CONSTRUCTION OF IC ENGINE

IC ENGINE:
An internal combustion engine is a heat engine in which the combustion of a
fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the
working fluid flow circuit. 

ENGINE CONSTRUCTION

The construction of an engine varies little, regardless of size and design.

The intended use of the engine determines its size and design, and the temperature at
which the engine will operate determines the type of metal it will be built from.

STATIONARY PARTS OF AN ENGINE

 The stationary parts of an engine include the cylinder block and cylinders, the
cylinder heads and the exhaust and intake manifolds. These parts furnish the
framework of the engine. All movable parts are attached to or fitted into this framework.

ENGINE CYLINDER BLOCK

The cylinder block is the basic frame of a liquid-cooled engine whether it is

in-line, horizontally opposed, or V-type. The cylinder block is a solid casting made of
cast iron or aluminium that contains the crankcase, the cylinders, the coolant passages,
the lubricating passages, and, in the case of flathead engines, the valves seats, the
ports, and the guides. Cast iron provides excellent wearing qualities and low material
and production cost, and it changes dimensions only minimally when heated. Another
material used for cylinder blocks, although not extensively, is aluminium. Aluminium is
used whenever weight is a consideration.

CYLINDER

The cylinders are bored right into the block. A good cylinder must be round, not
varying in diameter by more than approximately 0.0005 inch (0.012 mm). The diameter
of the cylinder must be uniform throughout its entire length. They are made of forged
steel. This material is most suitable for cylinders because of its excellent wearing
qualities and its ability to withstand the high temperatures that air-cooled cylinders
obtain. The cylinders are commonly mounted by securing the cylinder head to the
crankcase with long studs and sandwiching the cylinders between the two. Another way
of mounting the cylinders is to bolt them to the crankcase, and then secure the heads to
the cylinders.

CYLINDER SLEEVE

Cylinder sleeves, or liners, are metal pipe shaped inserts that fit into the
cylinder block. They act as cylinder walls for the piston to slide up and down on. Cast
iron sleeves are commonly used in aluminium cylinder blocks. Sleeves can also be
installed to repair badly damaged cylinder walls in cast iron blocks. There are two basic
types of cylinder sleeves, dry and wet.

A dry sleeve, presses into a cylinder that has been bored or machined
oversize. A dry sleeve is relatively thin and is not exposed to engine coolant. When a
cylinder becomes badly worn or is damaged, a dry sleeve can be installed. The original
cylinder must be bored almost as large as the outside of the sleeve. Then, the sleeve is
pressed into the oversized hole. Next, the inside of the sleeve is machined to the
original bore diameter. This allows the use of the original piston size.

A wet sleeve, is exposed to the engine coolant. It must withstand

combustion pressure and heat without the added support of the cylinder block.
Therefore, it must be thicker than a dry sleeve. Many vehicles use aluminium cylinder
blocks with cast iron wet sleeves. The light aluminium block reduces weight for
increased fuel economy. The cast iron sleeves wear very well, increasing engine
service life.

WATER JACKET

The cylinder block also provides the foundation for the cooling and lubricating
systems. The cylinders of a liquid-cooled engine are surrounded by interconnecting
passages cast in the block. Collectively, these passages form the water jacket that
allows the circulation of coolant through the cylinder block and the cylinder head to carry
off excessive heat created by combustion.

CRANKCASE

The crankcase, is that part of the cylinder block below the cylinders. It
supports and encloses the crankshaft and provides a reservoir for lubricating oil.
It is made as a one- or two-piece casting that supports the crankshaft, provides the
mounting surface for the cylinders and the oil pump, and has the lubrication passages
cast into it. It is made of aluminium since it needs the ability to dissipate large amounts
of heat.

CYLINDER HEAD

The cylinder head, bolts to the deck of the cylinder block. It covers and
encloses the top of the cylinders. Combustion chambers, small pockets formed in the
cylinder heads where combustion occurs, are located directly over the cylinders. Spark
plugs or injectors protrude through holes into the combustion chambers. Intake and
exhaust ports are cast into the cylinder head. The intake ports route air or air and fuel
into the combustion chambers. The exhaust port routes burned gases out of the
combustion chamber.
 Cylinder heads on liquid-cooled engines have been made almost exclusively
from cast iron until recent years. Because weight has become an important
consideration, a large percentage of cylinder heads now are being made from
aluminium. The cylinder heads on air-cooled engines are made exclusively from
aluminium because aluminium conducts heat approximately three times as fast as
cast iron. This is a critical consideration with air cooling.

EXHAUST MANIFOLD

The exhaust manifold connects all of the engine cylinders to the rest of the
exhaust system. It is made of cast iron, lightweight aluminium, or stainless steel tubing.
Back pressure (the force that the pistons must exert to push out the exhaust gases) can
be reduced by making the manifold with smooth walls and without sharp bends.

INTAKE MANIFOLD

The intake manifold can be made of cast iron, aluminium, or plastic. On a gasoline
engine it carries the air-fuel mixture from the carburetor and distributes it to the
cylinders. On a diesel engine, the manifold carries only air into the cylinders. . The
manifold passages are designed with smooth walls and a minimum of bends that collect
fuel to reduce the condensing of the mixture. The intake manifold has a controlled
system of heating that must heat the mixture enough to aid in vaporization—without
heating it to the point of reducing volumetric efficiency. Intake manifolds can be
designed to provide optimum performance for a given speed range by varying the
length of the passages.

OIL PAN

The lower part of the crankcase is the oil pan, which is bolted at the bottom. The oil pan
is made of cast aluminium or pressed steel and holds the lubricating oil for the
engine. Since the oil pan is the lowest part of the engine, it must be strong enough to
withstand blows from flying stones and obstructions sticking up from the road surface.

MOVING PARTS OF AN ENGINE

PISTON:

The piston transfers the pressure of combustion to the connecting rod and crankshaft. It
must also hold the piston rings and piston pin while operating in the cylinder. Pistons
are normally cast or forged from an aluminium alloy. Cast pistons are relatively soft
and are used in slow-speed, low-performance engines. Forged pistons are commonly
used in today’s fuel injected, turbocharged, and diesel engines. These engines expose
the pistons to much higher stress loads, which could break cast aluminium pistons. The
structural components of the pistons are the head, skirt, ring grooves, and lands.
Piston Head: The piston head is the top of the piston and is exposed to the heat and
pressure of combustion. This area must be thick enough to withstand these forces.

Piston Skirt: A piston skirt is the side of the piston below the last ring. Without a skirt,
the piston could tip and jam in the cylinder. A slipper skirt is produced when portions of
the piston skirt below the piston ends are removed. The slipper skirt provides clearance
between the piston and the crankshaft counterweights.

Piston Ring: Piston ring grooves are slots machined in the piston for the piston rings.
The upper two groves hold the compression rings. The lower piston groove holds the oil
ring.

Piston Pin: The piston pin, also called the wrist pin, allows the piston to swing on the
connecting rod. The pin fits through the hole in the piston and the connecting rod small
end.

Piston Boss: The piston boss is a reinforced area around the piston pin hole. It must
be strong enough to support the piston pin under severe loads.

CONNECTING RODS

Connecting rods connect the pistons to the crankshaft to convert reciprocating motion
into rotary motion. They must be strong enough to transmit the thrust of the pistons to
the crankshaft and to withstand the internal forces of the directional changes of the
pistons. The connecting rods are in the form of an I-beam. This design gives the highest
overall strength and lowest weight. They are made of forged steel but may also be
made of aluminium in smaller engines.

The upper end of the connecting rod is connected to the piston by the piston pin. The
upper hole of the connecting rod has a solid bearing (bushing) of bronze or similar
material. The lower hole in the connecting rod is split so it can be clamped around the
crankshaft. The bottom part, or cap, is made of the same type of material as the rod and
is attached by two or more bolts.

CRANKSHAFT

As the pistons collectively might be regarded as the heart of the engine, so the
crankshaft may be considered its backbone. The crankshaft is located in the bottom of
the engine and is the part of the engine that transforms the reciprocating motion of the
piston to rotary motion. It transmits power through the flywheel, the clutch, the
transmission, and the differential to drive your vehicle. Crankshafts are usually made of
cast iron or forged steel. Forged steel crankshafts are needed for heavy-duty
applications, such as turbocharged or diesel engines. A steel crankshaft is stiffer and
stronger than a cast iron crankshaft. It will withstand greater forces without flexing,
twisting or breaking.
VALVES

Each cylinder must have one intake and one exhaust valve. The valve design that is
commonly used is the poppet, a word derived from the popping action of the valve.
Construction and design considerations are very different for intake and exhaust valves.
The difference is based on their temperature operating ranges. Intake valves are kept
cool by the incoming intake mixture. Exhaust valves are subject to intense heat from the
burnt gases that pass by it. The temperature of an exhaust valve can be in excess of
1300°F. Intake valves are made of nickel chromium alloy, whereas exhaust valves are
made from silichrome alloy.