Basic of

Engine Operating Characteristics

2103471 Internal Combustion Engine
Background on IC Engines
An internal combustion is defined as a
heat engine in which the chemical energy
of the fuel is released inside the engine
and converted directly into mechanical
work on a rotating output shaft, as
opposed to an external combustion engine
in which a separate combustor is used to
burn the fuel.
Internal combustion engines are so called
because the heat required to drive them is
released by oxidizing a fuel inside the engine
itself!
This approach has advantages and
disadvantages" but is still the most popular for
transport and small power generation plant!
We will be looking at some common types of
engine" examining some ways of analysing their
performance parameters" and some of the
problems encountered in improving efficiency
and output!
Background on IC Engines
Internal combustion engines include systems
which function like #closed# systems $e!g! petrol
engines% or as #open# systems $e!g! gas turbines%!
All the engines we will examine contain the
same basic activities&
invest some work to compress a working fluid"
inject heat into the fluid"
recover a greater amount of work"
return to initial conditions by removal of some
heat!
Background on IC Engines
Typical Processes
for an Internal Combustion Engine
Background on the Otto Cycle
The Otto Cycle has four basic
steps or strokes:
F-A : An intake stroke that
draws a combustible mixture
of fuel and air into the cylinder
A-B : A compression stroke
with the valves closed which
raises the temperature of the
mixture. A spark ignites the
mixture towards the end of this
stroke.
C-D : An expansion or power
stroke. Resulting from
combustion.
E-F : An Exhaust stroke the
pushes the burned contents
out of the cylinder.
Figure idealized representation of the
Otto cycle on a PV diagram.
Crank shaft
90
o
TC
0
o
180
o
BC
270
o
u
Otto (SI Engine) Operating Cycle
Spark plug for SI engine
Fuel injector for CI engine
Top
Center
(TC)
Bottom
Center
(BC)
Valves
Clearance
volume
Cylinder
wall
Piston
Stroke
Pressure-Volume digram of a 4-stroke SI engine
One power stroke for every two crank shaft revolutions
1 atm
Spark
TC
Cylinder volume
BC
Pressure
Exhaust valve
opens
Intake valve
closes
Exhaust
valve
closes
BC
L
TC
l
V
C
s
a
u
B
a s 2 =
An average piston speed is:
LN U
p
2 =
Compression ratio:
For an engine with bore B; crank offset a, stroke
length L, turning at an engine speed of N:
Average piston speed for all engines will
normally be in the range of 5 to 15 m/sec with
large diesel engines on the low end and high-
performance automobile engines on the high
end.
Engine Geometric Parameters
BC
L
TC
l
V
C
s
a
u
B
( )
2 / 1
2 2 2
sin cos u u a l a s + =
The cylinder volume at any crank angle is:
) (
4
2
s a l
B
V V
c
+ + =
t
Cylinder volume when piston at TC (s=l+a)
defined as the clearance volume V
c
Maximum displacement, or swept, volume:
L
B
V
d
4
2
t
=
Engine Geometric Parameters
The distance s between crank axis and wrist pin
axis is given by:
Compression ratio:
c
d c
TC
BC
c
V
V V
V
V
r
+
= =
BC
L
TC
l
V
C
s
a
u
B
The combustion chamber surface area at any
crank angle is:
) ( s a l B A A A
p ch
+ + + = t
The combustion chamber surface area is:
The cross-sectional area of a cylinder and the
surface area of a flat-topped piston are given by:
4
2
B
A
p
t
=
For most engines B ~ L (square engine)
Engine Geometric Parameters
Cylinder volume at any crank angle can also be
written in a non-dimensional form as:
( )
(
(

|
.
|

\
|
+ + = u u
2
2
sin cos 1 1
2
1
1
a
l
a
l
r
V
V
c
c
(
(

|
.
|

\
|
+
|
.
|

\
|
+ + = u u
t
2
2
sin cos 1
2 a
l
a
l BS
A A A
p ch
BC
L
TC
l
V
C
s
a
u
B
( ) ( )
(
(

+ =
2 / 1
2 2
sin /
cos
1 sin
2
u
u
u
t
a l
U
U
p
p
Average and instantaneous piston velocity are:
dt
ds
U
LN U
p
p
=
= 2
Where N is the rotational speed of the crank shaft
in units revolutions per second
( )
2 / 1
2 2 2
sin cos u u a l a s + =
Average piston speed for standard high performance
auto engine is about 15 m/s. Ultimately limited by
material strength.
Therefore engines with large strokes run at lower
speeds those with small strokes run at higher speeds.
Geometric Properties
R = l/a
Piston Velocity vs Crank Angle
R is the ratio of connecting rod length to crank offset and usually has values of 3 to 4
for small engines, increasing to 5 to 10 for the largest engine.
The effect of R on piston speed are shown below.
Torque is measured off the output shaft using a dynamometer.
Load cell
Force F
Stator
Rotor
b
N
The torque exerted by the engine is T:
J Nm b F T = = : units
Engine Torque and Power Output
Torque is measured off the output shaft using a dynamometer.
Load cell
Force F
Stator
Rotor
b
N
The torque exerted by the engine is T:
W

Watt J
s
rev
rev
rad
T N T W =
|
.
|

\
|
|
.
|

\
|
= = ) ( : units ) 2 ( t e

J b F T : units =
The power delivered by the engine turning at a speed N and
absorbed by the dynamometer is:
Note: e is the shaft angular velocity in units rad/s
Engine Torque and Power Output
Torque is a measure of an engines ability to do work and power is
the rate at which work is done
The term brake power, , is used to specify that the power is
measured at the output shaft, this is the usable power delivered by the
engine to the load.
The brake power is less than the power generated by the gas in the
cylinders due to mechanical friction and parasitic loads (oil pump, air
conditioner compressor, etc
The power produced in the cylinder is termed the indicated power, .
b
W

i
W

Engine Torque and Power Output

Indicated Work per Cycle
Given the cylinder pressure data over the operating cycle of the engine one
can calculate the work done by the gas on the piston.
This data is typically given as P vs V diagram.
The indicated work per cycle is given by
}
= PdV W
i
Compression
W<0
Power
W>0
Intake
W>0
Exhaust
W<0
W
A
> 0
W
B
< 0
Gross indicated work per cycle net work delivered to the piston over
the compression and expansion strokes only:
W
i,g
=area A + area C (>0)
Pump work net work delivered to the gas over the intake and exhaust
strokes:
W
p
=area B + area C (<0)
Net indicated work per cycle work delivered over all strokes:
W
i,n
= W
i,g
W
p
= (area A + area C) (area B area C)
= area A area B
Work per Cycle
Indicated power:
where N crankshaft speed in rev/s
n
R
number of crank revolutions per cycle
= 2 for 4-stroke
= 1 for 2-stroke
Power can be increased by increasing:
the engine size, V
d
compression ratio, r
c
engine speed, N
cycle rev
s rev cycle kJ
n
N W
W
R
i
i
) )( (
=

Indicated Power
Indicated Work at Part Throttle
At WOT the pressure at the intake valve is just below atmospheric pressure,
However at part throttle the pressure is much lower than atmospheric
Therefore at part throttle the pump work (area B+C) can be significant
compared to gross indicated work (area A+C)
P
int
Indicated Work with Supercharging
Engines with superchargers or turbochargers can have intake pressures
greater than the exhaust pressure, giving a positive pump work
W
i,n
= area A + area B
Supercharges increase the net indicated work but is a parasitic load
since they are driven by the crankshaft
P
int
Mechanical Efficiency
Some of the power generated in the cylinder is used to overcome engine
friction and to pump gas into and out of the engine.
The term friction power, , is used to collectively describe these power
losses, such that:
g i
f
g i
b
m
W
W
W
W
, ,
1

= = q
f
W

W W
Friction power can be measured by motoring the engine.
The mechanical efficiency is defined as:
b g i f
W

=
,
Mechanical efficiency depends on throttle position, engine design
and engine speed.
Typical values for car engines at WOT are:
90% @2000 RPM and 75% @ max speed.
Throttling increases pumping work and thus decreases the brake power
so the mechanical efficiency drops and approaches zero at idle.
Power varies with speed but torque is independent of engine speed
cycle cycle
W T T N W W N W so and recall

Mechanical Efficiency (2)
There is a maximum in the brake power
versus engine speed called the rated
brake power (RBP).
At higher speeds brake power decreases as
friction power becomes significant compared
to the indicated power
There is a maximum in the torque versus
speed called maximum brake torque (MBT).
Brake torque drops off:
at lower speeds do to heat losses
at higher speeds it becomes more difficult to
ingest a full charge of air.
cycle cycle
W T W N W

f g i b
W W W

=
,
Max brake torque
1 kW = 1.341 hp
Rated brake power
Power and Torque versus Engine Speed
Indicated Mean Effective Pressure (IMEP)
imep is a fictitious constant pressure that would produce the same
work per cycle if it acted on the piston during the power stroke.
R
p p
R
d
i
d
R i
d
i
n
U A imep
n
N V imep
W
N V
n W
V
W
imep

=

=

= =
2

T W T
cycle
imep so recall
imep does not depend on engine speed, just like torque
imep is a better parameter than torque to compare engines for design and
output because it is independent of engine speed, N, and engine size, V
d
.
Brake mean effective pressure (bmep) is defined as:
R
d
d
R
d
b
n
V bmep
T
V
n T
V
W
bmep

=

= =
t
t
2

2
The maximum bmep of good engine designs is well established:
Four stroke engines:
SI engines: 800-1000 kPa*
CI engines: 500 -900 kPa
Turbocharged SI engines: 1200 -1700 kPa
Turbocharged CI engines: 1000 - 1400 kPa
Two stroke engines:
Standard CI engines comparable bmep to four stroke
Large slow CI engines: 500 - 1600 kPa (with supercharging)
*Values are at maximum brake torque at WOT
Note, at the rated (maximum) brake power the bmep is 10 - 15% less
Can use above maximum bmep in design calculations to estimate engine
displacement required to provide a given torque or power at a specified
speed.
Maximum BMEP
The maximum bmep is obtained at WOT at a particular engine speed
Closing the throttle decreases the bmep
For a given displacement, a higher maximum bmep means more torque
For a given torque, a higher maximum bmep means smaller engine
Higher maximum bmep means higher stresses and temperatures in the
engine hence shorter engine life, or bulkier engine.
For the same bmep 2-strokes have almost twice the power of 4-stroke

2
d
R
d
b
V
n T
V
W
bmep

= =
t
Vehicle Engine
type
Displ.
(L)
Max Power
(HP@rpm)
Max Torque
(lb-ft@rpm)
BMEP at
Max BT
(bar)
BMEP at
Rated BP
(bar)
Mazda
Protg LX
L4 1.839 122@6000 117@4000 10.8 9.9
Honda
Accord EX
L4 2.254 150@5700 152@4900 11.4 10.4
Mazda
Millenia S
L4
Turbo
2.255 210@5300 210@3500 15.9 15.7
BMW
328i
L6 2.793 190@5300 206@3950 12.6 11.5
Ferrari
F355 GTS
V8 3.496 375@8250 268@6000 13.1 11.6
Ferrari
456 GT
V12 5.474 436@6250 398@4500 12.4 11.4
Lamborghini
Diablo VT
V12 5.707 492@7000 427@5200 12.7 11.0
Typical 1998 Passenger Car Engine Characteristics
Road-Load Power
A part-load power level useful for testing car engines is the power required
to drive a vehicle on a level road at a steady speed.
The road-load power, P
r
, is the engine power needed to overcome rolling
resistance and the aerodynamic drag of the vehicle.
v v v D a v R r
S S A C g M C P + = )
2
1
(
2

Where C
R
= coefficient of rolling resistance (0.012 - 0.015)
M
v
= mass of vehicle
g = gravitational acceleration

a
= ambient air density
C
D
= drag coefficient (for cars: 0.3 - 0.5)
A
v
= frontal area of the vehicle
S
v
= vehicle speed
Specific Fuel Consumption
For transportation vehicles fuel economy is generally given as mpg, or
L/100 km.
In engine testing the fuel consumption is measured in terms of the fuel
mass flow rate .
The specific fuel consumption, sfc, is a measure of how efficiently the
fuel supplied to the engine is used to produce power,
f
m
b
f
W
m
bsfc

=
hr kW
g
W
m
isfc
i
f

= : units

Clearly a low value for sfc is desirable since for a given power level
less fuel is consumed
Brake Specific Fuel Consumption vs Engine Size
Bsfc decreases with engine size due to reduced heat losses from gas to
cylinder wall.
r
L r
rL
volume cylinder
area surface cylinder 1 2

2
=
t
t
Note cylinder surface to volume ratio increases with bore diameter.
Brake Specific Fuel Consumption vs Engine Speed
At high speeds the bsfc increases due to increased friction i.e. smaller
At lower speeds the bsfc increases due to increased time for heat
losses from the gas to the cylinder and piston wall, and thus a smaller
Bsfc increases with compression ratio due to higher thermal efficiency
b
W

i
W

There is a minimum in the bsfc versus engine speed curve

Performance Maps
Performance map is used to display the bsfc over the engines full load
and speed range. Using a dynamometer to measure the torque and fuel
mass flow rate you can calculate:
d
R
V
n T
bmep

=
t 2
b
f
W
m
bsfc

= ) 2 ( T N W
b
= t

bmep@WOT
Constant bsfc contours from a
two-liter four cylinder SI engine
Engine Thermodynamic Efficiencies
While bsfc is commonly used because it is a fairly direct
measurement, it is also possible to work out the
engine's thermodynamic efficiency if you know the
heating value of the fuel.
Typical hydrocarbon fuel heating values are:
Fuel Heating Value
(lower heating value, fuel is liquid
if that is its normal state at STP)
Methane 50 MJ/kg
LPG 46 MJ/kg
Gasoline 44.5 MJ/kg
Diesel 43 MJ/kg
Methanol 20 MJ/kg
Engine Efficiencies
The time for combustion in the cylinder is very short so not all the fuel
may be consumed or local temperatures may no favour combustion
A small fraction of the fuel may not react and exits with the exhaust gas
The combustion efficiency is defined as:
HV f
in
HV f
in
c
Q m
Q
Q m
Q
ut l heat inp theoretica
t input actual hea

= =

q
Where Q
in
= heat added by combustion per cycle
m
f
= mass of fuel added to cylinder per cycle
Q
HV
= heating value of the fuel (chemical energy per unit mass)
Engine Efficiencies (2)
The thermal efficiency is defined as:
HV f c in
th
Q m
W
Q
W

= = =
q
q
cycle per input heat
cycle per work
HV f c in
th
Q m
W
Q
W

= = =

q
q
input heat oI rate
out power
or in terms of rates
Thermal efficiencies can be given in terms of brake or indicated values
Indicated thermal efficiencies are typically 50% to 60% and brake thermal
efficiencies are usually about 30%
Engine Efficiencies (3)
Fuel conversion efficiency is defined as:
HV f HV f
f
Q m
W
Q m
W

q
Note: q
f
is very similar to q
th
, difference is q
th
takes into account actual
fuel combusted.
Recall:
Therefore, the fuel conversion efficiency can also be obtained from:
W
m
sfc
f

=
HV
f
Q sfc
=
) (
1
q
Volumetric Efficiency
Due to the short cycle time and flow restrictions less than ideal amount of
air enters the cylinder.
The effectiveness of an engine to induct air into the cylinders is measured
by the volumetric efficiency:
N V
m n
V
m
d a
a R
d a
a
v


=

= =

q

air theor.
inducted air actual
where
a
is the density of air at atmospheric conditions P
o
, T
o
and for an
ideal gas
a
=P
o
/ R
a
T
o
and R
a
= 0.287 kJ/kg-K (at standard conditions

a
= 1.181 kg/m
3
)
Typical values for WOT are in the range 75%-90%, and lower when the
throttle is closed.
If an engine is throttled, the volumetric efficiency will be much less than 1,
(eg 25-30%), and
If it is running at full torque, volumetric efficiency can be about 1.
Supercharged engines will have a volumetric efficiency greater than 1.
Volumetric Efficiency
Volumetric efficiency is used in two ways.
Some engineers want to measure the tuning effectiveness of the
intake manifold and valve system . They use volumetric efficiency as
their indicator. For this purpose, the "i" conditions would refer to the
density at intake manifold temperature and pressure. The ideal
volumetric efficiency would be around 1 (ie 100%). Actual V would
be reduced by flow losses at the valve but could also be increased
by pulsation tuning.
The more common use of volumetric efficiency is to indicate how
much mixture is flowing through the engine, (without worrying
whether it ought to be 100%). For this purpose, the calculation is
usually done including fuel/air mixture and with the reference density
set at ambient atmospheric conditions.
Air-Fuel Ratio
For combustion to take place the proper relative amounts of air and fuel
must be present in the cylinder.
The air-fuel ratio is defined as
f
a
f
a
m
m
m
m
AF

= =
The ideal AF is about 15:1, with combustion possible in the range
of 6 to 19.
For a SI engine the AF is in the range of 12 to 18 depending on the
operating conditions.
For a CI engine, where the mixture is highly non-homogeneous, the
AF is in the range of 18 to 70.
Engines Comparison
Engine performance can be compared by the following
parameters:
Mean effective pressure
Brake specific fuel consumption
Engine efficiency
Volumetric efficiency
First law analysis energy conservation
Second law analysis entropy conservation
Engines Comparison
mep= work done per unit displacement volume
Or average pressure that results in the same amount
of indicated or brake work produced by the engine
Scales out effect of engine size
Two useful types: imep and bmep
imep: indicated mean effective pressure
the net work per unit displacement volume done by the
gas during compression and expansion
bmep: brake mean effective pressure
the external shaft work per unit volume done by the
engine
BMEP
Based on torque:
d V
bmep
t t
=
4
!" $%&'()*
!+ $%&'()*
d V
bmep
t t
=
2
Brake specific fuel consumption (bsfc)
Measure of engine efficiency
They are in fact inversely related, so a lower bsfc
means a better engine
Often used over thermal efficiency because an
accepted universal definition of thermal efficiency
does not exist
N
f m
b W
f m
bsfc

= =
t t 2

Engines Comparison
bsfc
bsfc is the fuel flow rate divided by the brake power
We can also derive the brake thermal efficiency if we give
an energy to the fuel called heat of combustion or, q
c
N
f m
b W
f m
bsfc

= =
t t 2

qc bsfc qc f m
b W

=
1

q
Volumetric Efficiency, e
v
The mass of fuel and air inducted into the cylinder
divided by the mass that would occupy the displaced
volume at the density
i
in the intake manifold
Note its a mass ratio and for a 4 stroke engine
For a direct injection engine
N V
m m
e
d i
f a
v

) ( 2

+
=
0 = f m

Engines Comparison
First law analysis- energy conservation
For a system open to the transfer of enthalpy, mass,
work, and heat, the net energy crossing the control
surface is stored into or depleted from the control
volume
Second Law Analysis entropy conservation
This approach takes into account the irreversibility
that occurs in each process
Another outcome of this analysis is the development
of the usefulness of each type of energy (exergy)
Others Engines Comparison