IC Engines
Some basic and not-so-basic stuff!
Presented by - Manas Shrivastava
2 Stroke cycle:
Thermodynamic cycles: History
The four stroke cycle was first conceptualised by a French engineer Alphonse
Rochas in 1861-62, but the first working engine was developed in 1867 by a
German engineer Nikolaus Otto. In 1890s Rudolf Diesel, another German
mechanical engineer got several patents to his name which led to the invention
of the Diesel engine. Diesel was murdered by the German forces as he denied
granting them exclusive rights of using his invention.
Thermodynamic cycles
Efficiency and compression ratio
Common arrangements
Inline V Flat
Some more arrangements
Radial engine
Disadvantages:
1) Very small compression ratio
2) Huge temperature gradient within the engine body
3) Engine oil is mixed in combustion chamber
4) TERRIBLE EMISSIONS!!!
Parts of ICE
Deviating from ideal conditions:
1) Variation of specific heat from temperature
2) Dissociation of combustion products
3) Progressive combustion
4) Incomplete combustion
5) Heat transfer to cylinder walls
6) Blowdown at end of exhaust
7) Gas exchange process
Three major losses
1) Time loss factor: loss of time reqd for
mixing of fuel and air and for
combustion
2) Heat loss factor: loss of heat to cylinder
walls
3) Exhaust blowdown: loss of work on
expansion stroke due to early opening
of exhaust valve
More about these losses
● Time loss factor: Time lost due to time required for mixing of fuel and air
and also for combustion.
○ The crankshaft rotates about 30-40 deg from start of ignition to end of combustion.
○ As a consequence, peak pressure will not occur when volume is minimum.
○ This loss of work reduces efficiency.
○ To minimise this loss, spark is given in advanced (15-30 deg of crankshaft rotation)
● Heat loss factor: Heat lost from gases to cylinder walls for cooling.
More about these losses
● Exhaust Blowdown Factor: Loss of work on the expansion stroke due to
early opening of the exhaust valve.
○ If exhaust valve is opened at BDC, the piston will have to work against high cylinder
pressures during early part of exhaust stroke.
○ If exhaust valve opens too early, part of expansion stroke is lost.
○ Hence, exhaust valve is opened 40-70 deg before BDC thereby reducing cylinder pressure
before the exhaust stroke begins.
○ Optimum opening and closing of inlet and exhaust valves is thus not exactly on beginning of
intake and exhaust strokes. The valve timings are given by valve timing diagram as shown
on next slide:
Valve timing diagram
Ignition
Spark plug is a grounded body on which high voltage
is applied periodically to generate spark due to a
large voltage difference between center electrode
and ground electrode just like electric arc welding.
In the figure, a battery ignition system has been
shown.
Ignition
Magneto ignition system does not need
any battery and has a generator of its
own.
High voltage is directly produced here and
this is an advantage as well as
disadvantage here.
Carburation
A carburetor mixes air and fuel for combustion. It is
a modified venturi, at a point where velocity is high,
pressure is low from Bernoulli’s principle, this low
pressure creates suction which pulls fuel into the
flow and thus, engine automatically gets a tuned
amount of fuel according to it’s rpm.
Nowadays carbs are getting obsolete due to
modern fuel injection systems which are
electronically controlled.
Fuel injection systems
● Mechanical:
○ Governors
○ Nozzle
○ Fuel pump
○ Distributor
Fuel injection systems
● Electronic:
○ GDI ( Gasoline direct injection)
○ Port injection
○ Manifold injection
The ECU (electronic control unit) controls the timing and volume of EFI.
CRDi engines have Common rail direct injection where ECU controls pressure of fuel in a common rail
and ensures equal pressure of fuel injection in every cylinder. Since fuel can be injected as needed, it
saves fuel and reduces emissions. CRDi engines are used for diesel engines.
Supercharger and turbocharger
Brake power (bp) can be increased by increasing mean effective pressure or by
increasing speed. Increasing speed will also increase friction and will have
limitations, thus increasing the pressure is the most preferred method for
boosting brake power of the engine.
Supercharging and turbocharging increase the MEP by increased pressure of
inlet air, thus increasing the power output for same fuel consumption.
Supercharger: Superchargers are pressure boosting devices which are driven by
engine crankshaft.
Turbocharger: Turbochargers are similar to superchargers but they are turbine
driven (turbine is driven by exhaust gases)
Effects of supercharging
● Higher power output, better atomisation and mixing of fuel and air
● Quicker acceleration and increased power output without consuming extra
fuel
● Smoother combustion, improved cold start, reduced exhaust smoke
● Increased thermal stresses, heat loss, valve overlap, and cooling
requirements
ECU
The ECU controls the following parameters to reduce emissions, NVH and fuel
consumption:
● Air fuel ratio
● Mixture distribution among cylinders
● Ignition and injection timing
● Idle speed
CDI (capacitor Discharge Ignition) is an electronic ignition device that stores an
electrical charge and then discharges it through an ignition coil in order to
produce a powerful spark from the spark plugs in a petrol engine. It was used in
bike and scooter engines before ECUs came in.
BS 4 to BS 6
Diesel oxidation Catalyst: Diesel Particulate Filter: Selective Catalytic Reduction:
CO -> CO2 + H2O Soot trap NH3 -> NO + N2
These additional components increase weight of vehicles by 40-50 kgs and have
complicated electronics.
Non conventional engines and tech
Some non-conventional engines that we will be discussing are:
● Digital Twin Spark engine (DTSi)
● Bi-fuel engines
● Free piston engines
● Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI)
● Stirling engine
● Variable Compression Ratio
● Cylinder deactivation
DTSi
Digital Twin Spark ignition engine has two Spark plugs
located at opposite ends of the combustion chamber
and hence fast and efficient combustion is obtained.
The benefits of this efficient combustion process can be
felt in terms of better fuel efficiency and lower
emissions. The ignition system on the Twin spark is a
digital system with static spark advance and no moving
parts subject to wear.
Bi-fuel engines
Bi-fuel vehicles are vehicles with multifuel engines capable of running on two
fuels. On internal combustion engines one fuel is gasoline or diesel, and the
other is an alternate fuel such as natural gas (CNG), LPG, or hydrogen. The two
fuels are stored in separate tanks and the engine runs on one fuel at a time in
some cases, in others both fuels are used in unison. Bi-fuel vehicles have the
capability to switch back and forth from gasoline or diesel to the other fuel,
manually or automatically.
Free piston engines
Modern
applications of
the free-piston
engine concept
include hydraulic
engines, aimed
for off-highway
vehicles, and
free-piston engine
generators, aimed
for use with
hybrid electric
vehicles.
GDI
GDI is a type of fuel injection used by many modern vehicles. Traditional
multi-point fuel injection injects fuel into the intake at low pressure. With GDI
engines, a common fuel line injects gasoline at high pressure directly into the
combustion chamber of each cylinder. This gives GDI engines precise control of
injection timing and the amount of fuel delivered. GDI engines provide many
benefits that conventional fuel injection can’t. With gasoline direct injection
technology, you can draw more power from smaller engines. In addition, your car
gets improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions.
Stirling engines
Variable CR
Variable compression ratio is a technology to adjust the compression ratio of an
internal combustion engine while the engine is in operation. This is done to
increase fuel efficiency while under varying loads. Variable compression engines
allow the volume above the piston at top dead centre to be changed. Higher
loads require lower ratios to increase power, while lower loads need higher ratios
to increase efficiency, i.e. to lower fuel consumption. For automotive use this
needs to be done as the engine is running in response to the load and driving
demands. The 2019 Infiniti QX50 is the first commercially available car that uses
a variable compression ratio engine.
Cylinder deactivation
Cylinder deactivation begins with the identification of the first cylinder to be shut
off. The remaining cylinders are shut off in the order of ignition. When the gas
exchange is deactivated for the first cylinder, the fuel injection into the remaining
cylinders is also deactivated. Its function involves some of the cylinders in the
engine being temporarily stopped.
The requirements for cylinder deactivation are as follows:
● Torque neutrality
● Emissions neutrality
● Good responsiveness
Conclusion
Though the world is running out of conventional fuel, and people are getting
more and more concerned about emissions (they should be :-P) ICE are the most
powerful and amazingly appealing mechanisms that can never be replaced, at
least in our hearts :-D Here are some examples of their applications!
