Republic of the Philippines

PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS

Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City
Ins tute of Engineering and Technology (InET)
AMT Department
Name: Vallota, Katrina D. Date: Oct. 19, 2021
Year&Sec.: 1st Year - Sec on 6 Subject: AMT 1104

Prelim Assignment
Aircra Powerplant I (Reciproca ng Engine)
AMT 1104
Introduc on to Aircra Reciproca ng Engine

From being an innocent 5 year old up un l the adult age of 60’s, the dream of ge ng
aboard huge airplanes seen up in the sky, together with soaring birds is a bucket list for almost
anyone. However, even before these big ying vehicles got to be successfully own up in the air,
early a empts at ight failed but later on triumphed because of the non-stop advancements
brought by restless pioneers in the eld. As men oned, the failure was not mainly due to the
wing design, but to the lack of technology necessary to produce a su cient power source to
sustain ight. The development of aircra engines was the result of the applica on of principles
used in the design of earlier internal combus on engines. In the second half of the 19th century,
several successful engines were developed and built that were used to power machines. Many
di erent types of engines have been designed since the rst internal combus on engine was
put into opera on successfully. Many were t for the opera on of automobiles and/or
airplanes, and others were failures. The failures were the result of low e ciency, poor reliability
(due to poor construc on and materials that could not withstand opera ng condi ons), high
opera ng costs, excessive weight of generated power, and other de ciencies.

According to dic onary.cambridge.org (2021), engine is de ned as “a machine that uses

the energy from liquid fuel or steam to produce movement”. It is some mes referred as a motor
that is designed to convert energy into useful mechanical mo on such as to run a car, y an
aircra or sail a vessel. In the avia on industry, engine is the heart of the air vehicle that takes
people and things from one mile to another thousand miles by air. Commonly called as
powerplant, without it, aircra s will be nothing but a mere humongous sight to behold at
airports and runways. A powerplant produces thrust to propel the aircra . Therefore, being able
to make a li o the ground and y into the high skies. There are certain types of plane engines
used such as jet and reciproca ng engines. During the old and rst days of ying, reciproca ng
engines are what’s implemented. It was the Wright Brothers’ in the late 1800’s who were the
forerunners in using RE in small sized planes, o en mes complimented with type-suited
propellers. As previously men oned, most private and compact aircra s are designed with
reciproca ng engines but as decades of years passed by, and so the demand for advance aircra
engines drama cally increase. Also, driven by a revitaliza on of the general avia on (GA)
industry and advances in both material and engine design, reciproca ng engine technology has
improved in a fast-paced manner over the course of me. The integra on of computerized
engine management systems has improved fuel e ciency, reduced emissions and pilot
workload. Reciproca ng engines operate on the basic principle of conver ng chemical energy
(fuel) into mechanical energy. This conversion takes place within the engine's cylinders through
the combus on process. The two main reciproca ng engine designs are spark igni on and
compression igni on. The O o piston engine, named a er Nikolaus O o who rst built and sold
the engine in the year 1862, has been the engine of choice for many years. To reduce opera ng
costs, simplify design, and improve reliability, several engine manufacturers are turning to
compression igni on as a viable alterna ve. O en referred to as piston jet fuel engines,
compression igni on engines have the added bene t of using cheaper and more readily
available jet or diesel fuel. S ll, despite of being signi cantly heavy duty, piston engines aren’t
usually used on high performance aircra s such as today’s modern commercial plane

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 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City
Ins tute of Engineering and Technology (InET)
AMT Department

eets. However, this type of engine can be seen on small planes with propellers. To conclude,
without the discovery of this engine, innova ons won’t be possible as small ma ers serve as the
solid rock founda on of groundbreaking projects and inven ons.

Aircra Engine General Requirements

Engine is referred as the brain of any vehicle; land, air or water, even space at mes.
Without it, transporta on vehicles would be nothing. A car cannot run without an engine. A
vessel won’t budge on waters by simply having its rudders. An aircra cannot y with the
absence of an engine. To put, it holds all the necessary power in order for a vehicle to perform
its func on properly. energyeduca on.ca describes engine as “some machine that converts
energy from a fuel to some mechanical energy, crea ng mo on in the process.” Furthermore,
an aircra engine, or commonly called as powerplant, produces thrust to propel an aircra
(faa.gov, 2016). With this, requirements are also vital. An aircra powerplant must meet close
to exact standards to maintain its dependability and endurance all through out the aircra ’s
ying hours. The necessary requirements imposed on an aircra powerplant in an e ort to
obtain engines suitable for aircra include as follows;

Reliability
An aircra engine must be reliable, as losing power is a substan ally greater crisis than
automobiles such as cars and trucks. According to aircra systemtech.com (2021), “An aircra
engine is reliable when it can perform at the speci ed ra ngs in widely varying ight a tudes
and in extreme weather condi ons.” Therefore, it is substan al that the reliability of the
product is intricately overseen through its constant and numerous design, research, and tes ng.
Thus, it makes the most important fundamental powerplant requirement of all.

Durability
It is said that reliability comes together hand-in-hand with durability as they are
considered iden cal factors. Durability is the amount of engine life without sacri cing the
standard and desired reliability. It is simply the measure of the reliable service life of the engine.
The life span achieved by the engine is highly dependent on the type or opera ng condi ons.
Intelligent applica on of opera on and maintenance procedures leads to greatly improved
power plant life.

Compactness
Compactness is de ned as the amount of solids lled into a material, i.e. the ra o
between the volume of the solid and the overall volume of the material. In avia on, it is a
cri cal engine requirement as it is essen al to powerplant design in order to lower parasi c
drag and to a ain higher speeds. In addi onal, to achieve proper streamlining and balancing of
an aircra , the shape and size of the engine must be as compact as possible.

Power and Weight (Low Weight per Horsepower and High Speci c Power Output)
In an aircra engine, power and weight a ects each other and the need to balance it is
of utmost importance. There are two factors to consider under this requirement; Minimum
weight per horsepower (HP) that is a key condi on in aeronau cs, in which the weight of a
power plant must be kept as low as possible. Thus, allowing the aircra to carry a large useful
load with a sa sfactory margin of safety in propor on to gross weight. Second, Power that is
based on engine displacement, RPM and weight of the fuel/air mixture. Dimensions and spins
are limited on reciproca ng engines. Therefore, increasing the e ec ve working pressure in the
cylinder is one of the most valuable ways to increase the speci c power. In conclusion, when the
weight of an engine is reduced by stopping power (the so-called engine speci c weight), the
payload that an aircra can carry and the performance of the aircra increases. Every addi onal
pound of weight an aircra engine carries degrades its performance. The huge improvement in

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 Republic of the Philippines

PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City
Ins tute of Engineering and Technology (InET)
AMT Department

aircra engine weight reduc on through improved construc on and metallurgy has led to
reciproca ng piston engines with a greatly improved power-to-weight (speci c weight) ra o.

Reasonable Cost
Despite countless impeccable designs and quality of workmanship, no powerplant is to
be desired if it is too costly in a compe ve market, especially in the avia on industry. An
important factor that determines the usability of an engine is its cost.The most sa sfactory
designs are generally the simplest ones that will sa sfy the requirements.

High Thermal E ciency

energyeduca on.ca (2021) de nes thermal e ciency the frac on of heat that becomes
useful work. In aircra engine requirements, it also outlines the same meaning as a measure of
the losses incurred in conver ng heat energy in the fuel into mechanical work; it is the ra o of
the heat developed into useful work to the hea ng value of the fuel. Thus, high thermal
e ciency means high fuel consump on, which is of great importance in aircra engines.

Freedom From Vibra on

A vibra on-free engine is important in the lightweight and somewhat exible structure
of the aircra , as strong engine vibra ons in some cases shorten the life of certain structural
parts. The need to be vibra on-free is generally met by using a large number of cylinders to
compensate for the vibra on torque provided by the individual cylinders. Counterweights are
mounted on cranksha s to balance rota ng masses. They are generally ar culated to provide
dynamic damping of vibra ons generated from power pulses and to counter unwanted torsional
or torsional vibra ons. Moreover, exible engine mount isolators are used to allow certain
power plant movements that are detrimental to aircra structures.

Ease of Maintenance
This to the engine being eld repairable in order to keep the cost of replacement down.
Minor repairs should be rela vely inexpensive and possible outside of specialized shops. The
simplicity of design and use of standard parts, when possible, assist in keeping maintenance at a
low level.

Opera ng Flexibility
Opera onal exibility is the ability of the engine to run smoothly and deliver the desired
performance at all speeds, from idle to full power. The aircra engine must also operate
e ciently for all varia ons in atmospheric condi ons that occur in generalized opera ons.

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 Republic of the Philippines

PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City
Ins tute of Engineering and Technology (InET)
AMT Department

Types of Engines (A/C)

Engine design has changed enormously through the years since the rst powered ight.
Such engine design that is constantly developing is the one used in aircra s known as
reciproca ng piston or simply, reciproca ng engine. The piston engine of an aircra works on
the same principles as the engines of most automobiles. However, modi ca ons such as dual
igni on systems have been incorporated to improve redundancy and safety and air cooling to
reduce weight on engines designed for use in avia on. The type of engines that falls under this
category can be classi ed by several methods but one that is widely used and accepted is
through cylinder arrangement. Under the aforemen oned classi ca on, there are ve (5) kinds
according to skybrary.aero (2017);

In-Line Engines

The rst aircra engines were in-line or "straight" engines and had in-line cylinders,
similar to many automobile engines. The pivotal advantage of this type of engine is that it is
narrow and allows the aircra to have a narrow forward fuselage. However, the air ow around
this type of engine is insu cient to allow air cooling, thus, liquid cooling is required, which
reduces the power-to-weight ra o.

Rotary Engines

The rotary piston engine was developed during World War I for military aircra . With this type
of engine, the design of the en re motor rotates with the blades, crea ng addi onal air ow for
cooling.

V-Type Engines

A V-engine is basically the equivalent of two in-line engines connected in a "V"

con gura on by a common cranksha .

Radial Engines

A radial piston engine consists of one or more rows of odd-numbered cylinders arranged
in a circle around a central cranksha . Due to the small size of the crankcase, this type of engine
had a be er power-to-weight ra o than most other designs of its me. The cylinder
arrangement allowed for good cooling air ow and smooth opera on.

Horizontally Opposed Engines

Horizontally opposed engines are o en referred to as boxer or at engines. They have

two banks of cylinders that are o set on opposite sides of a central crankcase. The design is
simple, reliable, and easy to maintain.

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 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City
Ins tute of Engineering and Technology (InET)
AMT Department

Reciproca ng Engine Opera ng Principles

Also known as internal-combus on

engine, reciproca ng engine encompasses
opera ng principles in order to fully func on its
purpose along with its opera ng cycles. In this
part, gure 1.1 displays a reciproca ng engine’s
opera ng principles observed. It’s main parts
include; (a)cylinders, (b)crankcase, and
(c)accessory housing. The intake/exhaust valves,
spark plugs, and pistons are located in the (a).
While the cranksha and connec ng rods are
located in the (b). Meanwhile, it's the accessory
housing the magnetos are usually found (faa.gov,
2016).

Fig. 1.1 (Main Components of a Reciprocating Engine)

Fig. 1.2 (Operating Principles of a Reciprocating Engine)

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 Republic of the Philippines

PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City
Ins tute of Engineering and Technology (InET)
AMT Department

Reciproca ng Engine Opera ng Cycles

In a reciproca ng engine opera ng

cycles, there are 4 types namely; ( g.
2.1) 4 stroke, ( g. 2.2) 2 stroke, rotary,
and diesel. However, in aircra s, only
two are vastly implemented; 4 stroke
and 2 stroke.

Fig. 2.1 (4 Stroke Cycle)

Fig. 2.2 (2 Stroke Cycle)

With the 4 stroke cycle being predominant in modern mes avia on, this type of
opera ng cycle delivers good balance of power, reliability and e ciency. As seen in gure 2.3, it
shows how the four stroke cycle works. Furthermore, from its name, ‘four stroke cycle engine’, it
requires 4 strokes to complete the events. Two revolu ons of cranksha (720 °) are needed (see
gure 2.4)

Fig. 2.4 (4 Stroke Cycle Circular Diagram)

Fig. 2.3 (4 Stroke Cycle- The arrows in the illustration

indicate the direction of motion of the crankshaft
and piston during the four-stroke cycle. )

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 Republic of the Philippines

PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City
Ins tute of Engineering and Technology (InET)
AMT Department

In a four-stroke engine, chemical energy is converted into mechanical energy through a

four-stroke duty cycle. The intake, compression, power, and exhaust processes occur in four
separate piston strokes in the following order;

Intake/ Induc on

The purpose of the intake or induc on stroke is to introduce an air-fuel mixture into the
cylinder. It starts when the piston begins its downward movement. Note that the intake valve
must be open to allow the fuel-air mixture to enter the cylinder while the exhaust valve remains
closed. The downward movement of the piston causes the pressure in the cylinder to drop, as a
result of which the mixture is sucked into the cavity le by the movement of the piston.

Compression and Igni on

As the name suggests, the compression stroke is used to compress the air-fuel mixture
drawn into the cylinder head prior to igni on. It begins when the inlet valve closes and the
piston begins to move to the top of the cylinder. This phase of the cycle is used to obtain a much
higher performance from the fuel / air mixture once it is ignited.

Power

The power stroke begins when the fuel-air mixture is ignited. This causes a great amount
of pressure increase in the cylinder and pushes the piston in a downward manner away from
the cylinder head, crea ng the power that turns the cranksha .

Exhaust

The exhaust stroke is used to purge the cylinder of burned gases. It begins when the
piston mo on forces the exhaust gasses out through the open exhaust valve, clearing the
cylinder before the intake stroke begins. This completes the cycle and the piston will start to
move downward again as the induc on step repeats.

Other opera ng cycles;

Two-Stroke Cycle

The two-stroke engine has made a comeback and is used in ultralight and lightweight
sports aircra and many experimental ones. As the name suggests, two-stroke engines only
require one upstroke and one down stroke of the piston to complete the required series of
events in the cylinder. Therefore, the engine completes the duty cycle in one revolu on of the
cranksha . The input and output func ons are performed during the same cycle. These motors
can be air or water cooled and generally require a reduc on gearbox between the motor and
the propeller.

Rotary Cycle

The rotary cycle has a three-sided rotor that rotates in an ellip cal casing and completes
three of the four cycles with each revolu on. These motors can be single or mul -rotor and can
be air or water cooled. They are mainly used in test and light aircra . The vibra on proper es
are also very low for this type of motor.

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 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City
Ins tute of Engineering and Technology (InET)
AMT Department

Diesel Cycle

The diesel cycle relies heavily on high compression pressures to provide igni on of the
fuel / air charge in the cylinder. When air is drawn into the cylinder, it is compressed by a piston
and fuel is injected into the cylinder at maximum pressure. At this point, the high pressure and
temperature in the cylinder cause the fuel to burn, increasing the internal pressure of the
cylinder. This drives the piston down, rotates, or drives the cranksha . Water and air cooled
engines that can run on JETA (kerosene) fuel use a version of the diesel cycle.

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 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City
Ins tute of Engineering and Technology (InET)
AMT Department

REFERENCES (APA7)

The 3 primary types of reciprocating airplane engines. Monroe Aerospace News. (2021, May
12). Retrieved October 16, 2021, from https://monroeaerospace.com/blog/the-3-primary-
types-of-reciprocating-airplane-engines/.

Aircraft Engines (Part One) General Requirements. Flight Mechanic. (n.d.). Retrieved October
15, 2021, from https://www. ight-mechanic.com/aircraft-engines-part-one-general-
requirements/.

Aircraft Engines (Part Three) Other Requirements. Flight Mechanic. (n.d.). Retrieved October
15, 2021, from https://www. ight-mechanic.com/aircraft-engines-part-three-other-
requirements/.

Aircraft Engines (Part Two) Power and Weight. Flight Mechanic. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15,
2021, from https://www. ight-mechanic.com/aircraft-engines-part-two-power-and-
weight/.

Aircraft Engines General Requirements. Aircraft Systems. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2021,
from https://www.aircraftsystemstech.com/2017/04/aircraft-engines.html.

Engine. Engine - Energy Education. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2021, from https://
energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Engine.

FAA, Chapter 7 Aircraft Systems (2016). Retrieved October 15, 2021, from https://www.faa.gov/
regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/media/09_phak_ch7.pdf.

The four stroke engine cycle. AeroToolbox. (2020, June 14). Retrieved October 16, 2021, from
https://aerotoolbox.com/four-stroke-engine/.

Internal-combustion engine: four-stroke cycle. (n.d.). Four Stroke Cycle. Retrieved October 16,
2021, from https://www.britannica.com/technology/four-stroke-cycle.

Levy, Y. (1999, February 23). Section 6.2 RECIPROCATING-ENGINE OPERATING

PRINCIPLES. Aeronautics - Aircraft Propulsion (RECIPROCATING-ENGINE
OPERATING PRINCIPLES). Retrieved October 16, 2021, from https://web.eng. u.edu/
allstar/ ight62.htm.

Li, Y., & Ren, S. (2011). 2 - Basic Properties of Building Decorative Materials. In Building
Decorative Materials. essay, Woodhead Publishing.

Pike, J. (n.d.). PART ONE. FUNDAMENTALS OF POWER PLANTS. FM 1-506 Chptr 1 Basic
Requirements. Retrieved October 15, 2021, from https://www.globalsecurity.org/
military/library/policy/army/fm/1-506/ch1.htm.

Piston Engine. Piston Engine - SKYbrary Aviation Safety. (2017, July 27). Retrieved October 16,
2021, from https://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Piston_Engine.

Reciprocating Engine Operating Cycles. Flight Mechanic. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2021,
from https://www. ight-mechanic.com/reciprocating-engine-operating-cycles/.

Reciprocating engine operating principles / operating cycles. Reciprocating Engine Operating

Principles / Operating Cycles. (2020, June 7). Retrieved October 16, 2021, from https://
cat-engines.blogspot.com/2020/06/reciprocating-engine-operating.html.

Thermal ef ciency. Thermal ef ciency - Energy Education. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2021,
from https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Thermal_ef ciency.

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 Republic of the Philippines
PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS
Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City
Ins tute of Engineering and Technology (InET)
AMT Department

Two stroke cycle. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2021, from https://www.britannica.com/
technology/gasoline-engine/Two-stroke-cycle.

Types of Engines. Flight Mechanic. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2021, from https://www. ight-
mechanic.com/types-of-engines/.

What is the difference between reciprocating engine and jet engine? | How Things Fly. (2014,
December 17). Retrieved October 16, 2021, from https://howthings y.si.edu/ask-an-
explainer/what-difference-between-reciprocating-engine-and-jet-engine.

Felix Peter Jobil M. Cael, MEAM

Instructor

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