02/09/2020

Operating Characteristics

Prepared by:
Engr. Marvin V. Rosales

This chapter examines the operating characteristics of reciprocating internal

combustion engines. These include

❖ the mechanical output parameters of work,

❖ torque, and power;

❖ the input requirements of air, fuel, and

❖ combustion; efficiencies; and emission measurements of engine exhaust.

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ENGINE PARAMETERS

➢ For an engine with bore B, crank offset a, stroke

length S, turning at an engine speed of N:

Average piston speed is:

N is generally given in RPM (revolutions per

minute), Up in m/sec (ft/sec), and B, a, and S in m
or cm (ft or in.).

Average piston speed for all engines will normally be in the range of 5 to 15
m/sec (15 to 50 ft/sec), with large diesel engines on the low end and high-
performance automobile engines on the high end. There are two reasons why
engines operate in this range

1. First, this is about the safe limit which can be tolerated by material
strength of the engine components. For each revolution of the engine, each
piston is twice accelerated from stop to a maximum speed and back to stop.
At a typical engine speed of 3000 RPM, each revolution lasts 0.02 sec
(0.005 sec at 12,000 RPM). If engines operated at higher speeds, there
would be a danger of material failure in the pistons and connecting rods as
the piston is accelerated and deceleratedduring each stroke.

2. The second reason why maximum average piston speed is limited is

because of the gas flow into and out of the cylinders. Piston speed
determines the instantaneous flow rate of air-fuel into the cylinder during
intake and exhaust flow out of the cylinder during the exhaust stroke. Higher
piston speeds would require larger valves to allow for higher flow rates.

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➢ Bore sizes of engines range from 0.5m down to 0.5cm (20 in. to 0.2 in.)

➢ The ratio of bore to stroke, B/S, for small engines is usually 0.8 to 12

➢ An engine with B=S is often called a square engine. If the stroke length is
longer than the bore diameter the engine is under square, and if the stroke length
is less than the bore diameter the engine is over square.

➢ The distance s between crank axis and wrist pin axis given by
𝑠 = 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 + 𝑟 2 + 𝑎2 𝑠𝑖𝑛2 𝜃

a= crankshaft offset
r= connecting rod length
θ = crank angle, which is measured from the cylinder from the centerline
and is zero when the piston is at TDC

➢ The ratio of instantaneous piston speed Up is obtained:

Where:

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
engines.

➢ Displacement, or Displacement volume Vd , is the volume displaced by

the piston as it travels from BDC to TDC

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➢ Also known as swept volume. Displacement can be given for one

cylinder or for the entire engine. For one Cylinder:

For engine with Nc Cylinders

Where:
B= cylinder bore
S= stroke
Nc= number of engine cylinders

Engine displacements can be given in m3, cm3, in3 and most commonly in liters (L)

➢ For a given displacement volume, a longer stroke allows for a smaller bore
(under square), resulting in less surface area in the combustion chamber and
correspondingly less heat loss. This increases thermal efficiency within the
combustion chamber. However, the longer stroke results in higher piston
speed and higher friction losses that reduce the output power which can be
obtained off the crankshaft. If the stroke is shortened, the bore must be
increased and the engine will be over square. This decreases friction losses
but increases heat transfer losses. Most modern automobile engines are near
square, with some slightly over square and some slightly under square. This
is dictated by design compromises and the technical philosophy of the
manufacturer.
➢ Minimum cylinder volume occurs when the piston is at TDC and is called
the clearance volume Vc·

➢ The compression ratio of an engine is defined as:

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➢ Cylinder volume V at any crank angle

Vc= clearance volume

B= bore
r= connecting Rod length
a= Crank offset
s= piston position

➢ Can be written in a non dimensional form dividing by Vc

rc = compression ratio
R= r/a

➢ The cross sectional area of a cylinder and the surface area of a flat-
topped piston

➢ The combustion chamber surface area is

Where Ach is the cylinder head surface area, which will be somewhat larger than Ap.

Then if the definitions for r,a,s and R are used, Eq can be written as

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EXAMPLE

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WORK
➢ Work is the output of any heat engine and in reciprocating IC engine, this
work is generated by the gases in the combustion chamber of the cylinder.

➢ Work is the result of force acting through a distance. Force due to gas
pressure on the moving piston generates the work in an IC engine Cycle.

Where:
P= pressure in combustion chamber
Ap = area against which the pressure acts
x= distance the piston moves

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➢ dV is the differential volume displaced by the piston, so work done can be

written

➢ Because engines are often multi cylinder, it is convenient to analyze engine

cycles per unit mas of gas m within the cylinder. To do so, volume V is
replaced with specific volume v and work is replaced with specific work

➢ Specific work w is equal to the area under the process lines on the P-v
coordinates

Wide open throttle Partially throttle

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➢ If P represents the pressure inside the cylinder combustion chamber,

then Eq. and the areas shown give the work inside the combustion
chamber. This is called indicated work.

➢ Work delivered by the crankshaft is less than indicated work due to mechanical
friction and parasitic loads of the engine. Parasitic loads include the oil pump,
supercharger, air conditioner compressor, alternator, etc. Actual work available at
the crankshaft is called brake work wb' Units of specific work will be kJ/kg or
BTU/lbm.

where:
Wi = indicated specific work generated inside combustion chamber
wt = specific work lost due to friction and parasitic loads

Wide open throttle Partially throttle

➢ The upper loop of the engine cycle in Fig. 2-9 consists of the compression
and power strokes where output work is generated and is called the gross
indicated work (areas A and C in Fig.). The lower loop, which includes the
intake and exhaust strokes, is called pump work and absorbs work from the
engine (areas B and C) . Net indicated work is

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➢ Pump work wpump is negative for engines without superchargers

➢ Engines with superchargers or turbochargers can have intake pressure greater

than the exhaust pressure, giving a positive work. When this occurs

➢ Superchargers increase net indicated work

but add to the friction work of the engine
since they are driven by the crankshaft.

➢ The ratio of the brake work at the

crankshaft to indicated work in the
combustion chamber defines the
Mechanical Efficiency of the engine

➢ Mechanical efficiency will be on the order of

75% to 95%, at high speed for modern
automobile engines operating at wide open
throttle. It the decrease with decreasing engine
speed to zero at idle conditions, when no work is
taken off the crankshaft.

➢ Care should ne taken when using the terms “gross

work” and “net work”. Net work meant the
output of an engine with all components. Gross
work meant the output of the engine with fan and
exhaust system removed

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Mean Effective Pressure

➢ Mean effective pressure (mep) is defined by:

Where:
W= work of one cycle
w= specific work of one cycle
Vd= displacement volume

Mean effective pressure is a good parameter to compare engine for design or

output because it is independent of engine size and/or speed. If torque us used
for engine comparison, a larger engine will always look better. If power is
used as the comparison, speed becomes very important.

➢ Various mean effective pressure can be defined by using different work

terms. If brake work is used, brake mean effective pressure is obtained:

Indicated work gives indicated mean effective pressure

➢ The imep can further be divided into gross indicated mean effective
pressure

➢ Pump mean effective pressure (which can have negative values)

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➢ Friction mean effective pressure

Torque And Power

➢ Torque is a good indicator of an engine’s ability to do work. It is defined as force
acting at a moment distance and has a units of N-m or lbf-ft. Torque is related to
work by

Where:
Wb= brake work of one revolution
n= number of revolutions per cycle
Vd= displacement volume

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➢ Power is defined as the rate of work of the engine. If n= number of

revolutions per cycle, and N= engine speed, then:

➢ The point of maximum torque is called

maximum brake torque speed (MBT). A
major goal in the design of a modern
automobile engine is to flatten the torque-
versus-speed curve as shown in Fig., and to
have high torque at both high and low speed

➢ Power can be defined as brake power, net indicated power, gross

indicated power, pumping power, and even friction power.

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➢ Other ways which are sometimes used to classify engines are shown in
Eqs.

DYNAMOMETERS
➢ Dynamometers are used to measure torque and power over the engine
operating ranges of speed and load. They do this by using various methods to
absorb the energy output of the engine, all of which eventually ends up as
heat.

➢ Some dynamometers absorb energy in a mechanical friction brake (prony

brake). These are the simplest dynamometers but are not as flexible and
accurate as others at higher energy levels.

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EXAMPLE

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Air-Fuel Ratio And Fuel- Air Ratio

➢ Energy input to an engine Qin comes from the combustion of a hydrocarbon

fuel. Air is used to supply the oxygen needed for the chemical reaction. For
combustion reaction to occur, the proper relative amounts of air (oxygen)
and fuel must be present.

➢ Air-fuel ratio (AF) and fuel-air Ratio (FA) are parameters used to describe
mixture ratio.

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Air-Fuel Ratio And Fuel- Air Ratio

➢ The ideal or stoichiometric AF for many gasoline-type hydrocarbon fuels is
very close to 15:1, with combustion possible for values in the range 6 to 19.
AF less than 6 is too rich to sustain combustion and AF greater than 19 is too
lean.

➢ The fuel input system of an engine, fuel injectors or carburetor, must be able
to regulate the proper amount of fuel for any given flow.

➢ Equivalence Ratio is defined as the actual ratio of fuel-air to ideal or

stoichiometric fuel-air

Specific Fuel Consumption

➢ Specific Fuel Consumption is defined by:

➢ Brake power gives brake specific fuel consumption:

➢ Indicated power gives indicated specific fuel consumption:

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Specific Fuel Consumption

➢ Other examples of specific fuel consumption parameters can be defined as

follows:

Specific Fuel Consumption

➢ Brake specific fuel consumption decreases as engine speed increases,

reaches a minimum, and then increases at high speed:

➢ Fuel consumption increases at high speed because of greater friction losses.

At low engine speed, the longer time per cycle allows more heat and fuel
consumption goes up

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Specific Fuel Consumption

➢ Fig. shows how bsfc also depends on compression ratio and fuel equivalence
ratio. It decreases with higher compression ratio due to higher thermal
efficiency. It is lowest when combustion occurs in a mixture with fuel
equivalence ratio near one. The further from stoichiometric combustion,
either rich or lean, the higher will be the fuel consumption.

Specific Fuel Consumption

➢ Brake specific fuel consumption generally decreases with engine size, being
best (lowest) for very large engines.

➢ Specific fuel consumption generally given in units of gm/KW-hr or lbm/hp-

hr

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ENGINE EFFICIENCIES

➢ The time available for the combustion process of an engine cycle is very brief, and
not all fuel molecules may find an oxygen molecule with which to combine, or the
local temperature may not favor a reaction. Consequently, a small fraction of fuel
does not react and exits with the exhaust flow. A combustion efficiency TJc is defined
to account for the fraction of fuel which burns. TJc typically has values in the range
0.95 to 0.98 when an engine is operating properly. For one engine cycle in one
cylinder, the heat added is:

ENGINE EFFICIENCIES
➢ Thermal efficiency can be given as indicated or brake, depending on whether
indicated power or brake power us used. It follows that the engine mechanical
efficiency

➢ Engines can have indicated thermal efficiencies in the range of 50% to 60% with
brake thermal efficiency about 30%, Slow Ci engines can have brake thermal
efficiencies greater than 50%.

➢ Fuel conversion efficiency is defined as:

➢ For a single cycle of one cylinder the thermal efficiency can be written;

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VOLUMETRIC EFFICIENCIES
➢ One of the most important processes that governs how much power and
performance can be obtained from an engine is getting the maximum amount
of air into the cylinder during each cycle

➢ More air means more fuel can be burned and more energy can be converted to
output power.

➢ Getting the relatively small volume of liquid fuel into the cylinder is much
easier than getting the large volume of gaseous air needed to react with the
fuel. Ideally, a mass of air equal to the density of atmospheric air times the
displacement volume of the cylinder should be ingested for each cycle.
However, because of the short cycle time available and the flow restrictions
presented by the air cleaner, carburetor (if any), intake manifold, and intake
valve(s), less than this ideal amount of air enters the cylinder. Volumetric
efficiency is defined as:

VOLUMETRIC EFFICIENCIES

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VOLUMETRIC EFFICIENCIES

➢ Typical values of volumetric efficiency for an engine at wide-open throttle

(WOT) are in the range 75% to 90%, going down to much lower values as the
throttle is closed. Restricting air flow into an engine (closing the throttle) is the
primary means of power control for a spark ignition engine.

EXAMPLE

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