Combustion in SI Engine

ME 432 ICE
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Combustion
The combustion in the gaseous
fuel air mixture ignited by a spark
is characterized by a rapid
development of a flame that starts
from the point of ignition and
spreads outwards in a continuous
manner.
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Normal Combustion
• Steady propagation of flame from point of
ignition to the end of combustion chamber
without abrupt changes in it’s shape and speed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luK2r053CnI
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Normal Combustion
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Stages of Combustion in SI Engine

First Stage (AB) - Ignition
lag or preparation phase

Second Stage (BC) –

Main Stage

Third Stage (CD) –

Afterburning

Combustion – proceeds until the point of chemical equilibrium is reached

Burning – part of the combustion process which is associated with the travel of a
flame front across the cylinder.
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First Stage (AB)

This stage is called ignition lag or preparation phase.

A- where the spark is produced

B - First measurable pressure rise against the

motoring curve.

This stage depends on

• Nature of fuel

• Temperature and pressure of fuel-air mixture

• Chemical reaction rate

• Local turbulence
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Second Stage (BC)

This stage is called main stage.

B - first measurable pressure rise against the motoring

curve.

C - point of maximum pressure.

This heat release depends on

• Chemical composition

• Temperature and pressure

• Degree of turbulence

Pressure rise is almost proportional to the rate of heat

release because during this stage, the combustion
chamber volume does not change much.
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Third Stage (CD)

This stage is called afterburning.

C - point of maximum pressure/completion of the

flame travel it does not follow that the whole of the
heat of the fuel has liberated at this point. Even
after the passage of the flame, during expansion
some of the constituents re-associate and liberate
heat.

D - Equilibrium is reached and after which the

products of combustion are assumed to be frozen.

During the stage

• Flame speed decreases

• Rate of combustion is slow

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Flame Speed Pattern

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Fraction of Burned Mass

mb
xb 
mb  mu

mb – Burned Mass
mu – Unburned Mass
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Pressure and Temperature Variation as

a Function of Crank Angle
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Effect of Spark Timing on Indicator

Diagram
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Effect of Fuel/Air Ratio on Indicator

Diagram
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Factor Affecting Ignition Lag

• Nature of Fuel and air/fuel ratio

• Initial temperature and pressure

• Compression Ratio

• Spark Timing

• Turbulence and Engine Speed

• Electrode Gap of Spark Plug

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Factors Affecting Combustion in SI

Engine
• Composition of mixture

• Compression Ratio

• Speed

• Spark Plug Position

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Composition of mixture
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Compression Ratio
• Higher the compression ratio
▫ Higher P & T of mixture

▫ Ignition lag duration decreases

▫ Rate of pressure rise in main

phase increases

▫ Surface-to-volume ratio of c/c

increases
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Speed
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Auto-Ignition Normal Combustion

• Unburned A/F
mixture ignites &
burned before the
flame front reaches it
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Detonation
• Sudden increase in
reaction rate
• Sudden rise in pressure
• Generates pressure waves
• Flame front exceeds sonic
velocity
• Causes engine knocking
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Effects of Detonation
• Noise & Vibration

• Increase in Heat Transfer

• Mechanical Damage

• Pre-ignition

• Reduction in Power & Efficiency

• Carbon Deposition (Exhaust Emission)

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Auto-Ignition
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Knock in SI Engines
• Flame front travels from spark
plug to the other end of
combustion chamber

• Heat release increase the

pressure & temperature of
burned part of mixture than
unburned part
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Knock in SI Engines ..contd

• Burned part of mixture expands
and compresses the unburned part
• Meanwhile flame front advances
• Temperature of unburned mixture
exceeds the auto-ignition
temperature
• Spontaneous ignition or auto-
ignition occurs at various hot-spots
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Knock in SI Engines
• Onset of knocking depends upon properties of
fuel

• The desirable fuel properties to avoid knock are:

▫ High auto-ignition temperature

▫ Ignition lag time longer than flame propagation to

unburned mixture
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Detonation
• Sudden increase in reaction rate

• Sudden rise in pressure

• Generates pressure waves

• Flame front exceeds sonic velocity

• Generation of shock waves

• Causes engine knocking

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Effects of Knock
• Noise & Vibration (upto 5kHz)

• Increase in Heat Transfer

• Mechanical Damage

• Pre-ignition

• Reduction in Power & Efficiency

• Carbon Deposition (Exhaust Emission)

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Piston Damage Due to Knock

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Connecting Rod Deformation Due to

Knock
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Useful Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZysyokEU60
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Effect of Engine Parameters on Knock

• Density Factors
▫ Compression Ratio
▫ Mass of Inducted Charge
▫ Inlet Temperature of the Mixture
▫ Chamber Wall Temperature
▫ Spark Timing Retard
▫ Power Output of the Engine
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Effect of Engine Parameters on Knock

• Time Factors
▫ Turbulence
▫ Engine Speed
▫ Flame Travel Distance
▫ Engine Size
▫ Combustion Chamber Shape
▫ Spark Plug Location
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Effect of Engine Parameters on Knock

• Composition Factors

▫ Fuel-Air Ratio

▫ Octane Value of the Fuel

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Knock Rating of SI Engine Fuels

• Fuel’s Octane Number

▫ Measure of fuel resistance to knock in SI engines

n-heptane, n-C7H16 iso-Octane, C8H18
0 100
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Fuel Sensitivity
• RON: Octane number determined through Research
Method (ASTM D – 2699)
• MON: Octane number determined through Motor
Method (ASTM D – 2700)
• Motor Method  more severe than Research
Method
Fuel Sensitivity = MON - RON
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Road Octane Number (Road ON)

• On road engine runs on
▫ Variable speed

▫ Variable load

▫ Different weather conditions

▫ Spark timing is a function of speed

• Octane Number through Research & Motor methods

▫ Constant speed

▫ Full throttle

▫ Fixed spark timing

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Road Octane Number (Road ON)

• Road Octane Number different than RON &
MON

• Ranges in b/w RON & MON

Road ON = a(RON) + b(MON) + c

• Gasoline fuel: a ≈ b ≈ 0.5 & c=0

Antiknock Index = (RON+MON)/2

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Additives to improve Octane Number

• Gasoline ON improved by additives

▫ Tetraethyl lead (C2H5)4Pb (TEL)

▫ Tetramethyl lead (CH3)4Pb (TML)

▫ Methyl-centopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl

(MMT)
Combustion in CI Engine
ME 432 ICE
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Air Intake in CI Engines

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High Pressure Fuel Injection Phases

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High Pressure Fuel Injection

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Spray Structure
• Radially outward injection in swirling
air flow

• Leading edge: small droplets

• Trailing edge: large droplets

• Local F/A ratio varies with angle

• Local F/A varies also with radial

distance also

• Smallest droplets at LE ready to

evaporate
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Spray Regions
• Lean flame region

• Lean flameout region

• Spray core

• Spray tail

• After-injection

• Fuel deposited on wall

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Stages of Combustion in CI Engine

First Stage (AB) - Ignition
delay period

Second Stage (BC)- Rapid or

uncontrolled combustion

Third Stage (CD) – Mixing-

controlled combustion phase

Forth Stage (DE) – Late

combustion phase or afterburning
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First Stage (AB) - Ignition delay

period
Point A - the injector starts to inject the
fuel into the combustion chamber

Point B - first abrupt pressure rise

• Spray disintegration and droplet

formation

• Heating of the liquid fuel and

evaporation

• Diffusion of the vaporized fuel into the

air to form an ignitable mixture.

• Decomposition of the heavy

hydrocarbon into lighter components.
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Second Stage (BC)- Rapid or

uncontrolled combustion
In this phase, combustion of the fuel,
which has mixed with air during the
ignition delay period, occurs rapidly in a
few crank angle degree.

The rate and quantity of combustion –

duration of delay period and the rate of
preparation of fuel.

The speed of this reaction determines the

rate of pressure rise (dp/dθ) in cylinder.
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Third Stage – (CD) Mixing-

controlled combustion phase
Fuel air which premixed during the
ignition delay --- consumed at the end of
the rapid combustion.

Now, temperature in the cylinder are so

high that any fuel injected will burn as
soon as it finds oxygen.

Further increases in pressure can be

controlled by the injection rate as well as
mixing and diffusion processes.
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Forth Stage (DE) – Late combustion

phase or afterburning
Low rate of combustion, sometime
referred as the tail of combustion.

The late combustion phase is undesirable

because it reduces the power output.
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Heat Release Rate

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Air/Fuel Ratio in CI Engines

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Influence of Various Factors on Delay

Period
Ignition quality of fuel
If self ignition temperature is low -
delay period reduced.

Cetane number – higher than delay

period reduced. Cetane number – fuel
molecular structure
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Influence of Various Factors on Delay

Period
Injection timing
Both advancing and retarding the
injection increase the delay period.

Optimum angle of injection advance

depends upon

• Compression ratio

• Inlet air - temperature and pressure

• Injection characteristics

• Load and engine speed etc.

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Influence of Various Factors on Delay

Period
Compression Ratio
Higher compression ratio – reduces the
delay period.

Maximum pressure does not effected to

much by compression ratio.

But higher compression ratio

- Crank gear parts stronger

- Increase the mechanical losses

- Increase the torque required for

starting
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Knock in CI Engines
Short delay ignition period ----
smooth rate of pressure rise

Longer ignition delay --- more fuel

droplet in the chamber--- too rapid
pressure rise.

Quite Longer ignition delay --- much

more fuel droplet in the chamber ---
almost instantaneous pressure rise
– extreme pressure differentials and
violent gas vibrations --- knocking
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Comparison of Knock in SI and CI

Engines
Knocking in SI and CI engines --- depends
upon the autoignition followed by a rapid
pressure rise. Following are the important
difference.

1. In SI engine, knocking occurs due to

autoignition of the last part of the charge (end
gas), i.e. at the end of combustion, while in
the CI engine knocking occurs in the first part,
i.e. at the start of combustion.
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Comparison of Knock in SI and CI

Engines
2. In SI engine, the charge that auto-ignites is
homogeneous and therefore intensity of knocking
or rate of pressure rise at explosive auto-ignition
is likely to be more than that in CI engine where
the fuel and air are not homogeneously mixed
even when explosive autoignition of the charge
occurs.
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Comparison of Knock in SI and CI

Engines
3. In CI engine, only air is compressed during the
compression stroke and the ignition can take place
only after fuel is injected just before the top dead
center. Thus there can be no pre-ignition in CI
engine as in SI engine.
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Comparison of Knock in SI and CI

Engines
4. In SI engine, knocking can easily detected by
human ears. Whereas, in CI engine, normal process of
combustion is by autoignition. Thus normal rate of
pressure rise for the first part of the charge form CI
are higher than those for SI engine, in terms of per
degree of crank rotation. When Audible noise
becomes severe and causes heavy vibrations in the
engine – knocking.
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Factors tending to reduce knock in SI

and CI engine
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Method of Controlling Knock in CI

Engine
Apart from controlling the engine operation variables, the knock
in CI engine can be controlled by the following methods,
• Certain fuels cause knocking in a given CI engine, others do
not. Thus, fuels of high cetane number are obtained by adding
chemical dopes, called engine accelerators. The two common
chemical dopes are ethyl nitrate and amyl nitrate in
concentration of 8.8 g/l and 7.7 g/l.
• Two-stage injection. Before the main delivery of fuel small
amount of fuel injected (Pilot Injection)