3

Internal Combustion Engines

The internal combustion (IC) engine is, and will be in the foreseeable future, the most pop-
ular power plant for motor vehicles. In hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), the IC engine is also
the first selection as the primary power source. However, its operation in HEVs differs from
that in a conventional motor vehicle. The engine in a HEV runs for a longer time at high
power and does not require changing its power rapidly. A specifically designed and
controlled engine for HEV applications has not been fully developed. This chapter
briefly reviews the key characteristics and performance of the commonly used spark
ignited (SI) or gasoline IC engines, which are more related to HEV development. This chap-
ter also reviews other types of engines that are possible for use in HEVs, such as four-
stroke compression ignition (CI) engines (mostly fueled with diesel) and alternative-fuel
engines.

3.1 Spark Ignition Engine

3.1.1 Basic Structure and Operation Principle with Otto Cycle
Most spark ignition (SI) engines are fueled with gasoline. In recent years, technologies
involving the burning of alternative fuels, such as natural gas and ethanol, have been
developed without major changes in engine structure. A conceptual structure of SI
engines fueled with gasoline and operating on the Otto cycle is illustrated in Figure 3.1.
It consists of a powering system (crankshaft, connection rod, piston, and cylinders),
intake and exhaust system (air filter, throttle, inlet and exhaust manifolds, inlet and
exhaust valves, and valve control cams), fuel supply (fuel tank [not shown], fuel
pump [not shown], and fuel injectors), ignition system (battery [not shown], ignition
coils [not shown], and spark plugs), cooling system (coolant, water pump radiator
[not shown]), and lubricating system (not shown).
In most cases, the combustion of the air–fuel mixture formed within the inlet manifold
and trapped in the cylinder produces heat, and then the temperature and pressure in
the cylinder increase quickly. Thus, the piston is forced to move down. The connection
rod transfers the linear movement of the piston into rotation of the crankshaft.
A four-stroke SI engine has four instinctive processes corresponding to the four strokes of
each piston,1,2 as shown in Figure 3.2.

1. Induction-stroke (cylinder filling process): While the piston travels down the cylin-
der from its top dead center (TDC), the valve cam opens the inlet valves and closes
the exhaust valves. The air–fuel mixture formed in the inlet manifold is drawn into
the cylinder, as shown in Figure 3.2a, until the piston arrives at its bottom dead cen-
ter (BDC), where the valve cam closes the inlet valves (both inlet and exhaust valves
are in a closed state).

51
52 Modern Electric, Hybrid Electric, and Fuel Cell Vehicles

Fuel Spark Valve

Air filter Throttle
injector plug cam
Exhaust
valve

Exhaust
Inlet manifold
manifold
Cylinder
Inlet
valve Piston
Coolant

Crank case
Connection rod
Crankshaft

Sump

FIGURE 3.1
Spark-ignited gasoline engine.

2. Compression-stroke: While both the inlet and exhaust valves are closed, and the
piston travels up the cylinder from its BDC, the in-charged air–fuel mixture in
the cylinder is compressed, as shown in Figure 3.2b. As the piston approaches its
TDC, the spark plug produces a spark, igniting the compressed air–fuel mixture
in the cylinder, as shown in Figure 3.2c, and then starting a very quick combustion

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

Induction Compression Ignition Expansion Exhaust

FIGURE 3.2
Four strokes of a SP engine.
Internal Combustion Engines 53

of the compressed air–fuel mixture, which in turn causes a very sharp rise in the
pressure and temperature in the cylinder.
3. Expansion stroke (power producing or working process): After the piston goes
across the TDC, the high pressure in the cycler pushes the piston downward, as
shown in Figure 3.2d. The piston transmits the pressure in the cylinder, through
the connection rod, into force, which then turns the crankshaft. At the end the
expansion stroke, the exhaust valve opens, and irreversible expansion of the
exhaust gases blows out the exhaust valve.
4. Exhaust stroke: After the piston goes across the BDC, the exhaust valve remains
open, and as the piston travels up the cylinder, the remaining combustion residual
gases in the cylinder are expelled, as shown in Figure 3.2e. At end of the exhaust
stroke, the exhaust valve closes. However, some exhaust gas residuals will be
left. This exhaust dilutes the next charge. Following this stroke, the induction stroke
of the next cycle starts.

One cycle is completed every two revolutions of the crankshaft (720 degrees of crank
shaft movement). The power-producing stroke takes only one-fourth (180 degrees of
crankshaft) of the complete cycle. The gear driver camshaft (for opening and closing the
valves) must be driven by the mechanism operating at half crankshaft speed (engine speed).
Some of the power from the expansion stroke is stored in the flywheel to provide the energy
for another three strokes.

3.1.2 Operation Parameters

3.1.2.1 Rating Values
The common parameters that engine manufacturers advertise in their product technical
specifications to indicate the key performance of the engine must include the following:

Maximum Rated Power: The highest power that an engine is allowed to develop for a
short period of operation.
Normal Rated Power: The highest power that an engine is allowed to develop in
continuous operation.
Rated Speed: The rotational speed of the crankshaft, at which the rated power is devel-
oped. For vehicle application, engine performance is more precisely defined by
1. The maximum power (or maximum torque): available at each speed within the
useful engine operating speed range,
2. The range of speed and the power over which engine operation is satisfactory.
3.1.2.2 Indicated Torque and Indicated Mean Effective Pressure
The engine torque can be determined by the pressure variation in the cylinders along the
crankshaft rotation. The term “indicated” means that the torque or power of the engine is
evaluated in the scope of thermodynamics (pressure and volume of cylinder), not including
any mechanical losses in the whole power development and transmission process. Figure 3.3
conceptually illustrates pressure variation in a cylinder along with crankshaft rotation
angle. A more comprehensive diagram for demonstrating the working process of pressure
in a cylinder is a pressure volume (PV) diagram, as shown in Figure 3.4.
68 Modern Electric, Hybrid Electric, and Fuel Cell Vehicles

3.2 Compression Ignition Engine

CI engines normally use diesel for fuel. The CI engine has operation principles similar to
those of an SI engine. It also has four distinctive strokes—induction, compression, expan-
sion, and exhaust. However, in CI engines, air alone is inducted into the cylinder. The
fuel is injected directly into the cylinder just before the piston reaches the TDC. High tem-
perature in the compressed air ignites the fuel. Air flow at a given engine speed is essentially
unchanged, and load control is achieved by varying the amount of fuel injected at each cycle.
Compared with SI engines, a CI engine works differently as follows:

1. The compression ratio is higher.

2. During the initial part of compression, only air is present.
3. The fuel–air mixture is always stoichiometrically weak.

These operation characteristics result in better fuel efficiency than in an SI engine. Further-
more, the CI engine is, in general, designed to operate at lower speeds, and consequently,
friction losses are smaller.
Since the fuel–air ratio in a CI engine is always lean, CO emission is much lower than in SI
engines and can be negligible. Unburned HCs in a properly regulated diesel engine come
from two sources. First, around the perimeters of the reaction zone there is a mixture that
is too lean to burn, and the longer the delay period, the greater the amount of HC emissions
from this source. However, there is a delay period below which no further reductions in HC
emissions are obtained. Under these conditions, the HC emissions mostly originate from a
second source: the fuel retained in the nozzle sac (the space between the nozzle seat and the
spray holes) and the spray holes. Fuel from these sources can enter the combustion chamber
late in the cycle, thereby producing HC emissions.
The formation of NOx is strongly dependent on temperature, the local concentration of
oxygen, and the duration of combustion. Thus, in diesel engines, NOx is formed during
the diffusion combustion phase, on the weak side of the reaction zone. Reducing the
diffusion-controlled combustion duration by increasing the rate of injection leads to a reduc-
tion in NOx emissions. Retarding the injection timing also reduces the NOx emissions since
the later injection leads to lower temperature. However, injection retardation reduces the
fuel efficiency of the engine and increases the exhaust temperature.
The black smoke from diesel engines originates from the fuel-rich side of the reaction
zone in the diffusion-controlled combustion phase. After the rapid combustion at the
end of the delay period, the subsequent combustion of the fuel is controlled by the rates
of diffusion of air into the fuel vapor and vice versa and the diffusion of the combustion
products away from the reaction zone. Carbon particles are formed by the thermal decom-
position (cracking) of the large HC molecules, and soot particles form by agglomera-
tion. The soot particles are oxidized when they enter the lean side of the reaction zone,
and further oxidation occurs during the expansion stroke after the end of the diffusion
combustion phase.
Smoke generation is increased by the high temperature in the fuel-rich zone during diffu-
sion combustion. Smoke emission can be reduced by shortening the diffusion combustion
phase because this gives less time for soot formation and more time for soot oxidation.
The diffusion phase can be shortened by increased swirl, more rapid rejection, and a finer
fuel spray. Advancing the injection timing can also reduce smoke.
Internal Combustion Engines 69

3.3 Alternative Fuels and Alternative Fuel Engines

To date, fuels consumed in transportation have been dominated by petroleum prod-
ucts, gasoline and diesel. With concerns over Petroleum supply and the environment,
interest is growing in switching a portion of traditional transportation fuels to alternative,
nonpetroleum-based fuels. The development of electrical vehicles is a good practice. Due
to the limitations of battery technologies, however, utilization of electric vehicles is still
constrained in a relatively small scope. Charge-sustainable hybrid vehicles discussed in
this book are still categorized in the vehicle section of traditional-fueled vehicles but
with a significant improvement since their primary power sources, IC engines, are still
fueled by gasoline or diesel. Plug-in hybrid vehicles can displace a portion of gasoline
or diesel to electrical energy, but they still need an IC engine as the primary power source.
This section will briefly review the technologies of alternative-fuel engines that can be
used to replace the single power sources of conventional vehicles and the primary power
sources of hybrid vehicles.

3.3.1 Alternative Fuels

The alternative fuels considered to be the most promising at present for fueling IC engines
are ethanol, compressed natural gas (CNG), propane, and biodiesel. Table 3.1 shows com-
parisons of the afore mentioned fuels with gasoline and diesel.

3.3.1.1 Ethanol and Ethanol Engine

Ethanol is produced by fermentation from various plant materials collectively known as
“biomass,” such as sugar cane stalk, corn grain, sweet potato roots, cassava roots, and
wood. Ethanol is a renewable energy source. Compared with gasoline, ethanol as SI engine
fuel has the following advantages over gasoline:

1. High-octane value and high auto-ignition temperature allow an SI engine to use

a high compression ratio, potentially enhancing the fuel utilization efficiency.
2. High latent heat value of vaporization effectively reduces the temperature of the
air–fuel mixture in the manifold, potentially enhancing the volumetric efficiency
of the engine (more air–fuel mixture is drawn into the cylinders).

Ethanol has some disadvantages, as compared with gasoline:

1. High latent heat value of vaporization may cause low vaporization degree at com-
pression stroke, perhaps making cold starts difficult.
2. Its low energy density requires a larger fuel tank for similar traveling distances per
tank of fuel.

Burning ethanol in a gasoline engine does not require changing the engine structure and
control system hardware, but the control software should be changed to allow greater
fuel injection, compared to burning gasoline, to maintain the air–fuel ratio at around its
stoichiometric value (14.7 for gasoline, 9 for ethanol).
70 Modern Electric, Hybrid Electric, and Fuel Cell Vehicles

TABLE 3.1
Property Comparison of Alternative Fuels with Gasoline and Diesel
No. 2 Compressed
Property Gasoline Diesel Ethanol Natural Gas Propane Hydrogen Biodiesel

Chemical formula C4 to C12 C8 to C25 C2H5OH CH4 (83%–89%) C3H8 H2 C12-C22

hydrocarbon hydrocarbon C2H6 (1%–13%) FAME
Molecular weight 100–105 ∼200 46.07 16.04 44.1 2.02 ∼292
Carbon mass % 85–88 87 52.2 75 82 0 77
Hydrogen mass % 12–15 13 13.1 25 18 100 12
Oxygen mass % 0 0 49.9 – – 0 11
Low heating value, 43.4 42.8 26.9 47.1 46.3 121.5 37.5
mJ=kg
Octane No.
Research octane No. 88–98 – 108.6 127þ 112 130þ –
Motor octane No. 80–88 – 89.7 122 97 – –
Autoignition 257 210 365 482–632 450 500 –
temperature,  C
Flammability limits, volume %
Lower 1.4 1 4.3 5.3 2.2 4.1 –
Higher 7.6 6 19 15 9.5 74 –
Stoichiometric 14.7 14.7 9 17.2 15.7 34.3 13.8
air–fuel ratio,
weight
Latent heat of 348 232 921 509 449 447 –
evaporation, kJ=kg,
at 15 C

An ethanol-fueled engine may experience difficulties with cold starts in a cold envi-
ronment due to a higher latent heat value of vaporization. A common method for over-
coming this difficulty is to blend in a certain portion of gasoline, such as E85, which is
widely used in the United States. In addition, a heavy-duty ignition system may be
helpful by increasing the ignition energy. The spark timing may be more advanced than
burning gasoline.

3.3.1.2 Compressed Natural Gas and Natural Gas Engine

Natural gas is a gaseous fuel at room temperature with a much lower energy density than
liquid fuels. A general way of storing natural gas onboard a vehicle is to compress it into a
high-strength cylinder with a pressure of 20–30 MPa; a pressure regulator is used to reduce
the high pressure to feed the engine.
Natural gas, compared with gasoline, has the advantage of having a very high octane
number and auto-ignition temperature. This unique characteristic allows engines to be
designed with a much higher compression ratio than burning gasoline, without the
“knocking” problem. It is well known that a high compression ratio can significantly
enhance the thermal efficiency of an engine. Its disadvantage is also well known: it requires
a bulky and heavy gas storage tank (cylinders).
Internal Combustion Engines 71

There are three types of natural-gas-fueled engines:

1. Dedicated
A dedicated CNG engine is designed to run only on CNG. The engine is designed to
have a higher compression ratio and a dedicated fuel supply and control system.
Due to its dedicated characteristic, it generally has better performance than the
two other types of engine.
2. Bi-fuel
Bi-fuel engines have two separate fueling systems that enable them to run on either
natural gas or gasoline. The bi-fuel systems are controlled by an engine manage-
ment system that enables the engine to switch between CNG and gasoline mode.
In CNG mode, the compressed gas in the fuel tank is fed via the fuel rail to a pres-
sure regulator that reduces the gas pressure. Natural gas injectors inject precisely
the required amount of gas into the inlet manifold. The air–gas mixture is then
ignited by a spark plug. Currently, there are many conversion kit packages avail-
able on the market that can be used to easily convert a gasoline engine into a
bi-fuel (gasoline and CNG) engine easily.
The main advantage of a bi-fuel engine is that it can fully utilize cheaper CNG
and, at the same time, retain the flexibility of burning gasoline. Obviously, the
engine cannot use a high compression ratio as a dedicated CNG engine; thus, the
high-octane value of CNG cannot be fully used.
3. Dual-fuel
A typical dual-fuel engine is a CI engine that is fueled with natural gas and diesel.
Burning both diesel and natural gas does not require changing the basic configura-
tion of a CI engine. What is needed is to add a gas fueling system that operates in
parallel with the diesel fueling system. The operating principle is shown in
Figure 3.15.
In the intake stroke, as shown in Figure 3.15a, the natural gas, which is injected into the
manifold by the gas injector and mixed with air, is drawn into the cylinder as the piston
moves downward. After the piston goes across the BDC and continuously moves upward,
the mixture of air/natural gas is compressed, as illustrated in Figure 3.15b. As the piston
approaches the TDC, the diesel injector injects a certain amount of diesel into the cylinder,
as illustrated in Figure 3.15c. The hot mixture of air/natural gas immediately ignites the

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Natural gas Natural gas Natural gas Natural gas
injector injector injector injector
Diesel Diesel Diesel Diesel
Air in Air in Air in Air in injector
injector injector injector

Air/natural Air/natural Air/natural Air/natural

mixture mixture mixture mixture

FIGURE 3.15
Natural gas–diesel dual-fuel engine.
72 Modern Electric, Hybrid Electric, and Fuel Cell Vehicles

diesel. The burning diesel further ignites the mixture of air/natural gas. The engine then
goes into its expansion stroke, as shown in Figure 3.15d.
A CI engine usually has a higher compression ratio than a gasoline engine. The high com-
pression ratio would not cause auto-ignition of the mixture of air/natural gas due to the high
auto-ignition temperature of the natural gas. A high compression ratio can significantly
enhance the thermal efficiency of an engine.
This duel-fuel engine can also be operated only with diesel, which makes the engine more
fuel flexible.

3.3.1.3 Enhanced Hydrogen (H2 Combustion)

The addition of H2, which has a much higher lower heating value (LHV) compared to gas-
oline (Table 3.1), to the combustion process increases the laminar velocity of combustion,
which improves combustion stability and permits the engine to run closer to the lean limit,
perhaps with increased levels of external EGR, thereby improving emissions and perfor-
mance. Further, knock resistance can be improved due to the reduced burn duration and
slower auto-ignition chemistry, which facilitates an increase in compression ratio ϵ, improv-
ing the overall engine efficiency and fuel consumption.
The addition of H2 can be done externally, either by direct storage or onboard generation
using methanol reformers or electrolysis of water.

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