by
Russell Krick
Publisher
The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Tinley Park, Illinois
Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only
Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only
Engine classifications
Alternative engines
Typical automotive engines
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Even though basic parts are the same,
design differences can change the way
engines operate and how they are
repaired
For this reason, you must be able to
classify engines
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Common Engine
Classifications
Cylinder arrangement
Number of cylinders
Cooling system type
Valve location
Camshaft location
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Common Engine
Classifications
Combustion chamber design
Type of fuel burned
Type of ignition
Number of strokes per cycle
Number of valves per cylinder
Type of aspiration
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Cylinder Arrangement
Refers to the position of the cylinders in
relation to the crankshaft
There are five basic cylinder
arrangements:
inline
V-type
slant
W-type
opposed
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Cylinder Arrangement
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Number of Cylinders
Most car and truck engines have either
4, 6, or 8 cylinders
Some may have 3, 5, 10, 12, or 16
cylinders
Engine power and smoothness are
enhanced by using more cylinders
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Cylinder Numbering
Engine manufacturers number each
engine cylinder to help technicians
make repairs
Service manual illustrations are usually
provided to show the number of each
cylinder
Cylinder numbers may be cast into the
intake manifold
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Firing Order
Refers to the sequence in which the
cylinders fire
Determined by the position of the
crankshaft rod journals in relation to
each other
May be cast into the intake manifold
Service manual illustrations are usually
provided to show the firing order
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Cylinder Numbering
and Firing Order
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Cooling System Type
There are two types of cooling
systems:
Liquid cooling system
surrounds the cylinder with coolant
coolant carries combustion heat out of
the cylinder head and engine block
Air cooling system
circulates air over cooling fins on the
cylinders
air removes heat from the cylinders
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Cooling System Type
A. Air cooling
B. Liquid cooling
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Fuel Type
Engines are classified by the type of
fuel used
Gasoline engines burn gasoline
Diesel engines burn diesel fuel
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG),
gasohol (10% alcohol, 90% gasoline),
and pure alcohol can also be used to
power an engine
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Ignition Type
Two basic methods are used to ignite
the fuel in an engine combustion
chamber:
spark ignition (spark plug)
compression ignition (compressed air)
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Spark Ignition Engine
Uses an electric arc at
the spark plug to ignite
the fuel
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Compression Ignition
Engine
Squeezes the air in the
combustion chamber until
it is hot enough to ignite
the fuel
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Valve Location
Engines are classified by the location
of the valves:
L-head engine
also called a flat head engine
I-head engine
also called an overhead valve (OHV)
engine
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L-Head
Engine
Both the intake and
exhaust valves are in
the block
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I-Head
Engine
Both valves are in the
cylinder head
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Camshaft Location
There are two basic locations for the
engine camshaft:
Camshaft located in the block
cam-in-block engine
Camshaft located in the cylinder head
overhead cam (OHC) engine
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Cam-in-Block Engine
Uses push rods to transfer motion to
the rocker arms and valves
Also called an overhead valve (OHV)
engine
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Overhead
Cam
Engine
Camshaft is located in
the top of the cylinder
head
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Overhead Cam Engine
OHC engines may use one or two
camshafts per cylinder head
Single overhead cam (SOHC) engine
uses only one camshaft per cylinder head
Dual overhead cam (DOHC) engine
uses two camshafts per cylinder head
one cam operates the intake valves, while
the other cam operates the exhaust
valves
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Combustion Chamber
Shape
Four basic combustion chamber
shapes are used in most automotive
engines:
pancake
wedge
hemispherical
pent-roof
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Pancake Combustion
Chamber
Chamber forms a flat pocket over the piston
head
Valve heads are almost parallel to the top of
the piston
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Wedge Combustion
Chamber
The valves are placed side-by-side
The spark plug is located next to the
valves
When the piston reaches TDC, the
squish area formed on the thin side of
the chamber squirts the air-fuel mixture
out into the main part of the chamber
this improves air-fuel mixing at low engine
speeds
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Wedge Combustion
Chamber
Provides good air-fuel mixing at low
engine speeds
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Hemispherical
Combustion Chamber
Shaped like a dome
The valves are canted on each side of the
combustion chamber
The spark plug is located near the center of
the chamber, producing a very short flame
path for combustion
The surface area is very small, reducing
heat loss
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Hemispherical
Combustion Chamber
First used in high-horsepower racing engines
Excellent design for high-rpm use
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Pent-Roof Combustion
Chamber
Similar to a hemispherical chamber
Has flat, angled surfaces rather than a
domed surface
Improves volumetric efficiency and
reduces emissions
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Pent-Roof Combustion
Chamber
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Other Combustion
Chamber Types
In addition to the four shapes just
covered, there are several less common
combustion chamber classifications
Each type is designed to increase
combustion efficiency, gas mileage, and
power while reducing exhaust emissions
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Swirl Combustion
Chamber
Causes the air-fuel
mixture to swirl as it
enters the chamber,
improving combustion
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Four-Valve
Combustion Chamber
Uses two exhaust valves and two intake
valves to increase flow
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Three-Valve
Combustion Chamber
Uses two intake valves and one
exhaust valve
Two intake valves allow ample airflow
into the combustion chamber on the
intake stroke
Single exhaust valve provides enough
surface area to handle exhaust flow
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Stratified Charge
Combustion Chamber
Uses a small combustion chamber
flame to ignite and burn the fuel in the
main, large chamber
Lean mixture is admitted into the main
chamber
Richer mixture is admitted into the
small chamber by an extra valve
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Stratified Charge
Combustion Chamber
When the mixture in the small chamber is
ignited, flames blow into the main
chamber and ignite the lean mixture
Allows the engine to operate on a lean,
high-efficiency air-fuel ratio
fuel economy is increased
exhaust emissions are reduced
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Air Jet Combustion
Chamber
Has a single combustion chamber fitted
with an extra air valve, called a jet valve
The jet valve injects a stream of air into
the combustion chamber at idle and at
low engine speeds to improve fuel
mixing and combustion
At higher rpm, normal air-fuel mixing is
adequate for efficient combustion
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Air Jet Combustion
Chamber
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Precombustion
Chamber
Commonly used in automotive diesel
engines
Used to quiet engine operation and to
allow the use of a glow plug to aid cold
weather starting
During combustion, fuel is injected into
the prechamber, where ignition begins
As the fuel burns, the flame expands
and moves into the main chamber
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Precombustion
Chamber
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Vehicles generally use internal
combustion, 4-stroke cycle,
reciprocating piston engines
Alternative engines include all other
engine types that may be used to
power a vehicle
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Rotary Engine
Uses a triangular rotor instead of
pistons
The rotor orbits a mainshaft while
turning inside a specially shaped
chamber
This eliminates the reciprocating
motion found in piston engines
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Rotary Engine
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Rotary Engine
Operation
Three complete power-producing
cycles take place during every
revolution of the rotor:
three rotor faces produce three intake,
compression, power, and exhaust events
per revolution
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Rotary Engine
Operation
Rotor movement produces a lowpressure area, pulling the air-fuel
mixture into the engine
As the rotor turns, the mixture is
compressed and ignited
As the fuel burns, it expands and
pushes on the rotor
The rotor continues to turn, and burned
gases are pushed out of the engine
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Rotary Engine
Operation
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Steam Engine
Heats water to produce steam
Steam pressure operates the engine
pistons
Known as an external combustion
engine since its fuel is burned outside
the engine
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Steam Engine
Used on some of the first automobiles
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Gas Turbine
Uses burning and expanding fuel vapor
to spin fan-type blades
Blades are connected to a shaft that
can be used for power output
Expensive to manufacture because of
special metals, ceramics, and precision
machining required
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Gas Turbine
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Two-Stroke-Cycle
Engine
Not used for automotive applications
because of high emission levels and
poor fuel efficiency
Requires only one revolution of the
crankshaft for a complete powerproducing cycle
Two piston strokes complete the intake,
compression, power, and exhaust
events
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Two-Stroke-Cycle
Engine Operation
As the piston moves upward, the airfuel mixture is compressed
Vacuum is created in the crankcase,
which draws fuel and oil into the
crankcase
A reed valve or rotary valve controls
flow into the crankcase
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Two-Stroke-Cycle
Engine Operation
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Two-Stroke-Cycle
Engine Operation
When the piston reaches the top of the
cylinder, ignition occurs
Burning gases force the piston
downward
The reed valve or rotary valve closes,
compressing and pressurizing the fuel
mixture in the crankcase
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Two-Stroke-Cycle
Engine Operation
As the piston moves down in the
cylinder, it uncovers the exhaust port
Burned gases leave the cylinder
The piston continues downward,
uncovering the transfer port
Pressure in the crankcase causes a
fresh fuel charge to flow through the
transfer port and into the cylinder
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Two-Stroke-Cycle
Engine Operation
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Two-Stroke-Cycle
Engine Lubrication
The crankcase is used as a storage
chamber for each successive fuel charge
Lubricating oil is introduced into the
crankcase along with the air-fuel charge
to provide lubrication
Inside the crankcase, some of the oil
separates from the fuel
The oil mist lubricates and protects the
moving parts inside the engine
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Miller-Cycle Engine
Uses a modified four-stroke cycle
Designed with a shorter compression
stroke and a longer power stroke to
increase efficiency
The intake valve remains open longer
to delay compression
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Miller-Cycle Engine
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Miller-Cycle Operation
The piston slides down
the bore with the intake
valve open
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Miller-Cycle Operation
The intake valve remains
open as the piston starts up
the bore
The supercharger
pressurizes the intake to
prevent backflow
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Miller-Cycle Operation
The intake valve closes
and compression occurs
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Miller-Cycle Operation
The power stroke
occurs
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Miller-Cycle Operation
The exhaust stroke
occurs
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Horizontally Opposed
Provides the lowest center of gravity
of any piston engine
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Overhead Cam V-8
Features four chain-driven camshafts
and 32 valves
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Inline SOHC
This 16-valve, four-cylinder engine has a
belt-driven camshaft and a balance shaft
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Fuel-Injected V-8
This engine uses many aluminum parts
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DOHC V-6
Each cylinder head contains two camshafts
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V-8 Engine
Note the reciprocating assembly
and the valve train
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Inline Diesel
Six-cylinder engine with a rear drive belt
for the injection pump
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V-12 Engine
Two roller chains
drive the overhead
camshafts
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