1

Introduction

This chapter introduces and defines the internal combustion engine. It lists ways of
classifying engines and terminology used in engine technology. Descriptions are
given of many common engine components and of basic four-stroke and two-stroke
cycles for both spark ignition and compression ignition engines.

1-1 INTRODUCTION

The internal combustion engine (Ie) is a heat engine that converts chemical energy
in a fuel into mechanical energy, usually made available on a rotating output shaft.
Chemical energy of the fuel is first converted to thermal energy by means of com-
bustion or oxidation with air inside the engine. This thermal energy raises the
temperature and pressure of the gases within the engine, and the high-pressure gas
then expands against the mechanical mechanisms of the engine. This expansion is
converted by the mechanical linkages of the engine to a rotating crankshaft, which is
the output of the engine. The crankshaft, in turn, is connected to a transmission
and/or power train to transmit the rotating mechanical energy to the desired final
use. For engines this will often be the propulsion of a vehicle (i.e., automobile, truck,
locomotive, marine vessel, or airplane). Other applications include stationary

1
 2 Introduction Chap. 1

engines to drive generators or pumps, and portable engines for things like chain
saws and lawn mowers.
Most internal combustion engines are reciprocating engines having pistons
that reciprocate back and forth in cylinders internally within the engine. This book
concentrates on the thermodynamic study of this type of engine. Other types of IC
engines also exist in much fewer numbers, one important one being the rotary
engine [104]. These engines will be given brief coverage. Engine types not covered
by this book include steam engines and gas turbine engines, which are better classi-
fied as external combustion engines (i.e., combustion takes place outside the
mechanical engine system). Also not included in this book, but which could be clas-
sified as internal combustion engines, are rocket engines, jet engines, and firearms.
Reciprocating engines can have one cylinder or many, up to 20 or more. The
cylinders can be arranged in many different geometric configurations. Sizes range
from small model airplane engines with power output on the order of 100 watts to
large multicylinder stationary engines that produce thousands of kilowatts per
cylinder.
There are so many different engine manufacturers, past, present, and future,
that produce and have produced engines which differ in size, geometry, style, and
operating characteristics that no absolute limit can be stated for any range of engine
characteristics (i.e., size, number of cylinders, strokes in a cycle, etc.). This book will
work within normal characteristic ranges of engine geometries and operating para-
meters, but there can always be exceptions to these.
Early development of modern internal combustion engines occurred in the lat-
ter half of the 1800s and coincided with the development of the automobile. History
records earlier examples of crude internal combustion engines and self-propelled
road vehicles dating back as far as the 1600s [29]. Most of these early vehicles were
steam-driven prototypes which never became practical operating vehicles. Technol-
ogy, roads, materials, and fuels were not yet developed enough. Very early examples
of heat engines, including both internal combustion and external combustion, used
gun powder and other solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels. Major development of the
modern steam engine and, consequently, the railroad locomotive occurred in the lat-
ter half of the 1700s and early 1800s. By the 1820s and 1830s, railroads were present
in several countries around the world.

HISTORIC-ATMOSPHERIC ENGINES
Most of the very earliest internal combustion engines of the 17th
and 18th centuries can be classified as atmospheric engines. These were
large engines with a single piston and cylinder, the cylinder being open
on the end. Combustion was initiated in the open cylinder using any of the
various fuels which were available. Gunpowder was often used as the
fuel. Immediately after combustion, the cylinder would be full of hot
exhaust gas at atmospheric pressure. At this time, the cylinder end was
closed and the trapped gas was allowed to cool. As the gas cooled, it cre-
 Figure 1-1 The Charter Engine made in 1893 at the Beloit works of Fairbanks,
Morse & Company was one of the first successful gasoline engine offered for sale in
the United States. Printed with permission, Fairbanks Morse Engine Division,
Coltec Industries.

ated a vacuum within the cylinder. This caused a pressure differential

across the piston, atmospheric pressure on one side and a vacuum on the
other. As the piston moved because of this pressure differential, it would
do work by being connected to an external system, such as raising a
weight [29].
Some early steam engines also were atmospheric engines. Instead
of combustion, the open cylinder was filled with hot steam. The end was
then closed and the steam was allowed to cool and condense. This cre-
ated the necessary vacuum.

In addition to a great amount of experimentation and development in Europe

and the United States during the middle and latter half of the 1800s, two other tech-
nological occurrences during this time stimulated the emergence of the internal
combustion engine. In 1859, the discovery of crude oil in Pennsylvania finally made
available the development of reliable fuels which could be used in these newly
developed engines. Up to this time, the lack of good, consistent fuels was a major
drawback in engine development. Fuels like whale oil, coal gas, mineral oils, coal,
and gun powder which were available before this time were less than ideal for
engine use and development. It still took many years before products of the petro-
leum industry evolved from the first crude oil to gasoline, the automobile fuel of the
20th century. However, improved hydrocarbon products began to appear as early
 Figure 1·2 Ford Taurus SHO 3.4 liter (208 in.3), spark ignition, four-stroke cycle
engine. The engine is rated at 179 kW at 6500 RPM (240 hp) and develops 305 N-m
of torque at 4800 RPM (225Ibf-ft). It is a 60° V8 with 8.20 cm bore (3.23 in.), 7.95 cm
stroke (3.13 in.), and a compression ratio of 10: 1. The engine has four chain driven
camshafts mounted in aluminum heads with four valves per cylinder and coil-on-
plug ignition. Each spark plug has a separate high-voltage coil and is fired by Ford's
Electronic Distributorless Ignition System (ED IS). Courtesy of Ford Motor
Company.

as the 1860s and gasoline, lubricating oils, and the internal combustion engine
evolved together.
The second technological invention that stimulated the development of the
internal combustion engine was the pneumatic rubber tire, which was first marketed
by John B. Dunlop in 1888 [141]. This invention made the automobile much more
practical and desirable and thus generated a large market for propulsion systems,
including the internal combustion engine.
During the early years of the automobile, the internal combustion engine com-
peted with electricity and steam engines as the basic means of propulsion. Early in
the 20th century, electricity and steam faded from the automobile picture-electricity
because of the limited range it provided, and steam because of the long start-up time
needed. Thus, the 20th century is the period of the internal combustion engine and
 Sec. 1-3 Engine Classifications 5

the automobile powered by the internal combustion engine. Now, at the end of the
century, the internal combustion engine is again being challenged by electricity and
other forms of propulsion systems for automobiles and other applications. What
goes around comes around.

1-2 EARLY HISTORY

During the second half of the 19th century, many different styles of internal com-
bustion engines were built and tested. Reference [29] is suggested as a good history
of this period. These engines operated with variable success and dependability using
many different mechanical systems and engine cycles.
The first fairly practical engine was invented by J.J.E. Lenoir (1822-1900) and
appeared on the scene about 1860 (Fig. 3-19). During the next decade, several hun-
dred of these engines were built with power up to about 4.5 kW (6 hp) and
mechanical efficiency up to 5%. The Lenoir engine cycle is described in Section
3-13. In 1867 the Otto-Langen engine, with efficiency improved to about 11 %, was
first introduced, and several thousand of these were produced during the next
decade. This was a type of atmospheric engine with the power stroke propelled by
atmospheric pressure acting against a vacuum. Nicolaus A. Otto (1832-1891) and
Eugen Langen (1833-1895) were two of many engine inventors of this period.
During this time, engines operating on the same basic four-stroke cycle as the
modern automobile engine began to evolve as the best design. Although many peo-
ple were working on four-stroke cycle design, Otto was given credit when his
prototype engine was built in 1876.
In the 1880s the internal combustion engine first appeared in automobiles [45].
Also in this decade the two-stroke cycle engine became practical and was manufac-
tured in large numbers.
By 1892, Rudolf Diesel (1858-1913) had perfected his compression ignition
engine into basically the same diesel engine known today. This was after years of
development work which included the use of solid fuel in his early experimental
engines. Early compression ignition engines were noisy, large, slow, single-cylinder
engines. They were, however, generally more efficient than spark ignition engines. It
wasn't until the 1920s that multicylinder compression ignition engines were made
small enough to be used with automobiles and trucks.

1-3 ENGINE CLASSIFICATIONS

Internal combustion engines can be classified in a number of different ways:

1. Types of Ignition
(a) Spark Ignition (SI). An SI engine starts the combustion process in each
cycle by use of a spark plug. The spark plug gives a high-voltage electrical