of components, the most important of
them are carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbons (UBHC) and
oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Some oxygen and other inert gases would
also be present in the exhaust gas.
Con’t………….
§ Over the decade numerous devices have been developed for
measuring these various exhaust components.
ØFlame Ionization Detector (FID)
ØSpectroscopic Analyzers
ØGas Chromatography
 Performance parameters and Efficiencies
The role of an internal combustion engine is to convert heat energy
into mechanical energy. The performance of an IC engine means how
it will convert heat energy into mechanical energy. This performance
can be measured in terms of certain parameters & these parameters are
called performance parameters.
The following are some important parameter which is measured in
order to calculate the performance of the engine:
ØIndicated Power
ØBrake Power
ØFrictional Power
ØVolumetric efficiency
Con’t…………
ØMechanical efficiency
ØThermal efficiency
ØIndicated Mean Effective Pressure
ØBrake Mean Effective Pressure
ØAir-Fuel ratio
ØBrake Specific fuel consumption
ØSpecific output
Con’t…………….
Indicated Mean Effective Pressure (IMEP)
§ IMEP is the average pressure inside the combustion chamber
during the power stroke, calculated based on the indicated
power (IP). It represents the theoretical mean pressure that
would produce the same amount of work as the actual
varying pressures in the cycle.
§ IMEP is a theoretical measure used to evaluate the engine's
ability to convert pressure into mechanical work inside the
cylinder.
Con’t………….

Where :
IP: Indicated Power
n: Number of power strokes per cycle (1 for two-stroke, 0.5 for
four-stroke engines)
N: Engine speed (RPM)
V: Swept volume per cycle
 Con’t…………
Brake Mean Effective Pressure (BMEP)
BMEP is the average pressure that would produce the actual brake
power (BP) at the crankshaft. It accounts for losses due to friction,
pumping, and other mechanical inefficiencies.
BMEP provides a practical measure of the engine's ability to deliver
useful power to the output shaft.
Formula:

Where:
BP: Brake Power n: Number of power strokes per cycle N: Engine
speed (RPM) V: Swept volume per cycle
 Con’t……….
Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC)
§ BSFC is a critical parameter in engine performance analysis. It
measures the amount of fuel consumed per unit of brake power
output, providing insight into the efficiency of the engine in
converting fuel energy into useful mechanical work.
§ BSFC is the fuel consumption rate divided by the brake power (BP)
produced by the engine. It indicates how efficiently the engine uses
fuel to generate power.
§ BSFC is often used to compare the fuel efficiency of different
engines or configurations regardless of size or power output.
§ Lower BSFC values indicate better fuel efficiency, as the engine
produces more power per unit of fuel.
Con’t…………..
Con’t………..
Specific Output
§ Specific Output is a parameter used to measure the power
output of an engine relative to its displacement. It helps
compare the performance of engines of different sizes by
normalizing the power to the engine's swept volume. This
makes it a useful metric in engine design and evaluation,
particularly when bench marking efficiency and performance.
§ Specific Output is the power produced per unit of the engine's
displacement volume.
Con’t…………..

Where: Power Output: Typically measured in kilowatts (kW)

or horsepower (hp).
Displacement Volume: The total swept volume of all cylinders
in the engine, usually measured in liters (L) or cubic
centimeters (cc).
Con’t………..
Air-Fuel Ratio (AFR)
§ The Air-Fuel Ratio (AFR)The ratio of the mass of air to the
mass of fuel in the combustion mixture. It affects combustion
efficiency and emissions.
§ Stoichiometric AFR: The ideal AFR for complete combustion
(e.g., 14.7:1 for gasoline engines).
Efficiencies
The engine performance is indicated by the term efficiency, η.
Five Important engine efficiencies are discussed below.
Indicated Thermal Efficiency
− Indicated thermal efficiency is the ratio of energy in the
indicated power, ip, to the input fuel energy in appropriate
units.
Con’t…………
Brake Thermal Efficiency
− Brake thermal efficiency is the ratio of power available at
crank shaft, bp, to the input fuel energy in appropriate units.
Con’t…………
Mechanical Efficiency
− Mechanical efficiency is defined as the ratio of brake power
(delivered power) to the indicated power (power provided to
the piston).
Con’t…………
Volumetric Efficiency
− Volumetric efficiency indicates the breathing ability of the
engine. It is to be noted that the utilization of the air is that
determines the power output of the engine. Intake system must
be designed in such a way that the engine must be able to take
in as much air as possible.
− Volumetric efficiency is defined as the ratio of actual volume
flow rate of air into the intake system to the rate at which the
volume is displaced by the system.