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ENGINE PERFORMANCE

INTRODUCTION
Engine performance is an indication of the degree of success of
the engine performs its assigned task, i.e. the conversion of the chemical
energy contained in the fuel into the useful mechanical work. The
performance of an engine is evaluated on the basis of the following;
(a) Specific Fuel Consumption.
(b) Brake Mean Effective Pressure.
(c) Specific Power Output.
(d) Specific Weight.
(e) Exhaust Smoke and Other Emissions.

Basic measurements:
The basic measurements to be undertaken to evaluate the performance of
an engine on almost all tests are the following:
(a) Speed
(b) Fuel consumption
(c) Air consumption
(d) Smoke density
(e) Brake horse-power
(f) Indicated horse power and friction horse power
(g) Heat balance sheet or performance of SI and CI engine
(h) Exhaust gas analysis
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Schematic test arrangement for an engine

Five important engine efficiencies are:

 Indicated thermal efficiency (ηith)
 Brake thermal efficiency(ηbth)
 Mechanical efficiency (ηm)
 Volumetric efficiency (ηv)
 Relative efficiency or Efficiency ratio (ηr)
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Engine performance test

To ensure that an IC engine can constantly perform in the optimal

working state, it is necessary to know the general relationships of the
engine speed versus its fuel consumption and the engine speed versus its
output torque.
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Basic Power Measurements

In general, and as indicated in the figure, the energy flow and
energy losses through the engine are expressed as three distinct
categories of power. They are indicated power (ip) , friction power
(fp) , and brake power (bp).

The indicated power output

The indicated power, IP, is the power output you would
calculate from a p-V indicator diagram (the net work transferred from
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the gas to the piston during a cycle). It is based on the gross cycle work
done during the compression and expansion strokes.

W  P dV
All expressions below are for 4-stroke cycle engines, which have the
number of revolutions per engine cycle equal to 2, the number of
cylinders, nc.

net work from gas cycles   N


IP  Wi  number of cylinders
per cyl per cycle sec
 nc
  pdV

 comp.expn.  2
IP  W  n W N
i c i four stroke engine
2

IP  W n W N two stroke engine

i c i

since the four-stroke engine has two revolutions per power stroke and
the two-stroke engine has one revolution per power stroke.

The brake power output

The brake power, BP, is the rate at which work is done; and the

engine torque, b, is a measure of the work done per unit rotation
(radians) of the crank. The brake power is the power output of the
engine, and measured by a dynamometer. The brake power is less than
the indicated power due to engine mechanical friction, pumping losses in
the intake and exhaust. The brake power is related to the brake torque,
 b , which you will measure, and the angular velocity
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BP  W b   b 2N 
Many modern automobile engines have maximum torque in the
200 to 300 N-m range at engine speeds usually around 4000 to 6000
RPM. The point of maximum torque is called maximum brake torque
speed (MBT). CI engines generally have greater torque than SI engines.
Large engines often have very high torque values with MBT at relatively
low speed. Other ways which are sometimes used to classify engines are
shown in Eqs.
Specific power = B.P / Ap
Power per displacement = B.P / Vd
where: Ap = piston area of all pistons Vd = displacement
volume

The Friction power

Friction power (fp), it was indicated that some of the power
which is produced in the cylinder is not delivered at the driveshaft. This
power, which is the difference between the power produced (ip) and the
useful power delivered (bp), is termed friction power (fp).
FP = IP - BP

Mean Effective Pressure

The mean effective pressure (mep) is the work done per unit
displacement volume, and has units of force/area. It is the average
pressure that results in the same amount of work actually produced by
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the engine. The mean effective pressure is a very useful parameter as it

scales out the effect of engine size, allowing performance comparison of
engines of different displacement. There are three useful mean effective
pressure parameters-imep, bmep, and fmep.
BP BP
BMEP  
.
Vcy  N
D 2 Lst nc
4 2  60
IP IP
IMEP  
.  N
Vcy D 2 Lst nc
4 2  60
FMEP = IMEP − BMEP

The mean piston speed, Up is an important parameter in engine design

since stresses and other factors scale with piston speed rather than with
engine speed. Since the piston travels a distance of twice the stroke per
revolution, it should be clear that
Up = 2 Lst N/ 60
The engine speed, N, refers to the rotational speed of the crankshaft and
is expressed in revolutions per minute.

Specific Fuel Consumption

The specific fuel consumption is a comparative metric for the
efficiency of converting the chemical energy of the fuel into work
produced by the engine. As with the mean effective pressure, there are
two specific fuel consumption parameters, brake and indicated. The
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brake specific fuel consumption (bsfc) is the fuel flow rate m f , divided
by the brake power BP. It has three terms that are standard
measurements in an engine test: the fuel flow rate, the torque, and the
engine speed:
f
m
BSFC 
BP
The indicated specific fuel consumption (isfc) is the ratio of the mass of
fuel injected during a cycle to the indicated cylinder work, and is used to
compare engine performance in computational simulations that do not
include the engine friction.
f
m
ISFC 
IP
Typical values of measured bsfc for naturally aspirated automobile
engines depend on the engine load, with values ranging from about 200
to 400 g/kWh. The specific fuel consumption and engine efficiency are
inversely related, so that the lower the specific fuel consumption, the
greater the engine efficiency.
In SI units the BSFC is expressed in kg/kWh. When expressed in these
units the BSFC is related to ηb through
3600
BSFC  .
b C.V
 Low values of sfc are desirable,
 for SI-engines 250 – 270 g/kW.h for
 CI-engines, 200 g/kW.h
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ENGINE EFFICIENCIES
Mechanical efficiency
The ratio of the brake power to the indicated power is the

mechanical efficiency, m . The value of FP does not change greatly

with load so that the mechanical efficiency increases from zero to its
maximum value at a given speed, usual in the range from 0.7 to 0.9.
BP IP  FP FP
m    1
IP IP IP

Combustion efficiency
The time available for the combustion process of an engine cycle
is very brief, and not all fuel molecules may find an oxygen molecule
with which to combine, or the local temperature may not favor a
reaction. Consequently, a small fraction of fuel does not react and exits

with the exhaust flow. Combustion efficiency comb is defined to

account for the fraction of fuel which burns. comb typically have values
in the range 0.95 to 0.98 when an engine is operating properly.

Thermal efficiency
The thermal efficiency is essentially a measure of how well the
engine converts the chemical energy of the fuel into shaft work. Since
the water in the products leaves the engine in the vapor phase, it is
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conventional to use the lower heating value of the fuel, C.V, along with
the mass flow rate of fuel in the expression for brake power:
BP BP
b  .
 .
Qin mf C.V

Convenient units are kW for BP, kg/s for mass flow of fuel, and kJ/kg
for C.V.

IP IP
i  .

Qin m.f C.V

The fuel flow is related to the airflow through:

f m
m  aF where F is the fuel-air ratio

F = F/A
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Volumetric Efficiency
A performance parameter of importance for four-stroke engines is

the volumetric efficiency,  v . It is defined as the mass of fuel and air

inducted into the cylinder divided by the mass that would occupy the
displaced volume at the density ρa in the intake manifold. The flow
restrictions in the intake system, including the throttle, intake port, and
valve, create a pressure drop in the inlet flow, which reduces the density
and thus the mass of the gas in the cylinder. The volumetric efficiency is
a mass ratio and not a volume ratio. The volumetric efficiency for an
engine operating at a speed N is thus
.
ma
v  .
ct

mcy
N
.
mcy   a Vc
2
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Volumetric efficiency is affected by pressure and temperature at the end

of induction, residual gas pressure and temperature, and compression
ratio.

Volumetric efficiency is affected by the fuel, engine design and engine

operating variables,
 Fuel type, F/A ratio, fraction of fuel vaporized in intake system
and fuel heat of vaporization
 Mixture as influenced by heat transfer
 Ratio of exhaust to inlet manifold pressure
 Compression ratio
 Engine speed
 Intake and exhaust manifold and port design
 Intake and exhaust valve geometry, size, lift and timing

Relative efficiency or Efficiency ratio (ηr)

Relative efficiency or Efficiency ratio is the ratio of thermal
efficiency of an actual cycle to that of the ideal cycle.

Actual thermal efficiency

 rel 
Air standard effifiency
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Effect of fuel-Air ratio on performance

The fuel to air ratio plays an important role in the combustion

process. In a gasoline engine fuel intake is throttled to obtain an ideal
fuel-air ratio for optimum emission, fuel economy, and good engine
performance.
 In spark-ignition engines the ideal air to fuel ratio (A/F ratio) is
14.7:1 which is referred to as stoichiometry. An air to fuel ratio
higher than stoichiometry has an impact on fuel economy and
emissions and an A/F ratio lower than stoichiometry influences
the power, drivability and emissions.
 A lean air/fuel mixture (equivalence ratio less than unity) will
burn more slowly and will have a lower maximum temperature
than a less lean mixture. Slower combustion will lead to lower
peak pressures, and both this and the lower peak temperature will
reduce the tendency for knock to occur.
 The air/fuel mixture also affects the engine efficiency and power
output. Maximum power will be with a rich mixture when as
much as possible of the oxygen is consumed; this implies unburnt
fuel and reduced efficiency. Conversely, for maximum economy
as much of the fuel should be burnt as possible, implying a weak
mixture with excess oxygen present. When the air/fuel mixture
becomes too weak the combustion becomes incomplete and the
efficiency again falls.
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Heat balance sheet

The performance of an engine is usually studied by heat balance-sheet.
The main components of the heat balance are:
 Heat equivalent to the effective (brake) work of the engine,
 Heat rejected to the cooling medium,
 Heat carried away from the engine with the exhaust gases, and
 Unaccounted losses (radiation etc.).
The unaccounted losses include the radiation losses from the various
parts of the engine and heat lost due to incomplete combustion. The
friction loss is not shown as a separate item to the heat balance-sheet as
the friction loss ultimately reappears as heat in cooling water, exhaust
and radiation.

Heat balance sheet for CI engine

Item S.I. Engine C.I. Engine

Heat converted to useful work (i.p.) 25 to 32% 36 to 45%
Heat carried away by cooling water 30 to 33% 28 to 30%
Heat carried away by exhaust gases 28 to 35% 20 to 29%
Heat unaccounted for 7 to 10% 5 to 7%
Total (= Energy supplied) 100% 100%
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VALVE TIMING

INTRODUCTION
The exact moment at which the inlet and outlet valve opens and
closes with reference to the position of the piston and crank shaft is
known as valve timing diagram. It is expressed in terms of degree crank
angle. As described in the ideal cycle inlet and exhaust valves open and
close at dead centers, but in actual cycles they open or close before or
after dead centers as in the table below.
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Theoretical valve timing diagram

Actual valve timing at low and high speed

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The Fig. shows the intake valve timing diagram for both low speed and
high speed S.I. engines.

Valve timing at low and high speed

Intake valve timing

 It is seen that for both low speed and high speed engine the intake
valve opens 100 before the arrival of the piston at TDC on the
exhaust stroke. This is to insure that the valve will be fully open
and the fresh charge starting to flow into the cylinder as soon
as possible after TDC.

 As the piston moves out in the suction stroke, the fresh charge is
drawn in through the intake port and valve. When the piston
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reaches the BDC and starts to move in the compression stroke, the
inertia of the entering fresh charge tends to cause it to
continue to move into the cylinder. To take advantage of this,
the intake valve is closed after BDC so that maximum air is taken
in. This is called ram effect.
 At low engine speed, the charge speed is low and so the air
inertia is low, and hence the intake valve should close relatively
early after BDC for a slow speed engine.
 In high speed engines, the charge speed is high and consequently
the inertia is high and hence to induct maximum quantity of
charge due to ram effect the intake valve should close relatively
late after BDC.

Exhaust valve timing

The exhaust valve is set to open before BDC, say about 250 before BDC
in low speed engines and 550 before BDC in high speed engines.
 If the exhaust valve did not start to open until BDC, the pressures
in the cylinder would be considerably above atmospheric
pressure during the first portion of the exhaust stroke,
increasing the work required to expel the exhaust gases.
 Opening the exhaust valve earlier reduces the pressure near
the end of the power stroke and thus causes some loss of useful
work.
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 The overall effect of opening the valve prior to the time the
piston reaches BDC results in overall gain in output.
 By closing the exhaust valve a few degrees after TDC (about 5 0 in
case of low speed engines and 200 in case of high speed engines)
the inertia of the exhaust gases tends to scavenge the cylinder
by carrying out a greater mass of the gas left in the clearance
volume. This results in increased volumetric efficiency.

Valve overlap
 A period when both the intake and exhaust valves are open at the
same time. This is called valve overlap (say about 15 0 in low speed
engine and 300 in high speed engines).
 This overlap should not be excessive otherwise it will allow the
burned gases to be sucked into the intake manifold, or the fresh
charge to escape through the exhaust valve.
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Throttle valve

 All spark ignition engines require a method of reducing or

increasing engine power output during operation.

 An Intake throttle valve is used to restrict airflow into the

engine so that a suitable air/fuel ratio is maintained during
load operation.

Operation at full load

The figure illustrates typical full throttle and part throttle indicator
diagrams for a four-stroke cycle SI engine. There are two distinct areas:
 Area A is a measure of the indicated net work produced in the
cylinder.
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 Area B is usually termed the pumping loop, and is a measure

of the pumping losses encountered during the cycle.
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 A full (open) throttle offers much less restriction to the flow of

the air-fuel mixture and a greater mass of mixture, therefore,
enters the combustion chamber, causing loop A to be greater
at full throttle.
Operation at part load
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 At part throttle, the restriction to flow offered by the throttle

reduces the mass of fresh charge entering the combustion
chamber, and therefore reduces the area of loop A and the
work output.
 Engines with supercharging or turbochargers have intake
pressure greater than exhaust pressure, giving a positive
pump work as shown in Figure (c).

Typical full throttle and part throttle indicator diagrams