Field Engineering Sciences

Combustion (MEC355)
Lecture 11 : Abnormal Combustion

Dr : Aly Soliman Date : 16 /04/2024

 Abnormal Combustion

The Abnormal Combustion:-

 When the combustion gets deviated from the normal behavior resulting loss of
performance or damage to the engine.

It is happened when the charge inside the cylinder may be ignite before the
flame front reach it.

The abnormal combustion:

1. Auto ignition:- During the combustion of charge , the flame front make
pressure and temperature of unburned mixture at the end gas very high, so that
its value be reach the self ignition condition so it burn.

2. Surface ignition:- if a spot inside the combustion chamber as spark plug,

valves, carbon deposit be at high temperature it may be do as igniter source for
the charge.

5/23/2024
 Abnormal Combustion

Auto ignition:-

Surface ignition:-

5/23/2024
 Abnormal Combustion

5/23/2024
 Abnormal Combustion

Pre-ignition:
It is the combustion of the charge during the compression process
before the appearance of the timed spark due to hot spots.

5/23/2024
 Abnormal Combustion

Effect of Pre-ignition:-

 It increase the tendency of detonation in engines.

 It increases the heat transfer to the cylinder walls because high

temperature gases remain in contact with the cylinder for a longer
period.

 The load on crankshaft during compression is abnormally high,

this may cause crank failure.

 Pre-ignition in single cylinder engine will result in a steady

reduction in speed and power output.

5/23/2024
 Abnormal Combustion

Note:-

Pre ignition is not responsible for abnormally high cylinder pressure, but there
can be a slight pressure rise above the normal due to the ignition point and
therefore, the peak pressure creeping forward to the TDC position where
maximum pressure occurs.

 Over head spark plug and exhaust valves which are the main causes of pre
ignition should be carefully avoided in the engines.
 If pre ignition occurs at the same time as the
timed of spark plug fire, combustion will appear
as normal. And if the ignition switched off, the
engine would continue to operate at the same
speed as if it were controlled by the
conventional time spark, provide the self
ignition temperature continues to occur at the
same point.
5/23/2024 Normal Ignition Pre-Ignition
 Abnormal Combustion

5/23/2024
 Abnormal Combustion
Detonation:-
 It’s a sudden combustion of the end gas ahead of the flame front due to
increase in charge pressure and temperature higher than self ignition
conditions of the charge causing a pressure wave leading to a vibration of
cylinder walls.

As the flame propagates away from the spark plug the pressure and
temperature of the unburned gas increases.

 Under certain conditions the end-gas can auto ignite and burn very rapidly
producing shock waves.

 The end-gas auto ignites after a certain induction time which is dictated by
the chemical kinetics of the fuel-air mixture.

 If the flame burns all the fresh gas before auto ignition in the end-gas can
occur then knock is avoided.

5/23/2024
 Abnormal Combustion

5/23/2024
 Abnormal Combustion

The effect of detonation on engine:-

1. Noise and Roughness. Knocking produces a loud pulsating noise and pressure
waves. These waves which vibrates back and forth across the cylinder. The
presence. The presence of vibratory motion causes crankshaft vibrations and
the engine runs rough.
2. Mechanical Damage.
(a)High pressure waves generated during knocking can increase rate of wear
rate of parts of combustion chamber. Sever erosion of piston crown ( in a
manner similar to that of marine propeller blades by cavitations), cylinder
head and pitting of inlet and outlet inlet and outlet valves may result in
complete wreckage of the engine.
(b) Detonation is very dangerous in engines having high noise level. In small
engines the knocking noise is easily detected and the corrective measures can be
taken but in aero-engines it is difficult to detect knocking noise and hence
corrective measures cannot be taken. Hence severe detonation may persist for a
long time which may ultimately result in complete wreckage of the piston.
5/23/2024
 Abnormal Combustion

3. Carbon deposits :
Detonation results in increased carbon deposits.
4. Increase in heat transfer.
Knocking is accompanied by an increase in the rate of heat transfer to the
combustion chamber walls.

The increase heat transfer is due to two reasons:

1. The minor reason is that the maximum temperature in a detonating engine
is about 150°C higher than in a non-detonating engine, due to rapid
completion of combustion.
2. The major reason for increased heat transfer is the scouring away of
protective layer of inactive stagnant gas on the cylinder walls due to
pressure waves. The inactive layer of gas normally reduces the heat
transfer by protecting the combustion and piston crown from direct
contact with flame.

5/23/2024
 Abnormal Combustion

Knock Damage

5/23/2024
 Abnormal Combustion

Factors affecting auto ignition delay or engine detonation

Factors Affecting Engine Detonation

Design parameters Engine operating conditions Fuel properties

Spark advance
Compression ratio Octane number

Combustion Air-Fuel ratio

Volatility
Champer shape
Engine speed
Spark plug position
and numbers
Relative Humidity

Cooling water temperature

Inlet temperature and pressure

5/23/2024
 Abnormal Combustion

Factors affecting auto ignition delay or engine detonation

1. Fuel properties
a. Octane number
 The octane number determines whether or not a fuel will knock in a given engine
under given operating conditions.

 By definition,
Normal Heptane (n-C7H16) → has an octane value of zero and
Isooctane (C8H18) → has a value of 100.
A fuel’s octane number is determined by measuring what blend of these two
hydrocarbons matches the test fuel’s knock resistance.
Note:
 The higher the octane number, the higher the resistance to knock.
 Alcohols such as ethanol and methanol have high knock resistance.
b. Volatility
The volatility is the ability of fuel to evaporate at normal condition.
 When the volatility of fuel increases the burning rate increase and the auto
5/23/2024 ignition delay increase so that the detonation intensity decreases.
 Abnormal Combustion

2. Design factors
a. Compression ratio
P2 = P1 (r)k and T2 = T1 (r)k-1

Pressure r1 > r2 > r3

r1
r1 > r2 > r3

r2

r3

Ignition

Motoring curve

TDC TDC TDC CAD

5/23/2024
 Abnormal Combustion

b. Effect of combustion chamber shape:

 The best combustion chamber which burn more than 90% of charge in
minimum time at the beginning of combustion.

Vu Vb
A Vo
Vo
1 1
B
C
A
B
C D

X d 1
or
D L D

5/23/2024
 Abnormal Combustion

c. Spark plug position and numbers

 The best position of spark plug be in the center of the combustion chamber
or offset from the center to the exhaust valve.

It can be use more than one spark plug in the same cylinder but the fire
order

5/23/2024
 Abnormal Combustion

3. Operating conditions
a. Spark Time:
The time of ignition has an effect on the detonation intensity, so that:
Spark advance :- increase the pressure and temperature inside cylinder so detonation
intensity increases.
Spark retard :- decrease the pressure and temperature inside cylinder so detonation
intensity decreases.
SA1
Pressure

SA2

SA3

Ignition 3
Ignition 2
Ignition 1

5/23/2024 TDC CAD

 Abnormal Combustion

b. Fuel-Air ratio

c. Engine speed
 At low engine speeds the flame velocity is slow and thus the burn time is long, this
results in more time for auto ignition

 However at high engine speeds there is less heat loss so the unburned gas
temperature is higher which promotes auto ignition

 These are competing effects, some engines show an increase in its probability to knock
at high speeds while others don’t.

d. Inlet temperature and pressure

 Due to the increase of inlet temperature and pressure, the combustion chamber
temperature increase and the end gas temperature increase and the detonation intensity
increase.
P2 = P1 (r)k T2 = T1 (r)k-1
5/23/2024
 Abnormal Combustion

e. Cooling water temperature

 Due to the increase of the amount of cooling water, the heat transfer from
the engine increase so that engine parts temperature decrease and detonation
intensity decrease.

 Due to the decrease of the cooling water temperature, the heat transfer
from the engine increase so that engine parts temperature decrease and
detonation intensity decrease.

f. Relative humidity

5/23/2024