Basic of

Engine Operating Characteristics

2103471 Internal Combustion Engine

 Background on IC Engines

• “An internal combustion is defined as a

heat engine in which the chemical energy
of the fuel is released inside the engine
and converted directly into mechanical
work on a rotating output shaft, as
opposed to an external combustion engine
in which a separate combustor is used to
burn the fuel.”
 Background on IC Engines
Internal combustion engines are so called
because the heat required to drive them is
released by oxidizing a fuel inside the engine
itself.
This approach has advantages and
disadvantages, but is still the most popular for
transport and small power generation plant.
We will be looking at some common types of
engine, examining some ways of analysing their
performance parameters, and some of the
problems encountered in improving efficiency
and output.
 Background on IC Engines
Internal combustion engines include systems
which function like "closed" systems (e.g. petrol
engines) or as "open" systems (e.g. gas turbines).

All the engines we will examine contain the

same basic activities:
• invest some work to compress a working fluid,
• inject heat into the fluid,
• recover a greater amount of work,
• return to initial conditions by removal of some
heat.
 Typical Processes
for an Internal Combustion Engine
 Background on the Otto Cycle
• The Otto Cycle has four basic
steps or strokes:
– F-A : An intake stroke that
draws a combustible mixture
of fuel and air into the cylinder
– A-B : A compression stroke
with the valves closed which
raises the temperature of the
mixture. A spark ignites the
mixture towards the end of this
stroke.
– C-D : An expansion or power
stroke. Resulting from
combustion.
– E-F : An Exhaust stroke the
pushes the burned contents
out of the cylinder.
Figure idealized representation of the
Otto cycle on a PV diagram.
 Otto (SI Engine) Operating Cycle

Spark plug for SI engine

Fuel injector for CI engine
Valves

Top Clearance
Center volume
(TC)
Cylinder
Stroke wall

Bottom
Center
(BC) Piston

TC
0o
Crank shaft
θ

270o 90o

180o
BC
Pressure-Volume digram of a 4-stroke SI engine

One power stroke for every two crank shaft revolutions

Pressure Spark

Exhaust valve
Exhaust opens
valve
closes

1 atm Intake valve

closes

TC BC

Cylinder volume
 Engine Geometric Parameters

VC For an engine with bore B; crank offset a, stroke

TC
length L, turning at an engine speed of N:
B

L s = 2a

BC An average piston speed is:

U p = 2 LN
l
s
Average piston speed for all engines will
normally be in the range of 5 to 15 m/sec with
large diesel engines on the low end and high-
θ
performance automobile engines on the high
a Compression ratio:
end.
 Engine Geometric Parameters

VC The distance s between crank axis and wrist pin

TC
B axis is given by:

L
(
s = a cosθ + l 2 − a 2 sin 2 θ )
1/ 2

Cylinder volume when piston at TC (s=l+a)

BC defined as the clearance volume Vc
The cylinder volume at any crank angle is:
πB 2
l V = Vc + (l + a − s )
s 4
Maximum displacement, or swept, volume:
πB 2
θ Vd = L
4
a
Compression ratio:
VBC Vc + Vd
rc = =
VTC Vc
 Engine Geometric Parameters
Cylinder volume at any crank angle can also be
written in a non-dimensional form as:
VC TC ⎡l 2 ⎤
1 ⎛ l⎞
= 1 + (rc − 1)⎢ + 1 − cos θ − ⎜ ⎟ − sin 2 θ ⎥
V
B
Vc 2 ⎢a ⎝a⎠ ⎥
⎣ ⎦
L The cross-sectional area of a cylinder and the
surface area of a flat-topped piston are given by:
BC
πB 2
Ap =
4
l The combustion chamber surface area is:
s

A = Ach + Ap + πB(l + a − s )

θ
The combustion chamber surface area at any
a
crank angle is:
⎛ πBS ⎞ ⎡⎢ l ⎛l⎞
2 ⎤
A = Ach + Ap + ⎜ ⎟ + 1 − cos θ − ⎜ ⎟ − sin 2
θ ⎥
⎝ 2 ⎠ ⎢⎣ a ⎝ ⎠
a ⎥
⎦
For most engines B ~ L (square engine)
 Geometric Properties

VC TC (
s = a cosθ + l 2 − a 2 sin 2 θ )
1/ 2

B
Average and instantaneous piston velocity are:
L
U p = 2 LN
BC ds
Up =
dt
l Where N is the rotational speed of the crank shaft
s in units revolutions per second

Up π ⎡ cosθ ⎤
= sin θ ⎢1 + ⎥
θ Up 2 ⎢⎣ (
(l / a )2 − sin 2 θ )
1/ 2
⎥⎦
a
Average piston speed for standard high performance
auto engine is about 15 m/s. Ultimately limited by
material strength.
Therefore engines with large strokes run at lower
speeds those with small strokes run at higher speeds.
 Piston Velocity vs Crank Angle

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 engine.
The effect of R on piston speed are shown below.

R = l/a
 Engine Torque and Power Output

Torque is measured off the output shaft using a dynamometer.

Stator Force F
Rotor

N
Load cell

The torque exerted by the engine is T:

T = F ⋅b units : Nm = J
 Engine Torque and Power Output

Torque is measured off the output shaft using a dynamometer.

Stator Force F

Rotor

N
Load cell

The torque exerted by the engine is T:

T = F ⋅b units : J

The power W& delivered by the engine turning at a speed N and

absorbed by the dynamometer is:

⎛ rad ⎞⎛ rev ⎞
W& = ω ⋅ T = (2π ⋅ N ) ⋅ T units : ⎜ ⎟⎜ ⎟( J ) = Watt
⎝ rev ⎠⎝ s ⎠

Note: ω is the shaft angular velocity in units rad/s

 Engine Torque and Power Output

Torque is a measure of an engine’s ability to do work and power is

the rate at which work is done

The term brake power, W&b , is used to specify that the power is
measured at the output shaft, this is the usable power delivered by the
engine to the load.

The brake power is less than the power generated by the gas in the
cylinders due to mechanical friction and parasitic loads (oil pump, air
conditioner compressor, etc…

The power produced in the cylinder is termed the indicated power,W&i .

 Indicated Work per Cycle

Given the cylinder pressure data over the operating cycle of the engine one
can calculate the work done by the gas on the piston.
This data is typically given as P vs V diagram.
The indicated work per cycle is given by Wi = ∫ PdV

WA > 0

WB < 0

Compression Power Exhaust Intake

W<0 W>0 W<0 W>0
 Work per Cycle

Gross indicated work per cycle – net work delivered to the piston over
the compression and expansion strokes only:

Wi,g =area A + area C (>0)

Pump work – net work delivered to the gas over the intake and exhaust
strokes:

Wp =area B + area C (<0)

Net indicated work per cycle – work delivered over all strokes:

Wi,n = Wi,g – Wp = (area A + area C) – (area B – area C)

= area A – area B
 Indicated Power

Indicated power:
WN (kJ cycle)(rev s )
W&i = i
nR rev cycle

where N – crankshaft speed in rev/s

nR – number of crank revolutions per cycle
= 2 for 4-stroke
= 1 for 2-stroke

Power can be increased by increasing:

• the engine size, Vd
• compression ratio, rc
• engine speed, N
 Indicated Work at Part Throttle

At WOT the pressure at the intake valve is just below atmospheric pressure,
However at part throttle the pressure is much lower than atmospheric

Pint

Therefore at part throttle the pump work (area B+C) can be significant
compared to gross indicated work (area A+C)
 Indicated Work with Supercharging

Engines with superchargers or turbochargers can have intake pressures

greater than the exhaust pressure, giving a positive pump work

Pint

Wi,n = area A + area B

Supercharges increase the net indicated work but is a parasitic load

since they are driven by the crankshaft
 Mechanical Efficiency

Some of the power generated in the cylinder is used to overcome engine

friction and to pump gas into and out of the engine.

The term friction power, W& f , is used to collectively describe these power
losses, such that:
W& f = W&i , g − W&b

Friction power can be measured by motoring the engine.

The mechanical efficiency is defined as:

W&b W& f
ηm = = 1−
W&i , g W&i , g
 Mechanical Efficiency (2)

• Mechanical efficiency depends on throttle position, engine design

and engine speed.

• Typical values for car engines at WOT are:

90% @2000 RPM and 75% @ max speed.

• Throttling increases pumping work and thus decreases the brake power
so the mechanical efficiency drops and approaches zero at idle.

• Power varies with speed but torque is “independent” of engine speed

recall W& ∝ N ⋅ Wcycle and W& ∝ N ⋅ T so T ∝ Wcycle
 Power and Torque versus Engine Speed

W& ∝ N ⋅ Wcycle T ∝ Wcycle

Rated brake power

There is a maximum in the brake power
versus engine speed called the rated
1 kW = 1.341 hp brake power (RBP).
At higher speeds brake power decreases as
friction power becomes significant compared
to the indicated power W&b = W&i , g − W& f

Max brake torque There is a maximum in the torque versus

speed called maximum brake torque (MBT).
Brake torque drops off:
• at lower speeds do to heat losses
• at higher speeds it becomes more difficult to
ingest a full charge of air.
 Indicated Mean Effective Pressure (IMEP)

imep is a fictitious constant pressure that would produce the same

work per cycle if it acted on the piston during the power stroke.
Wi W&i ⋅ nR imep ⋅ Vd ⋅ N imep ⋅ Ap ⋅ U p
imep = = → W&i = =
Vd Vd ⋅ N nR 2 ⋅ nR

imep does not depend on engine speed, just like torque

recall T ∝ Wcycle so imep ∝ T

imep is a better parameter than torque to compare engines for design and
output because it is independent of engine speed, N, and engine size, Vd.

Brake mean effective pressure (bmep) is defined as:

Wb 2π ⋅ T ⋅ nR bmep ⋅ Vd
bmep = = → T=
Vd Vd 2π ⋅ nR
The maximum bmep of good engine designs is well established:

Four stroke engines:

SI engines: 800-1000 kPa*

CI engines: 500 -900 kPa

Turbocharged SI engines: 1200 -1700 kPa

Turbocharged CI engines: 1000 - 1400 kPa

Two stroke engines:

Standard CI engines comparable bmep to four stroke

Large slow CI engines: 500 - 1600 kPa (with supercharging)

*Values are at maximum brake torque at WOT

Note, at the rated (maximum) brake power the bmep is 10 - 15% less

Can use above maximum bmep in design calculations to estimate engine

displacement required to provide a given torque or power at a specified
speed.
 Maximum BMEP

Wb 2π ⋅ T ⋅ nR
bmep = =
Vd Vd

• The maximum bmep is obtained at WOT at a particular engine speed

• Closing the throttle decreases the bmep

• For a given displacement, a higher maximum bmep means more torque

• For a given torque, a higher maximum bmep means smaller engine

• Higher maximum bmep means higher stresses and temperatures in the

engine hence shorter engine life, or bulkier engine.

• For the same bmep 2-strokes have almost twice the power of 4-stroke
 Typical 1998 Passenger Car Engine Characteristics

Vehicle Engine Displ. Max Power Max Torque BMEP at BMEP at

type (L) (HP@rpm) (lb-ft@rpm) Max BT Rated BP
(bar) (bar)
Mazda L4 1.839 122@6000 117@4000 10.8 9.9
Protégé LX
Honda L4 2.254 150@5700 152@4900 11.4 10.4
Accord EX
Mazda L4 2.255 210@5300 210@3500 15.9 15.7
Millenia S Turbo
BMW L6 2.793 190@5300 206@3950 12.6 11.5
328i
Ferrari V8 3.496 375@8250 268@6000 13.1 11.6
F355 GTS
Ferrari V12 5.474 436@6250 398@4500 12.4 11.4
456 GT
Lamborghini V12 5.707 492@7000 427@5200 12.7 11.0
Diablo VT
 Road-Load Power

• A part-load power level useful for testing car engines is the power required
to drive a vehicle on a level road at a steady speed.

• The road-load power, Pr, is the engine power needed to overcome rolling
resistance and the aerodynamic drag of the vehicle.

Pr = (C R M v g + 1 ρ a C D Av Sv2 ) ⋅ S v
2
Where CR = coefficient of rolling resistance (0.012 - 0.015)
Mv = mass of vehicle
g = gravitational acceleration
ρa = ambient air density
CD = drag coefficient (for cars: 0.3 - 0.5)
Av = frontal area of the vehicle
Sv = vehicle speed
 Specific Fuel Consumption

• For transportation vehicles fuel economy is generally given as mpg, or

L/100 km.

• In engine testing the fuel consumption is measured in terms of the fuel

mass flow rate m& f .

• The specific fuel consumption, sfc, is a measure of how efficiently the

fuel supplied to the engine is used to produce power,
m& f m& f g
bsfc = isfc = units :
W&b W&i kW ⋅ hr

• Clearly a low value for sfc is desirable since for a given power level
less fuel is consumed
 Brake Specific Fuel Consumption vs Engine Size

•Bsfc decreases with engine size due to reduced heat losses from gas to
cylinder wall.

•Note cylinder surface to volume ratio increases with bore diameter.

cylinder surface area 2πrL 1
= 2 ∝
cylinder volume πr L r
 Brake Specific Fuel Consumption vs Engine Speed

• There is a minimum in the bsfc versus engine speed curve

• At high speeds the bsfc increases due to increased friction i.e. smaller W&b

• At lower speeds the bsfc increases due to increased time for heat
losses from the gas to the cylinder and piston wall, and thus a smaller W&i

• Bsfc increases with compression ratio due to higher thermal efficiency

 Performance Maps

Performance map is used to display the bsfc over the engines full load
and speed range. Using a dynamometer to measure the torque and fuel
mass flow rate you can calculate:
2π ⋅ T ⋅ nR m& f
bmep = Wb = (2π ⋅ N ) ⋅ T
& bsfc =
Vd W&b

bmep@WOT

Constant bsfc contours from a

two-liter four cylinder SI engine
 Engine Thermodynamic Efficiencies

While bsfc is commonly used because it is a fairly direct

measurement, it is also possible to work out the
engine's thermodynamic efficiency if you know the
heating value of the fuel.
Typical hydrocarbon fuel heating values are:
Fuel Heating Value
(lower heating value, fuel is liquid
if that is its normal state at STP)
Methane 50 MJ/kg
LPG 46 MJ/kg
Gasoline 44.5 MJ/kg
Diesel 43 MJ/kg
Methanol 20 MJ/kg
 Engine Efficiencies

• The time for combustion in the cylinder is very short so not all the fuel
may be consumed or local temperatures may no favour combustion

• A small fraction of the fuel may not react and exits with the exhaust gas

• The combustion efficiency is defined as:

actual heat input Qin Q& in

ηc = = =
theoretical heat input m f ⋅ QHV m& f ⋅ QHV

Where Qin = heat added by combustion per cycle

mf = mass of fuel added to cylinder per cycle
QHV = heating value of the fuel (chemical energy per unit mass)
 Engine Efficiencies (2)

• The thermal efficiency is defined as:

work per cycle W W
ηth = = =
heat input per cycle Qin ηc ⋅ m f ⋅ QHV

or in terms of rates
power out W& W&
ηth = = =
rate of heat input Qin η c ⋅ m& f ⋅ QHV
&

• Thermal efficiencies can be given in terms of brake or indicated values

• Indicated thermal efficiencies are typically 50% to 60% and brake thermal
efficiencies are usually about 30%
 Engine Efficiencies (3)

• Fuel conversion efficiency is defined as:

W W&
ηf = =
m f ⋅ QHV m& f ⋅ QHV

Note: ηf is very similar to ηth, difference is ηth takes into account actual
fuel combusted.
m& f
Recall: sfc =
W&

Therefore, the fuel conversion efficiency can also be obtained from:

1
ηf =
( sfc ) ⋅ QHV
 Volumetric Efficiency
• Due to the short cycle time and flow restrictions less than ideal amount of
air enters the cylinder.
• The effectiveness of an engine to induct air into the cylinders is measured
by the volumetric efficiency:

actual air inducted ma n ⋅ m&

ηv = = = R a
theor. air ρ a ⋅ Vd ρ a ⋅ Vd ⋅ N

where ρa is the density of air at atmospheric conditions Po, To and for an

ideal gas ρa =Po / RaTo and Ra = 0.287 kJ/kg-K (at standard conditions
ρa= 1.181 kg/m3)
• Typical values for WOT are in the range 75%-90%, and lower when the
throttle is closed.
• If an engine is throttled, the volumetric efficiency will be much less than 1,
(eg 25-30%), and
• If it is running at full torque, volumetric efficiency can be about 1.
• Supercharged engines will have a volumetric efficiency greater than 1.
 Volumetric Efficiency

Volumetric efficiency is used in two ways.

• Some engineers want to measure the tuning effectiveness of the
intake manifold and valve system . They use volumetric efficiency as
their indicator. For this purpose, the "i" conditions would refer to the
density at intake manifold temperature and pressure. The ideal
volumetric efficiency would be around 1 (ie 100%). Actual ηV would
be reduced by flow losses at the valve but could also be increased
by pulsation tuning.
• The more common use of volumetric efficiency is to indicate how
much mixture is flowing through the engine, (without worrying
whether it ought to be 100%). For this purpose, the calculation is
usually done including fuel/air mixture and with the reference density
set at ambient atmospheric conditions.
 Air-Fuel Ratio
• For combustion to take place the proper relative amounts of air and fuel
must be present in the cylinder.

The air-fuel ratio is defined as

ma m& a
AF = =
m f m& f

• The ideal AF is about 15:1, with combustion possible in the range

of 6 to 19.

• For a SI engine the AF is in the range of 12 to 18 depending on the

operating conditions.

• For a CI engine, where the mixture is highly non-homogeneous, the

AF is in the range of 18 to 70.
 Engines Comparison
Engine performance can be compared by the following
parameters:
• Mean effective pressure
• Brake specific fuel consumption
• Engine efficiency
• Volumetric efficiency
• First law analysis – energy conservation
• Second law analysis – entropy conservation
 Engines Comparison
• mep= work done per unit displacement volume
– Or average pressure that results in the same amount
of indicated or brake work produced by the engine
– Scales out effect of engine size
– Two useful types: imep and bmep
• imep: indicated mean effective pressure
– the net work per unit displacement volume done by the
gas during compression and expansion
• bmep: brake mean effective pressure
– the external shaft work per unit volume done by the
engine
 BMEP

• Based on torque:

4 ⋅ π ⋅τ
bmep = (4 stroke)
Vd

2 ⋅ π ⋅τ
bmep = (2 stroke)

Vd
 Engines Comparison

• Brake specific fuel consumption (bsfc)

– Measure of engine efficiency
– They are in fact inversely related, so a lower bsfc
means a better engine
– Often used over thermal efficiency because an
accepted universal definition of thermal efficiency
does not exist

m& f m& f
bsfc = =
W& b 2 ⋅ π ⋅τ ⋅ N
 bsfc
• bsfc is the fuel flow rate divided by the brake power
m& f m& f
bsfc = =
W& b 2 ⋅ π ⋅τ ⋅ N
• We can also derive the brake thermal efficiency if we give
an energy to the fuel called heat of combustion or, qc

W& b 1
η= =
m& f ⋅ qc bsfc ⋅ qc
 Engines Comparison

• Volumetric Efficiency, ev
– The mass of fuel and air inducted into the cylinder
divided by the mass that would occupy the displaced
volume at the density ρi in the intake manifold
– Note it’s a mass ratio and for a 4 stroke engine

2(m& a + m& f )
ev =
ρiVdN
– For a direct injection engine

m& f = 0
 Others Engines Comparison

• First law analysis- energy conservation

– For a system open to the transfer of enthalpy, mass,
work, and heat, the net energy crossing the control
surface is stored into or depleted from the control
volume
• Second Law Analysis – entropy conservation
– This approach takes into account the irreversibility
that occurs in each process
– Another outcome of this analysis is the development
of the usefulness of each type of energy (exergy)