FYP

Project Title
Effect of Variable Length Intake Manifold on Performance of IC Engine
OR
EFFECT OF INTAKE MANIFOLD GEOMETRY ON PERFORMANCE OF IC ENGINE
Abstract

Intake manifold is the breathing system of the car engine which supplies air to the
engine cylinders where the combustion of the fuel occurs. .Engine power & torque are
greatly affected by degree to which cylinders are charged & the geometric aspects of
intake manifold. Conventional intake manifolds have fixed length & geometry which is
optimized for specific engine speed .Current work aims at studying & analyzing the
effect of variable intake length on performance of IC engine. This will be analyzed with
the help of engine simulation software & experimentation on an actual engine. Intake
manifold with different intake lengths mounted on engine under test & the results are
analyzed. The volumetric efficiency of engine found to be increased by varying the
intake length. At lower engine speed intake length must be long for proper breathing of
engine while at higher speeds intake length must be short
Introduction
Intake system comprises of various complicated paths such as air cleaner, intake pipe,
throttle body, plenum & runners/resonators to each cylinder. Air flows through all
these parts & finally enters in to engine cylinder. The main parts of the intake system
are plenum, & runners. Overall length including runner & plenum & volume of plenum
mainly affects the torque characteristics of engine.
In case of naturally aspirated engines volumetric efficiency is still low which is in the
range of 75-80%. Another problem with intake system is that in conventional engines it
is optimized for a specific speed at which it gives maximum torque. Studies showed that
longer intake manifolds give peak torque at low engine rpm & shorter engine manifolds
gives peak torque at higher engine rpm. Conventional engines have intake manifolds
which are compromised to get benefit of both.
Growing demand for increased engine power, torque & reduced emissions led engineers
to look towards various engine components to find whether there is any scope to
improvement in their design and or layout. Traditional intake manifold design and
optimization is based on actual physical tests of various geometries on test bench.
Engine manifolds were produced & mounted on the engine & tests were conducted. This
trial and error method can be effective but is very expensive and time consuming.
Besides, this method cannot provide any information about the actual flow parameters
inside the intake manifold. On the other hand find we design a geometry according to
which we do simulation by using different software to get maximum efficiency.
Project Aims and problems

To test engine performance by mounting runners of different lengths accordance with

the engine speed & calculation of intake runner length by theoretical methods to
increase the volumetric efficiency.
Air flowing inside the intake manifold runner, past the intake valve and into the cylinder
flows alike until the intake valve closes. After the closure of valve air strikes on the
closed valve & high pressure wave is created. This high pressure wave oscillates in the
inlet duct until the inlet valve opens for next stroke. The time after which inlet valve
opens again if matches to the time of arrival of high pressure wave of air at inlet then
Ram effect occurs causing highest possible air pressure at IVC. Tuning corresponds to
adjusting the length of intake runner so that this pressure wave reaches exactly at the
time when the inlet valve opens. This effect is also called as inertial ram effect and
length is decided by Chryslers Ram Theory.

High torque requires an intake manifold with geometry different to one for high power
output. A medium intake manifold length with a medium diameter represents a
compromise but it results in the lower torque & power at very low & high speeds which
ultimately results into degraded performance & less fuel economy .That why variable
intake manifold is an ideal alternative to solve this problem.

 But intake manifold has negative effect on engine performance beyond certain
speed range. Therefore careful design is essential for getting maximum
performance from the intake tuning.
 Intake and exhaust tuning are mutually independent and the net effect on the
engine is a summation of their individual contributions. [2].
 Multiple reflections of a positive pressure wave significantly enhance engine
breathing. Even though the magnitude of the positive wave decreased with each
„bounce‟, shorter pipes with multiple returns outperformed the primary return of a
longer pipe due to flow friction. Because of this, volumetric efficiency and torque
were maximized with runners of shorter lengths. [3]
 Modelling of pipe pressure losses is another important factor it should be paid
attention to. It influences mainly volumetric efficiency and all other integral
parameters which depend on it.
 Frequency analysis of intake system pressure waves recommended that for
maximum volumetric efficiency tuned intake system develops 4th order
fundamental frequency during intake valve closed phase and 1st order fundamental
frequency during suction stroke. [7]

PRINCIPLE OF RESONANCE CHARGING

An intake system works according to the principle of resonance charging, that is, high
and low-pressure waves are used to charge the cylinder, in order to achieve greater
volumetric efficiency. Consider the events in the intake tract.
The inlet valve opens. The piston moves downwards in the cylinder, in the direction of
bottom dead centre (BDC). It creates a low-pressure wave in the vicinity of the inlet
valve.
This low-pressure wave propagates itself though the resonance pipe to the other end,
which protrudes into a collector. The low-pressure wave at the end of the pipe acts on
the volume of air present in the collector.

The pressure of the volume of air in the collector is approximately equal to ambient air
pressure. This is significantly higher than the air pressure at the open end of the
resonance pipe. The low pressure now present at the end of the pipe pulls along the air
mass present here. They force themselves simultaneously into the resonance pipe so
that where the low-pressure wave was, an equally large high-pressure wave develops,
which propagates itself towards the inlet valve.
This effect is also called as Ram-Effect charging
Detailed timeline of FYP phases

Phase Week Duration Semester

Project & Committee Selection Week 09 3 Weeks 6th
Proposal Defense Week 15 1 Week 6th
Design Expo Week 15 1 Week 7th
Mid Defense Week 02 1 Day 8th
Final Defense Week 14 1 Week 8th
Final Report Submission Week 14 8th

Open House Week 15 1 Day 8th

GPA

M. Ali Noman Saeed 3.42

Mahtab Ilyas 3.20
Saham Najib Pasha 3.02
Arslan Ahmad 2.47 Formatted: Font: Times New Roman, 12 pt, Not Bold
 FYP Proposal

TITLE
Final Year Project Proposal
by

Names
Name: Muhammad Ali Noman Saeed
Name: Saham Najib Pasha
Name: Arslan Ahmad
Name: Mahtab Ilyas

Advisor:

Mr. Muhammad Mahad Shah

Co-Advisor:

HITEC University
Taxila, Pakistan
(2019)
Conclusions

Based on study of volumetric efficiency dependency on intake length, following conclusions

can be derived:
1. Volumetric efficiency was observed to be a function both of engine speed and intake
length.
2. As engine speed increased from 1200 rpm to 2600 rpm, improvement in volumetric
efficiency can be achieved by reducing intake length linearly from 13.7 to 3.1 times stroke
length.
3. For engine with wide speed range (max speed - low idle speed greater than 3000),
continuous variable intake runner length can fetch better volumetric efficiency as compared
to fixed intake runner length.
4. Intake system pressure waves can be clearly separated into two distinct phases: pressure
waves during suction stroke and pressure waves during intake valve closed position.
5. Frequency analysis of intake system pressure waves recommended that for maximum
volumetric efficiency tuned intake system develops 4th order fundamental frequency during
intake valve closed phase and 1st order fundamental frequency during suction stroke.
6. As the engine speed increases the length of intake manifold has to be reduced to achieve
optimum engine performance.
7. Theoretical intake tuning methods closely predicts the intake length required to obtain
maximum possible volumetric efficiency.
8. Significant improvement in volumetric efficiency, brake torque & brake power is obtained
using variable intake lengths.
9. Toque benefit is obtained in lower as well as higher RPM band.
10. Increase in volumetric efficiency, BP, & brake torque at rated engine speed is near about
06%, 17% & 10%, respectively
References
1. Deshmukh, D., Kumar, R., Garg, M., Nayeem, M. J., and Lakshmi Narasimhan, V.,
„Optimization of Gas Exchange Process on a Single Cylinder Small 4-Stroke Engine by Intake
and Exhaust Tuning: Experimentation and Simulation, ‟ SAE Paper 2004-32-0007.
2. Gilbert Smut and Alex C. Alkyds, “Relative Contributions of Intake and Exhaust Tuning on
SI Engine Breathing - A Computational Study” SAE Paper 2007-01-0492.
3. L. J. Hamilton, J. S. Cowart and J. J. Rozich, “The Effects of Intake Geometry on SI Engine
Performance” SAE Paper 2009-01-0302.
7. D N Malkhede, H Khalane – “Maximizing Volumetric Efficiency of IC Engine through Intake
Manifold Tuning”, SAE International, 2015-01-1738 Published 04/14/2015.

Other Related References

1. Old ich Vítek and Miloš Polášek, “Tuned Manifold Systems – Application of 1-D Pipe
Model” SAE Paper 2002- 01-0004.
2. James Taylor, David Gurney and Paul Freeland et. al. “Intake Manifold Length Effects on
Turbocharged Gasoline Downsizing Engine Performance and Fuel Economy” SAE Paper,
2012-01-0714.
3. Jensen Samuel, Prasad NS, and Kumarasamy Annamalai – “Effect of Variable Length
Intake Manifold on aTurbocharged Multi-Cylinder Diesel Engine‟‟ SAE International, 2013-
01-2756 Published 11/27/2013.
4. D N Malkhede, H Khalane – “Maximizing Volumetric Efficiency of IC Engine through Intake
Manifold Tuning”, SAE International, 2015-01-1738 Published 04/14/2015.
5. http://www.chrysler300club.com/uniq/allaboutrams/ramtheory.htm
6. Thompson M. Non-Mechanical Supercharging of a Four-Stroke Diesel Engine. MS thesis,
Ohio State University,1968