question 1: Operating four Cycle

• Also known as the otto cycle or four stroke five event

• Two complete revolutions of the crankshafts (7200) are required for the four
strokes thus each cylinder in an engine of this type fires once in every 2
revolutions of the crankshafts.

1. Intake stroke
➢ During the intake stroke in pulled downward in the cylinder by rotation of the
crankshaft.
➢ Pressure reduces in the cylinder and causes air under atmospheric pressure to
flow through the carburettor, which meters the correct amount of fuel.
➢ Air fuel mixture enters the cylinder through intake valve (quantity or weight of
the fuel/ air charge depends upon the degree of throttle opening)
➢ Intake valve opens before the piston reaches TDC on the exhaust stroke, in
order to induce a greater quantity into the cylinder and thus increase the
horsepower
➢ Valve overlap takes place during this stroke which is designed to aid in cooling
the cylinder internally
➢ The intake valve is timed to close about 500 to 750 passed BDC on the
compression stroke.

2. Compression stroke
➢ After the intake valve is closed, the continued upward travel of the [piston
compresses the air fuel mixture to obtain the desired burning and expansion
characteristics.
➢ Ignition event takes place during this stroke
➢ The charge is fired by means of an electric spark as the piston reaches TDC.
➢ The time of ignition varies from 200 to 350 before TDC, to unsure complete
combustion of the charge by the time piston is slightly passed the TDC position.
➢ Since many factors can affect ignition timing, hence devices are used to adjust
it according to the engine manufacturer’s recommendation.

3. Power Stroke
➢ Piston moves through the TDC position at the end of the compression stroke
and starts down the power stroke.
➢ Due to the rapid expansion of the burning gases within the cylinder head the
piston is pushed downwards with force.
➢ The temperature of the burning gases maybe between 3000-4000 0F
➢ The downward movement of the connecting rod is changed to a rotary
movement by the crankshaft which is transmitted to the propeller shaft to drive
the propeller.
➢ As the burning gases are expanded, the temperature drops within safe limits
before the exhaust gases flow out through the exhaust port.
➢ The valve is opened 50-750 before BDC on the power stroke.

4. Exhaust Stroke
 ➢ Piston travels through BDC at the completion of the power stroke and starts
upward on the exhaust stroke.
➢ It pushes the burned exhaust gases out the exhaust port creating a low
pressure in the cylinder
➢ This low pressure speeds the flow of the fresh fuel/air charged into the
cylinder as the intake valve begins to open
➢ The intake valve opening occurs at 80 to 550 before TDC on the exhaust
stroke.

Question 2: Types of piston engine

Aircraft engines are classified by several methods such as: operating cycles, cylinder
arrangement or the method of thrust production.
1. Classification according to cylinder arrangement:
There are 4 major types of arrangement
➢ Inline: it generally has even number of cylinders placed to provide balance
of fire impulses. The cylinders of an in-line engine are arranged in a single row
parallel to the crankshaft. The cylinders are either upright or inverted i.e., below the
crankshaft. It utilizes one crankshaft and the engine may either be air-cooled or
liquid cooled.
➢ Opposed or O-type: the opposed type engine has two banks of cylinder directly
opposite to each other. the piston of both cylinders is connected to single
crankshaft. This type of engine has a low weight-to-horsepower ratio. they are air
as well as liquid cooled but air cooled is used predominantly in aviation, it has
various advantages e.g., low vibration and ideal for horizontal installation on air
craft wings.
➢ V-type Engine: this type of engines has the cylinder arranged on the crankcase in
two rows (or banks) forming the letter V, with an angle between the banks of 90,
60, or 450. there are always an even number of cylinders in each row. Since
the two banks of the cylinders are opposite to each other, two sets of
connecting rods can operate on the same crankpin, thus reducing the weight
per horsepower compared to inline engine. cylinders can be above the
crankshaft of the engine (upright V-type engine) or below the crankshaft
(inverted V-type engine)
➢ Radial engine: it consists of rows of cylinder arranged radially from the centre
line of the crankshaft. Types of radial engine are single-row (all the pistons
are connected to a single-throw 3600 crankshaft) and double row (a 2 throw
1800 crankshaft is used to permit the cylinder in each row to be alternately
staggered on the common crankcase). This engine is proven to be rugged
and dependable.

2. Classification according to operating cycles:

➢ Four strokes: it is also called as otto cycle or four-stroke-five-events which
includes intake stroke, compression stroke, ignition, power stroke and exhaust
stroke. Two complete revolutions of the crankshaft (7200) are required for the
four stroke and ignition takes place once every two revolutions.
 ➢ Two strokes: in this type of cycle, engine requires only one upstroke and one
down stroke of the piston to complete the required series of events in the
cylinder. The engine completes the operating cycles in one revolution of the
crankshaft and 2 events take place simultaneously such as intake and exhaust
stroke.
➢ Rotary cycle: the rotary cycle has a three-sided rotor that turns inside an
elliptical housing, completing three of the four cycles for each revolution. They
can be single rotor or multi rotor and can be air cooled or water cooled. Vibration
characteristics are low for this type of engine.
➢ Diesel cycle: this cycle depends on high compression pressures to provide for
the ignition of the fuel/air charge mixture in the cylinder. There are many types
of diesel cycles, in use including two-stroke and four-stroke diesels.

3. Classification on basis of cooling method.

➢ Air cooled: the medium used for cooling is air. For this method of cooling fins
(on the cylinder heads and barrel) or baffle plates that are aluminium sheets
placed between the cylinders to direct air or circulate air between the cylinders
and provide overall cooling. This method provides more efficient cooling.
➢ Liquid cooled: instead of fins around the cylinder, walls also called as jacket are
used that passes through a solvent cooling the cylinders. The thrust-to-weight
ratio is not favourable as the coolant needs space to be stored and requires
pumps, filters, pipelines and sometimes coolers.

4. Classification based on type lubrication system.

➢ wet sump: this type of lubrication system stores the oil in a reservoir inside the
cylinder engine itself. After the oil circulates through the engine, it is returned to
the crankcase-based reservoir.
➢ dry sump: the engine in this type of system pumps the oil from the engines
crankcase to an external tank that stores the oil. The dry system uses a
scavange pump, some external tubing and an external tank to store the oil.

5. Classification based on the use of supercharger

➢ Supercharged or non-supercharged

Question 3. Types of propeller

There are various types or classes of propellers the simplest of which are fixed-pitch
and ground-adjustable propellers and complex such as controllable-pitch and
constant-speed systems.
1. Fixed-Pitch propeller: this propeller has the blade pitch or blade angle built into
the propeller. The blade angle cannot be changed after the propeller is built.
This type of propeller is one piece and is constructed of wood or aluminium
 alloy they are designed for best efficiency at one rotational and forward speed.
It is used on airplanes with low speed, power, range or altitude and are less
expensive with simple operations. This type of propeller does not require any
control input from the pilot in flight.
2. Ground-adjustable propeller: this propeller operates as a fixed-pitch propeller
the pitch, or blade angle, can be changed only when the propeller is not turning.
This is done by loosening the clamping mechanism that holds the blades in
place. After the clamping mechanism has been tightened, the pitch of the
blades cannot be changed in flight to meet variable flight requirements. The
ground-adjustable propeller is not often used on present-day aeroplanes.
3. Controllable-pitch propeller: this type permits a change of blade pitch, or blade
angle, while the propeller is rotating. The number of pitch positions maybe
limited between the minimum and maximum pitch settings for a given propeller.
The use of this propeller makes it possible to attain the desired engine RPM
manually. The pilot must change the propeller blade angle directly.
4. Constant-speed propeller: unlike the controllable pitch propeller this type is
automatic. To provide an efficient propeller the speed in this type is always kept
constant as possible, so by the use of propeller governors the propeller pitch
increases or decreases automatically as the aircraft climbs or dives. Pitch
changing mechanisms used is operated by oil pressure (hydrolically).
5. Feathering Propellers: it is type of constant speed propeller used on multi-
engine aircraft to change the pitch of an angle to aprx. 900. They are used to
reduce propeller drag to a minimum under one or more engine failure
conditions. with the blades parallel to the air stream, the propeller stops turning
and minimum windmilling occurs. The blades are held in feathers by
aerodynamic forces,
6. Reverse-pitch propellers: they are of feathering type in which the blade value
can be changed to a negative value during operation. The purpose of the
reversable pitch feather is to produce a negative blade angle that produces
thrust opposite the normal forward direction. They are usually used when the
landing gear is in contact with the runway after landing, to slow down the speed
of the aircraft. They also reduce aircraft speed quickly on the runway just after
touchdown and minimizes aircraft break wear.

Question no. 4: aerodynamic forces acting on a propeller blade

1. Centrifugal force: is a physical force that tends to throw the rotating propeller
blade away from the hub. It is the most dominant force on the propeller.
2. Torque bending force: in the form of air resistance, tends to bend the
propeller blades in the direction opposite that of rotation.
3. Thrust bending force: is the thrust load that tends to bend propeller blades
forward as the aircraft is pulled through the air.
4. Aerodynamic twisting force: tends to turn the blade to a high blade angle.
5. Centrifugal twisting force: being greater than the aerodynamic twisting force,
tends to force the blades towards a low blade angle.
-jinal