The Thermodynamics of the Internal

Combustion Engine
Haim H. Bau

1 . INTRODUCTION
In this module, we will take a peek under the car's hood and analyze the internal
combustion engine from the thermodynamic point of view. The internal combustion engine is an
energy converter that converts the fuel’s internal (chemical) energy into mechanical energy. By
necessity, our approach will be highly idealized and our results approximate; but this is the nature
of most engineering analysis. When first analyzing a system, one wishes to distill the most
important features and gain a qualitative understanding which later on may serve as a gateway to
more detailed and realistic analysis.
The first internal combustion engines appeared in the second half of the 19th century. The
thermodynamic process that approximates the gasoline engine is named after Nikolaus Otto, who
built the first successful engine in 1876-hence the Otto Cycle.

2 . THE ENGINE'S OPERATION

The internal combustion engine may
include one or more cylinders. For example, a
car engine typically contains either 4 or 6
cylinders. Fig.1 depicts schematically one
cylinder and a piston. The piston is connected
through a linkage mechanism to the crankshaft.
When the crankshaft is at its highest point, the
piston is at the top of its stroke, and the volume
confined inside the cylinder is at its minimum.
Since at this point the vertical velocity of the
crankshaft is zero, one refers to this state as the
top dead center (TDC, in short). When the
crankshaft is at its lowest point, the piston is at
the end of its stroke, and the volume confined Figure 1: A Four Stroke Engine
(reproduced from R. Stone, Internal
inside the cylinder is at its maximum. This is Combustion Engine)
the bottom dead center (BDC). Notice that the
cylinder is equipped with two valves: the intake
valve and the exhaust valve. A spark plug is also located in the cylinder's head.
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 2

I will start the description of the processes taking place in the cylinder when the piston is at
TDC and both valves are closed. The process is conveniently described in a diagram that depicts
the pressure of the gas in the cylinder as a function of its volume. See Fig. 2.

i. The induction (intake) stroke: The inlet valve

opens, and the piston travels from TDC to
BDC. As the piston moves, low pressure
forms in the cylinder, and an air-fuel mixture
at the ambient temperature and pressure is
sucked into the cylinder.
ii. The compression stroke: The inlet valve
closes, and the piston travels from the BDC
to the TDC. In this process, both the air-fuel
mixture’s pressure and temperature increase.
At some point during the compression
process, the spark plug fires, ignition occurs,
and the fuel combusts, raising both the Figure 2: The gas’ pressure is
depicted as a function of the
temperature and the pressure of the gas even volume
further. During the compression stroke, the
piston does work on the gas in the cylinder.
iii. The expansion (power) stroke: The piston moves towards BDC while the combustion
process continues. The gases push the piston. Towards the end of the power stroke, the
exhaust valve opens and the combustion products start escaping.
iv. The exhaust stroke: the exhaust valve remains open, and the piston moves from the BDC to
the TDC expelling the combustion products. During the expulsion process, the combustion
products are at a temperature and pressure above ambient conditions. At the end of the
expulsion process, the exhaust valve closes, and we are back where we started.

The engine operates in fours strokes: induction, compression, expansion, and expulsion.
The engine follows a cycle in which the start and the end points are the same. The upper loop in
Fig. 2 is known as the power loop, and the lower loop is the pumping loop. We will see later that
the areas confined in the power and pumping loops are, respectively, proportional to the work
delivered by the engine and the work consumed in expelling the exhaust gases. The motion of the
piston is dictated by the crank shaft.
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 3

3 . THE IDEALIZED CYCLE

The internal combustion engine is an open system that takes in a fuel-air mixture and expels
combustion products. In contrast, in our simplified analysis, we will consider a closed system that
operates with a fluid whose composition does not change during the process. This is justified by
arguing that the main constituent of the working fluid, nitrogen, remains chemically unchanged
during the process. Furthermore, since the composition of the working fluid does not change, we
do not need to model the intake and expulsion (exhaust) strokes; we can focus our attention on a
two stroke operation. The heat generated by the combustion process is replaced by an external
heating source. The heat carried out by the exhaust gases and the heat removed by the engine
coolant are approximated by an external heat removal process. We will also neglect losses due to
friction. The idealized cycle is described in Fig. 3. When these approximations are made, we call
the device an air-standard cycle.
Briefly, the standard air cycle consists
of the following four processes: Figure 3: The standard
Process 1-2: The piston moves from
BDC (point 1) to TDC, compressing the
gas in the cylinder. No heat exchange
occurs between the gas and its
surroundings during the compression
process. A process in which heat
interaction does not occur is said to be
adiabatic. The compression process is
assumed to be reversible. Reversibility
means that when the gas expands back
from state 2 to 1, it will experience in
reverse order the same sequence of states
as during the compression process. The
ratio of the gas’ volume at the beginning
and the end of the compression process is
known as the compression ratio,
V1 V4
r= = .
V2 V3
Process 2-3: The cylinder remains at TDC without moving. Heat is added to the gas. The
heat addition is assumed to occur instantaneously. During the heat addition process, the gas’
volume remains fixed while its temperature and pressure increase. In other words, this is a
constant volume process.
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 4

Process 3-4: The piston moves from TDC to BDC. The gas expands while pushing the
piston. The expansion process is assumed to be reversible and adiabatic.
Process 4-1: The piston remains at BDC. Heat is removed from the gas instantaneously
before the cylinder has an opportunity to move. This is a constant volume process. At the end
of the heat removal process, we are back where we started.

Witness that during the entire cycle the mass of the gas, m (kg), remains fixed.

4. WORK
During the expansion stroke, the gas in the cylinder exerts a force on the piston. From
mechanics, we know that work is the scalar (dot) product between the force (F) and the
displacement (x), where both F and x are vectorial quantities. I use bold letters to differentiate
vectors from scalars. Vectors and scalars will be denoted, respectively, by bold and regular letters.
The work is defined as the force component Fx in the direction of the displacement (x) times the
displacement.
δW=-F.dx. (1)
The force is measured in newtons, where newton=kg*m/s2 . The displacement is measured in
meters (m). Work, being the product of force (N, Newton) and displacement (m), has the units of
N*m or J (Joule).
Another useful expression is obtained by dividing expression (1) by a small time-increment
dt,
δW • dx
= W = F• = F • v, (2)
dt dt
•
where W is the derivative of the work with respect to time or the power, and v is the velocity
vector. The power is measured in units of (J/s) or watts (W).
The work interaction as the force moves from a point (state) 1 to a point (state) 2 is the
integral:
2 2
W = ∫1δW = ∫1F • dx . (3)
In general, the work depends on the integration path. When we move an object from point 1 to
point 2, the amount of work that we need to invest depends on the path along which we proceed.
Different paths may mandate different amounts of work. In other words, the work depends on the
process. By just knowing that a system started at point 1 and ended at point 2, we cannot tell the
magnitude of the work associated with this transformation.
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 5

SIGN CONVENTION
We adopt the sign convention that work done on the system is negative while work done
by the system is positive. This convention is not universally accepted, and you may occasionally
encounter another convention.

5 . "QUASI-STATIC" COMPRESSION/EXPANSION WORK

Consider gas enclosed in a cylinder and a piston (Fig. 4). The piston's cross-sectional area
is Ap (m2 ). The gas’ pressure is denoted by p. The gas is expanding. We assume that the process
is sufficiently slow so that the pressure of the gas in the cylinder is uniform at every instant
throughout the process and that the friction between the piston and the cylinder can be neglected.

Fig. 4: Gas enclosed in a cylinder expands slowly.

Using a free body diagram, we can depict the various forces acting on the piston (Fig. 5).
According to Newton's second law,
d2 x
−m p 2 + pAp − Ffriction − Fext = 0 ,
dt
d2 x d 2x
where 2 is the piston's acceleration, mp is the piston's mass, m p 2 is the d'Almbert force,
dt dt
and we take Fext to be positive in the direction indicated in Fig. 5. When the compression process
is very slow and the friction is small, we can neglect the piston's acceleration and friction to obtain
the quasi-static force balance:
pA p − Fext ~ 0 . (3)
Of course, for the piston to move, the external force must be larger than the product p*Ap; but we
assume here that this excess pressure is very small.

d 2x
mp 2
dt

pA p
Fext

Ffriction
x

Fig. 5: A free body diagram depicting the various forces acting on the piston.
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 6

The work, W = − ∫ (−Fext )dx , is done by the system (the gas). According to our sign
convention, this work is positive. Witness that for the work interaction to occur, both an external
force and a displacement are needed.
Due to the quasi-equilibrium approximation, we can replace the external force, Fext, with
the product p*Ap. This leads to:
W = ∫ Fext dx = ∫ pApdx .
The product Ap *dx represents the change in the volume, V, i.e., dV=Ap dx. By substituting dV in
the work integral above, we obtain an expression for the work in a simple compressible process:
W = ∫ pdV
(4)
Note that the work is expressed in terms of the thermodynamic properties: pressure and volume.
The work has a geometric interpretation. When we plot the pressure as a function of the volume,
the work is the area under the curve. See Fig. 6.

pdV

V
dV

Fig. 6: The pressure is depicted as a function of the volume. The area under the curve is the work interaction.

Occasionally, it is convenient to express the integral (4) in terms of the specific volume, v
(m3/kg).The specific volume is the volume per unit mass. Let mg (kg) denote the mass of the
gas. V=mg *v and dV= mg *dv. The work per unit mass (J/kg) or the specific work is :
W
mg ∫
w= = pdv . (5)

In order to evaluate the integral, W = ∫ pdV , explicitly, we need information on the

variation of the pressure, p, as a function of the volume, V. One can obtain such knowledge either
from basic physical principles or by measurements. We will see examples of both.
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 7

weight Example 1 : Gas is contained in a vertical cylinder and a

piston that weighs 5kN. The piston's cross-sectional area is
1m2 and the frictional force between the piston and the cylinder
is 500N. The gas is heated slowly while the weight is raised
by 0.1m. Then the gas is cooled slowly as the piston returns
to its initial position. The process is being repeated a number
R of times. We wish to determine the work occurring during the
expansion and compression strokes. The piston area is 0.1m2
and it supports a weight of 500N. The ambient pressure is

~ 100kPa.
Electric Motor

The engine described here is a simple two stroke engine. During the expansion stroke, as
the gas is heated, the force exerted by the gas on the piston slightly exceeds the piston's weight
(mpg), the force exerted by the ambient on the piston (p0Ap), and the frictional force (Ffriction).
The gas' pressure during the expansion stroke is constant and equals:
1  
pexp =
1
Ap
( mg + p0 Ap + F friction) = 
2 5000N + (10
0.1m 
5 N

m 2 )(0.1m ) + 500N = 155kPa .

2

During the compression stroke, for the piston to descend, the force exerted by the gas must
be slightly smaller than the forces exerted by the piston's weight and the ambient minus the
frictional force. Hence, the gas' pressure during the compression is:
1  
pcomp =
1
Ap
( mg + p0 Ap − F friction) = 
2 5000N + (10
0.1m 
5 N

m 2 )(0.1m ) − 500N = 145kPa .

2

Fig. 7 describes the compression and expansion processes on a p-V diagram.

p
pexp A B

pcomp
D C
Remove
Add Heat
Heat
V
V1 V2

Fig. 7: The pressures during the expansion and compression strokes are depicted as functions of the volume.
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 8

The work done by the gas during the expansion stroke is equal to the area under AB.
Wexp.=pexp.*Ap L =(155kPa)(0.1m 2)(0.1m)=1.55(kN/m2 )(m2 )(m)=1.55kJ.
The work done on the gas during the compression stroke is equal to the area under DC.
Wcomp.=-pcomp.*Ap L =-(145kPa)(0.1m 2) )(0.1m)=-1.45kJ.
The difference between the expansion and compression works is the net work of the engine. This
work was used to overcome the frictional resistance. This net work is represented by the confined
area ABCD:
Wnet=Wexp.+Wcomp. =0.1kJ .
In the absence of friction, Wexp.+Wcomp.=0. In other words, the work done by the gas in
the expansion stroke is exactly the same as the work done on the gas in the compression stroke. In
the absence of friction, the compression process precisely undoes the action of the expansion
process both in the system itself and its surroundings. When a process can be reversed without
any lasting effects either in the system itself or its surroundings, we say that the process is
reversible. Because of the presence of friction, in our process Wexp.+Wcomp.>0 and the process is
not reversible.
Witness that the initial and final states of the engine are the same. The engine operates in a
cycle. If the frequency of operation were 6 rpm (cycles per minute) or 0.1 Hz (Hertz, cycles per
second) then the power delivered by the engine would be 0.1kJ*(0.1s-1)=0.01kW=10W.
✿
In the above example, based on force balance considerations, we were able to determine the
relationship between the pressure and the volume during the expansion and compression strokes.
The relationship was particularly simple, p=const. In the internal combustion engine, this
relationship is a bit more complex. One means of determining the relationship between p and V is
by conducting an experiment and measuring the pressure and the corresponding volume.

6 . NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL DETERMINATION OF THE WORK

INTERACTION
Imagine that a mechanic connected a pressure transducer to one of the cylinders in your
car's engine and recorded the cylinder's pressure at various displacements of the piston. The
piston displacement can be converted into volume, and the results of these measurements can be
summarized in a table that documents the pressure as a function of volume, i.e.,

Pressure Volume
p1 V1
p2 V2
p3 V3
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 9

We wish to use the data to estimate the work. The difficulty is, however, that we do not have an
analytic expression that describes the relationship between p and V so as to allow us to evaluate the
work integral. To overcome this difficulty, we can adopt one of the following procedures:
(i) Direct numerical integration.
(ii) Use regression analysis to obtain an approximate function to describe p(V) and
then use the methods of calculus to carry out the integration, just as we have done in
the previous section. When an exact integral does not exist, we can use numerical
integration.
To make the ideas involved more concrete, we will consider a particular example. Table 1
documents the volume and pressure readings that were obtained during an expansion process. In
this process, the cylinder was very well insulated to minimize heat interactions with the
environment. Processes in which heat transfer does not occur are called adiabatic processes.

Table 1: Simultaneous measurements of the cylinder's volume and pressure.

Data Point # 0 1 2 3 4 5
5 3
V *10 m 1 2 3 4 5 6
p (kPa) 1500 568.4 322.2 215.4 157.6 122.1

Next, we depict the pressure as a function of the volume.

Pressure as a function of volume

1500

1000
p (kPa)

500

0
1 2 3 4 5 6
5 3
V*10 (m )

Fig. 8: The pressure is depicted as a function of the volume.

The work done by the gas on the piston is the integral , W = ∫ pdV , which is also the area
under the curve. We can use various numerical integration schemes to obtain this area. The
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 10

simplest one would be to approximate the curve with a number of rectangles. A somewhat better
way is to fit a polynomial to the curve and integrate analytically. One such popular integration
scheme results in the Simpson rule. Briefly, we divide the horizontal axis, V, into N equal
intervals. We denote, respectively, the pressure at the right and left ends of the interval with
subscripts 0 and N. The integral is approximated as:
VN
 N N
−1 

2 2
1
W = ∫ pdV ~ (VN − V0 ) pN + p0 + 4∑ p2 i −1 + 2 ∑ p2i 

23  .
3N i =1 i =1
V0
 1
424 3 1
Odd terms Even terms

In our particular example, there are N=5 intervals, and the work,
(6 −1)*10 −5
W~ (1500 + 122.1+ 4*(568.4 + 215.4) + 2*(322.2 +157.6)) = 0.01906kJ .
3*5
Alternatively, we can fit a curve to the graph and then integrate the resulting analytic
expression. The pressure appears to decay exponentially as the volume increases. This suggests
that perhaps it might be useful to depict the curve on a log-log scale. This is precisely what we do
in the figure below.

Pressure as a function of volume, log-log plot

10000
p (kPa)

1000

100
5 3
1 V*10 (m ) 10

Fig. 9: The pressure is depicted as a function of volume in a log-log scale.

Witness that on the log-log scale, the pressure behaves nearly linearly as a function of the volume.
Hence, we try to fit to the data a line of the form:
Log(p)=-n*Log(V)+b,
where (n) is the slope and b is the intercept with the vertical axis. A quick calculation reveals that
n=1.4. In other words, the relationship between the pressure and the volume can be described by
the formula:
pV n = C = Const . (6)
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 11

A process that obeys a rule similar to the one specified by equation (6) is called a polytropic
process. When the process is reversible and adiabatic, there is a thermodynamic property,
entropy, that is preserved and we say that the process is isentropic. For want of time, we will
defer the discussion of entropy to the thermodynamics course.
Once an analytic expression for the relationship between the pressure and the volume is
available, one can carry out the calculation of the work analytically.
VN VN V
V 1− n N VN 1− n V01−n n VN
1 −n
n V0
1− n
p V − pN VN
W = ∫ pdV = C ∫ V dV = C
−n
=C −C = pN VN − p0V0 = 0 0
V0 V0
1 − n V0 1− n 1− n 1− n 1−n n −1
where subscripts 0 and N denote, respectively, the states at the beginning and the end of the
process. Substituting the appropriate numerical values for our example, we find:
(1500kPa)(10 −5m 3) − (122.1kPa)(6 × 10− 5 m3 )
W= = 0.0192kJ .
1.4 −1
The relative discrepancy between the results of the numerical and analytic integration is smaller
than 0.5%.

7. THE MEAN EFFECTIVE PRESSURE (MEP)

When you visit your friendly mechanist, it is unlikely that he will discuss "pdv" integrals
with you. Instead, you are likely to hear terms such as "mean effective pressure," mep in short.
The mep is the fixed pressure that would have been needed to deliver the same amount of work as
that which occurred in the actual process and the actual displacement.

work done by the gas on the piston 1 VN

(VN − V0 ) ∫ V0
mep (Pa) = = pdV
swept volume

Pressure as a function of volume

1500
1300
1100
900
700
Mean Effective Pressure
500
300
100
-100
1 2 3 4 5 6
5 3
V 10 m

Fig. 10: The pressure and the mean effective pressure are depicted as functions of volume
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 12

0.0192kJ
In the example above, during the expansion process, mep = = 384kPa .
(6 •10-5 − 10-5 )m3
The mep is depicted as a dashed line in Fig. 11. The area under the curves depicting the actual
pressure and the mep are the same.
Often, when one characterizes the performance of an internal combustion engine, one
specifies the mean effective pressure that is needed to deliver the cylinder's net work. We will
address this issue in more detail later.

In the last two sections, we observed that during the expansion and compression strokes
the pressure can change when the volume changes and we learned how to calculate the work under
idealized conditions. During the gas’ expansion and compression, in addition to changes in the
pressure and volume, changes in the temperature may also occur. The issue of how the
temperature changes as a function of pressure and volume is the topic of our next section.

8. THE STATE EQUATION

The interdependence between the three thermodynamic properties - pressure (p), volume
(V), and temperature (T) - is given by the state equation. State equations for various materials are
determined either experimentally or theoretically. A one particularly simple state equation is that
for ideal gases,
pv=RT. (7)
This is also known as the law of ideal gases. This law was initially established through
experiments and subsequently it was also derived theoretically. In the above, p is the pressure
expressed in (kPa); v is the specific volume-the volume per unit mass (m3 /kg); T is the absolute
temperature expressed in degrees Kelvin (K); R is the gas constant
R  kJ 
R=  ; (8)
M  kg − K 
and M (kg/kmol) is the gas' molecular mass. In the above, R is the universal gas constant,
kJ
R = 8.314 .
kmol − K
As their name implies, ideal gases do not really exist. In general, the ideal gas
approximation can be used when the fluid's temperature is well above its boiling temperature and
when the gas' pressure is relatively low. Although air and, in particular, air-fuel mixtures do not
behave like an ideal gas, the ideal gas state equation still provides a meaningful approximation.
Due to its simplicity, the ideal gas law is a useful tool to analyze the internal combustion
engine and obtain estimates for the engine's performance. It can even be used in the first stages of
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 13

the engine's design. In order to study the engine in detail, the designer will require, however, a
more accurate description of the behavior of the various gases. The ideal gas law will suffice for
the purposes of this course. It is important, however, to remember that most fluids do not behave
like ideal gases. Whenever we need to use a state equation, we must pause and think whether the
use of the ideal gas approximation is justified.
The ideal gas law can also be applied to mixtures of ideal gases. In this case, instead of the
molecular mass in equation (8), one uses the weighted average molecular mass of the various
components. For example, the equivalent molecular mass of air is M=28.97kg/kmol.
Accordingly, Rair=0.287kJ/kg-K.

EXAMPLE: At the beginning of the compression stroke, the distance between the piston and the
top of the cylinder is 0.15m. The diameter of the piston is 0.1m. The cylinder contains air at
300K and 100kPa. What is the mass of the air?
Equation 7 suggests that v=RairT/p. The volume V=mass*v, where mass is the air's mass.
Thus,
 1 2 1 2
πd  4 π0.1 m (0.15m)
2
L
V V 4 p  kN
mass = = p= p= (100 2 ) = 0.00137kg .
v Rair T Rair T kN − m m
(0.287 )(300K)
kg − K
I carried out the actual calculations with MapleTM 's good services. Maple is a general purpose
symbolic-numeric package. You may encounter Maple in your mathematics courses at Penn.
Maple is not essential for your success in this course. It is up to you whether you wish to use it or
not. Below, I will show you how to take advantage of Maple's capabilities. One of the nice things
about Maple is that it can carry out the calculations with both numbers and units. This is a good
practice that is worth getting used to. If you recognize that the units of your answer are wrong,
you know that you must have made a mistake. You may think of getting the units right as the first
line of defense against mistakes. Unfortunately, Maple is not as smart as one might think and it
does not recognize the relationships between various units. For example, Maple does not know
that J=Newton*m, so we will need to tell it that. In my first Maple line, I inserted the given data
with somewhat non-conventional, but correct units.
> L:=0.15*m: d_piston:=0.1*m: R_air:=0.287*kNewton*m/kg/K: T:=300*K:
p:=100*kNewton/m^2: V:=evalf(Pi*d_piston^2*L/4);
V := .001178097245 m 3
Next, I calculated the mass:
> mass:=V*p/R_air/T;
mass := .001368289483 kg
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 14

Witness that the mass of the air in the cylinder is proportional to the pressure. The higher the
pressure, the higher the air's density and its mass. High performance engines employ a
turbocharger in order to increase the air pressure and the mass of the air at the beginning of the
compression process. By increasing the mass of the air, one can increase the engine's power
production without increasing the engine's size. ✿

The ideal gas law states that whenever two of the gas properties are known, one can obtain
the third property. For instance, if we know the pressure and the specific volume, we can calculate
the temperature. When one carries out first order computations for the internal combustion
engine, one assumes that the compression and expansion processes are isentropic (reversible and
adiabatic). We have stated earlier (without proof) that in an isentropic process, pvn =const. This
relationship can be rigorously proved; but we do not have yet the necessary tools to do this (you
will have to take me on faith). Using the relationship pvn =C=const and the law of ideal gases, one
can obtain a similar relationship between the specific volume and the temperature. Notice that
p=Cv-n. Substituting p into the ideal gas law, pv=RT, we have Cv1-n =RT or
vn-1 T=R/C=Const., (9)
where for air, n=1.4. Can you derive a similar relationship between the pressure and the
temperature?
Equation (9) suggests that during the compression process, as the volume decreases, the
temperature of the gas increases. During the expansion, the reverse happens. As the volume of
the gas increases, the temperature decreases. The same is true with respect to the pressure. We
will illustrate these phenomena graphically by depicting the temperature and pressure as functions
of the specific volume. The gas inside the cylinder is assumed to have properties similar to those
of air.

EXAMPLE: The Compression and Expansion Processes

At the beginning of the compression process, the gas is approximately at atmospheric
temperature and pressure, i.e., T 1 =300K and p1 =100kPa. The specific volume at the beginning of
v
the compression process is v1 =RT1 /p1 . The compression ratio, r = 1 =10, where v2 =v1 /10 is the
v2
specific volume at the end of the compression. Subscript (1) denotes the state at the beginning of
the compression process (BDC). See Fig. 3. Subscript (2) denotes the state at the end of the
compression process and the beginning of the combustion (TDC). Subscript (3) denotes the state
at the end of the combustion process and the beginning of the expansion (TDC). v3 =v2 . Subscript
(4) denotes the state at the end of the expansion process and the beginning of the cooling process.
v4 =v1 .
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 15

Temperature as a function of the volume

ratio

1600
3
1400
1200
expansion
1000
800
2 4
600
400
compression
200 1

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
v/v1

Fig. 11: The temperature is depicted as a function of the volume during the engine's cycle

T  v1  n −1
During the isentropic compression, vn-1 T= v 1 n-1 T1 or = . The temperature at the
T1  v 
end of the compression process is: T2 =T1 *100.4 =753.6K.
In the idealized engine, the spark plug fires at the end of the compression process. The
combustion is assumed to be instantaneous and to raise the gas’ temperature to T3 =1500K. The
temperature T3 is given, and it is the highest temperature achieved by the gas. T3 can be calculated
based on the amount of heat released during the combustion. The needed tools for such a
calculation will be developed later.
Once the combustion has been concluded, the piston starts moving from the TDC to the
BDC and the gas expands isentropically. The specific volume increases from v3 =v2 to v 4 =v1 .
n −1
T  v3  n−1  v3 v1 
During the expansion process, the temperature of the gas is given by = = .
T3  v   v1 v 
The expansion process terminates when the gas attains its initial volume, v 4 =v1 . The temperature
at the end of the expansion process is T4 =T3 (0.1)0.4 =597K.

T3 T4
Problem: Prove that = .
T2 T1
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 16

The temperature as a function of the volume is depicted in Fig. 11.

Pressure as a function of volume

5000
3
4500

4000

3500

3000

2500
2
2000

1500

1000

500
4
0 1

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2

v/v 1

Fig. 12: The pressure is depicted as a function of the volume

Similarly, we can calculate the pressure as a function of the volume. In the isentropic
v
n

compression process, pvn =p1 v1 n . Hence, p = p1  1  and p2 =(100kPa)101.4 =2512kPa.

v
The combustion process takes place at a constant volume. Hence, from the ideal gas law,
p p T 1500K
we have 2 = 3 or p3 = p2 3 = (2512kPa) = 5000kPa =5MPa. This is the highest
T2 T3 T2 753.6K
pressure attained by the gas.
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 17

From state 3 to state 4, the gas expands isentropically according to the rule, pvn =p3 v3 n .
 v3 v1 
n
 v3   = p3  1 v1  . The pressure at the conclusion of the expansion process
n n

p = p3   = p3 
v  v1 v  r v
1 v 
n

is p4 = p3  1  = p3 r− n = (1500kPa)(10)−1.4 = 199kPa .
 r v1 
The pressure as a function of the volume is depicted in Fig. 12. Witness that the pressure
increases during the heat addition (combustion) process. If there were no combustion and there
were ideal conditions, the pressure during the expansion process would have been identical to the
pressure during the compression process.
The areas under the curves in the figure are proportional to the work done on and by the
gas. During the compression process, the piston does work on the gas. This work is proportional
to the area under the curve 1-2. We have already derived a formula for calculating the work
interaction. The specific work (work per unit mass of gas) is:
p v − p2v2 pv  pv RT1  1 p2 
w1− > 2 = 1 1 = 1 1 1 − 2 2  = 1−
n −1 n − 1 p1 v1  n − 1  r p1 
Upon substituting the numerical values, we calculate:
kJ
(0.287 )(300K)
kg − K  1 2512kPa  kJ
w1− 2 = 1 − = −325.46 .
1.4 −1  10 100kPa  kg
The mep during the compression process is:
w w1→ 2 w1 →2
mepcompression = 1 →2 = = .
v1 − v2  v2  v 1 − 1
v1 1−   r
1
 v1 
Before calculating the mep, we need to calculate the specific volume, v1 ,
T1  kJ  300K  kJ  300K m3
v1 = R = 0.287 = 0.287 = 0.86
p1  kg − K  100 kN  kg − K  100 kJ kg
m2 m3
Accordingly,
kJ
325.46
kg kN − m
mepcompression = 3 = 420.5 = 420.5kPa .
m m3
0.86 (1 − 0.1)
kg
Similarly, during the expansion process,
kJ
0.287 1500K
p3v3 − p4v4 RT3  p4  kg − K  199kPa  kJ
w3− > 4 = = 1−r = 1−10 = 647.9
n− 1 n −1  p3  1.4 −1  5000kPa  kg
The mep during the expansion process is:
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 18

kJ
647.9
w3→4 w3 → 4 kg
mepexp ansion = = = = 837kPa .
v1 − v2 v 1 − 1 0.86 m 1− 0.1
3

 ( )
r
1
kg
The net work that a unit mass of gas does on the piston is:
Wnet =w 1-2 +w 3-4 =-325.46kJ/kg+647.9kJ/kg=322. 44kJ/kg.
The indicative effective mean pressure (imep) is defined as:
net work output per cylinder per cycle
imep = .
swept volume
wnet 322.44kJ / kg
In our example, imep = −1 = 3 = 416.6kPa = mepexp ansion − mepcompression .
v1 (1− r ) 0.86 m (1 − 0.1)
kg
All the calculations thus far were performed per unit mass of gas. This is quite convenient
during the design process. Once we know the amount of work that the cylinder needs to do, it is a
simple matter to calculate the mass and subsequently the volume of the cylinder. For example, if
our cylinder needs to provide Wnet =0.37kg, the mass of the gas is m=Wnet /wnet =1.16*10-3kg and
the cylinder's volume at BDC is V=m* v1 =10-3m3 or one liter. ✿

9. THE FIRST LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS AND ENERGY CONSERVATION

You surely have encountered the term "energy" quite often, and you are likely to have some
intuitive sense of what the term energy means. Chances are, however, that if you were asked what
energy is, you may have some difficulty defining it.
We will state three aspects of energy:
(i) All matter and all things have energy.
(ii) The energy of the whole is the sum of the energies of the parts.
(iii) Energy is conserved.
The statement that energy is conserved cannot be proved. Numerous attempts, over many
years, to construct a device (a perpetual motion machine) that violates the statement of conservation
of energy have failed. Thus, we believe that this statement is, indeed, true. No matter what you
do, energy is conserved. When people talk about the importance of conserving energy, they mean
to say that one should conserve the quality of energy.
Energy is a property of matter. Energy can be increased or reduced through work and heat
interactions. Work and heat are energy in transition. When the mass of the system is fixed, the
First Law of Thermodynamics states that the change in the system's energy (dE) equals the heat
interaction (δQ) minus the work interaction (δW):
dE=δQ-δW ,
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 19

where we adopt the sign convention that heat added to the system is positive and heat removed
from the system is negative.
You can think of the First Law as an accountant's tool that allows you to keep track of the
flow of energy. Just as you balance your checking account to reflect revenues and expenditures,
you keep track of your energy account. Both the energy and the heat have the same units (J) as
work.
In the absence of heat and work interactions, we say that the system is isolated and its
energy is preserved: dEisolated system=0.
The energy may come in various forms such as kinetic and potential energy. For our
purposes, we are particularly interested in the energy associated with the intermolecular bonds.
We will call this type of energy, internal energy, and we will denote it with the symbol (U).
E=U + (Kinetic Energy) + (Potential Energy)
Often, it is convenient to talk about the energy per unit mass or the specific internal energy.
We will use the lower case (u) to designate the specific internal energy (kJ/kg).
In the internal combustion engine, one can typically neglect the potential and kinetic
energies of the gas in the cylinder, and to the first approximation, one can focus only on the
changes in the internal energy. During the adiabatic (q=0) compression process, the internal
energy of the gas increases since the piston does work on the gas.
u2 -u1 =-w 1-2 >0.
The combustion process is approximated as heat addition to the gas. Since, during the
combustion in the idealized engine, the piston does not move and there is no displacement, there is
no work interaction (w2-3 =0). The combustion process produces heat (q) that further increases the
internal energy.
u3 -u2 =q2-3 >0.
The expansion process is adiabatic (q=0). The gas does work, and its internal energy
decreases.
u4 -u3 =-w 3-4 <0.
In the interval between 4 and 1, the gas is cooled at constant volume. There is no work
interaction. The internal energy decreases because heat is taken away from the gas.
u1 -u4 =q4-1 <0.

If you add up all these statements, you will find that the internal energy cancels out, which
is hardly surprising given the fact that the gas returned to its initial state. The First Law then states
that in the complete cycle, the work interaction equals the heat interaction.
w1-2 +w 3-4 =q2-3 + q4-1 .
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 20

1 0 . SPECIFIC HEAT AT CONSTANT VOLUME

Often when the internal energy of an object increases while its volume is kept fixed, the
temperature also increases. The rate of increase in the internal energy as a function of the
temperature is the specific heat, Cv (kJ/kg-K).
 ∂u 
Cv = .
 ∂T  v
The subscript (v) is used to emphasize the fact that the process is a constant volume process. In
general, Cv(p,T) is a function of both pressure and temperature. The Cv(T) of ideal gases is,
however, independent of the pressure. Its magnitude depends on the material and on the
temperature. Occasionally, to simplify things, we will also assume that Cv is temperature-
independent. In the internal combustion engine, this approximation cannot be justified because of
the large temperature variations that take place inside the cylinder.
Cv is useful for calculating changes in the internal energy. By knowing temperature
changes, which are relatively easy to measure, we can calculate changes in the internal energy. For
example, when the state of air changes from pressure p1 and temperature T1 to pressure p 2 and
temperature T2 , the corresponding change in the internal energy is:

T2

u2 − u1 = ∫ Cv(T)dT ~Cv(T2 − T1 ) .
T1

In the internal combustion engine, this type of relationship is useful for calculating the
temperature increase associated with the combustion process. To the first approximation,
combustion is approximated as heat addition (q). In the idealized engine, the combustion occurs at
a constant volume and there is no work interaction. From the First Law, we have
u3 -u2 =q2-3 -w=q 2-3
and from the definition of the specific heat we have
u3 -u2 =Cv(T3 -T2 ).
Hence,
q
T3 − T2 = 2 −3 .
Cv
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 21

11. THE THERMAL EFFICIENCY OF THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION

ENGINE
One of the parameters that is used to characterize the engine is its thermal efficiency (η).
The thermal efficiency is defined as:
net work w
η= = net
heat consumed qH
In other words, the thermal efficiency is the ratio between what we get (power or work) and what
we pay for (fuel). In the above qH=q2-3 >0. For convenience, we will denote the heat removed
from the cycle by qC=-q4-1 >0.
Since the engine operates in a cycle, wnet =qH-qC, and we can rewrite the efficiency as:
q − qC q
η= H = 1− C ,
qH qH
where both qC and qH are positive quantities. The efficiency is always smaller than one and often
significantly so.
Next, we will express the thermal efficiency in terms of the temperature. Since both the
combustion and the cooling processes take place at a constant volume,
u3 -u2 =q2-3 =qH=Cv(T3 -T2 )
and
u1 -u4 =q2-3 =-qC=Cv(T1 -T4 ).

Substituting the heat interactions into the expression for the thermal efficiency, we obtain:
T −T
η = 1− 4 1 .
T3 − T2
The thermal efficiency can be re-written in terms of the compression ratio. Since the
compression and expansion processes are isentropic and they take place between the same bottom
k −1
T4 T1  v2  1
and top dead volumes, = = = k −1 , and
T3 T2  v1  r
 T4
−1 
T1  T1  = 1− T1 = 1 − 1 .
η = 1−
T2  T3 −1  T2 rk −1
 T2 
Note:
(i) The thermal efficiency is a function of two temperatures: T1 , the lowest temperature of the
gas in the engine and T2 , an intermediate temperature achieved at the end of the
compression process. I emphasize this fact because sometimes people mistakenly use in
the thermal efficiency term the highest temperature achieved by the gas, T3 , instead of T2 .
(ii) The thermal efficiency can be expressed in terms of the compression ratio alone.
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 22

Fig. 13 depicts the thermal efficiency as a function of the compression ratio for gas with
k=1.4. The curve was plotted with Maple's assistance. Here are the Maple commands that we
used to plot the figure.

>etha:=r->1-1/r^0.4:
>plot(etha(r),r=1..20,labels=[r,eff]);

We computed the thermal efficiency of the idealized cycle. The efficiency of a realistic
cycle will be less than half of the ideal cycle's efficiency.
The curve illustrates that the thermal efficiency of the engine increases as the compression
ratio increases. In other words, engines with higher compression ratios will deliver more work per
unit of heat consumed. If everything else is equal, the higher the compression ratio, the more
miles per gallon you will be able to obtain from your car.

Figure 13: The thermal efficiency of the engine is depicted as a

function of the compression ratio (r).

The compression ratio cannot be increased indefinitely. When the compression ratio
increases, so do the temperature and pressure at the end of the compression stroke (temperature,
T2 ). When a fuel-air mixture is being compressed, the very high temperatures may cause a
spontaneous, premature, undesirable ignition of the fuel. Such a premature combustion may
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 23

contribute to the knock phenomenon which, in turn, increases the heat transfer from the gases to
the cylinder's wall and may cause damage to the engine. In order to avoid this undesirable
ignition, one must limit the compression ratio.
Modern engines operate at compression ratios as high as 10. This is made feasible by
using special fuel blends that have anti-knock characteristics. Initially (since the 1920s), tetraethyl
lead was added to the gasoline to prevent knocking. The leaded gasoline, however, generates
pollutants that are hazardous to humans and the environment and since about 1975, the use of
leaded gasoline has been phased out. As an alternative, refiners developed elaborate schemes to
increase the anti-knocking characteristics of gasoline. These are recognized by their octane
number. A scale from 0 to 100 was devised by assigning a value of 0 to n-heptane that is prone to
knock and a value of 100 to iso-octane that is knock-resistant. For example, 95 octane fuel has a
performance equivalent to that of a mixture of 95% iso-octane and 5% n-heptane by volume.
Typically, high performance engines that have a high compression ratio require high octane fuels.

A Few Comments on Thermal Efficiency :

The expression that we have derived for the thermal efficiency of the engine,
qH − qC q
η= = 1− C , suggests that the efficiency cannot exceed one (η<1). This is a direct
qH qH
consequence of the First Law of Thermodynamics and is intuitively obvious. Efficiency of unity
implies that the entire energy content of the fuel is converted into work. Since all practical engines
incur various losses during their operation, the maximum efficiency must be lower than 1.
Unfortunately, the thermal efficiency of engines is much lower than one. Indeed, only
about 40% of the fuel energy can be converted into work. In addition to the First Law of Energy
Conservation, nature imposes an additional restriction on our ability to convert energy from heat to
work. This other restriction is formulated as the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
Like the First Law (the statement of energy conservation), the Second Law cannot be
proved. It's an axiomatic and somewhat abstract statement. We accept the Second Law as a
correct description of nature since in spite of numerous attempts, no one has ever succeeded in
constructing a device that violates it. The Second Law states that "a device that operates in a cycle
cannot produce net work while interacting with a single heat reservoir." In other words, a cyclic
engine cannot just accept heat or just reject heat. It must do both. In the context of the internal
combustion engine, this means that the engine must reject heat in order to operate. We must have
not only qH but also qC. Since qC>0, this means that the thermal efficiency of the engine must be
smaller than one.
To understand why the engine must reject heat in order to operate, let’s reexamine the p-v
diagram (Fig. 3). In our idealized engine, the heat removal (process 4-1 in the p-v diagram) occurs
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 24

at the end of the expansion stroke. Now, suppose that we arrive at state 4, and we start
compressing the gas without removing any heat. Under ideal conditions, the compression process
will follow the curve 3-4 in reverse. Recall that the net work produced by the engine is represented
by the area confined between the compression and expansion strokes. When we do not remove
heat (qC=0), this area will be equal to zero under ideal conditions. The expansion work will be
equal to the compression work, and the engine will produce no net work at all. In practice, the
situation is even worse. Since every engine has losses such as friction, we will actually need to
invest power to drive the engine.
Let's restate the above in slightly more quantitative fashion. During the expansion stroke,
the gas in the cylinder produces work that equals the expansion's mean effective pressure times the
displaced volume. During the compression stroke, the piston does work on the gas in the cylinder.
This work is equal in magnitude to the expansion’s mean effective pressure times the displaced
volume. Since the displaced volume is the same during both the compression and expansion
strokes, for the engine to deliver net work, the mean effective pressure during the compression
must be smaller than the mean effective pressure during the expansion. The Second Law simply
states, in an abstract manner, that the heat rejection is needed to make the mean effective pressure
during the compression process smaller than during the expansion process. The reason why the
Second Law is stated in an abstract manner is to facilitate its use in situations when it may not be so
obvious why the heat removal is needed.

In addition to the thermal efficiency, there is another efficiency that one can define for
evaluating an internal combustion engine's performance. This efficiency is sometimes referred to
as the second law efficiency.
engine' s work output
eff2 =
fuel' s potential to do work
For an engine designer, the second law efficiency is even more important than the first law
efficiency because it tells him how closely his engine performs compared to the best possible. If
the second law efficiency is low, there is much room for improvement, and it would be worthwhile
to invest money and time in redesigning the engine. If the second law efficiency is high, the laws
of physics do not allow us to do any better, no matter how hard we try. The second law efficiency
is an important tool for decision-makers. For lack of the necessary thermodynamic tools, we will
defer further discussion of the second law efficiency to the thermodynamics course (MEAM203).

Finally, in order to complete the first order analysis of the internal combustion engine, we
still need to obtain qH. q H can be calculated by analyzing the chemical reactions taking place during
the combustion process. Such a calculation is not difficult. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately
Haim H. Bau The Thermodynamics of the Internal Combustion Engine ( September 7, 1998) 25

for some of you), for want of time, we will not be able to further analyze the combustion process
here. We will analyze combustion processes and chemical reactions in the second thermodynamics
course (MEAM 338). Our study of chemical reactions will also provide us with the tools needed to
estimate the production rate of various pollutants such as NOx . If you cannot wait, you are
welcome to check the references given below.

REFERENCES:
Heywood, J., B., 1988, Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals. New York: McGraw-Hill.
This book assumes that you are already familiar with most of the material that we have covered in these
notes.

Reynolds, W., C., Energy, McGraw-Hill

Reynolds' Energy makes delightful reading. The book covers the elements of thermodynamics in a "layman's"

fashion.

Stone, R., 1985, Introduction to Internal Combustion Engines, SAE, Chapters 1-3.
This book assumes that you are already familiar with most of the material that we have covered in these
notes.

WEB SITES OF INTEREST

http://www.engr.colostate.edu/~allan/thermo/
A good site that contains animations. The level of exposure is a bit higher than what we will do in this course.

http://www.ta.doc.gov/pngv/
This is the website of the Partnership for New Generation Vehicles, PNGV. The objective of the partnership is to
develop a mid-size family sedan with 80 mpg fuel consumption by the year 2004. The target for engine thermal
efficiency is 45% and the target for weight specific power is 0.63kW/kg.

http://dbhs.wvusd.k12.ca.us/Gas-Ideal.html
An elementary treatment of the ideal gas law at the high school level. If you are in trouble, this may be a good
place to review some elementary concepts.