COMBUSTION IN S.I & C.

I ENGINES
Combustion may be defined as a relatively rapid chemical
combination of hydrogen and carbon in fuel with oxygen in air
resulting in liberation of energy in the form of heat.

Following conditions are necessary for combustion to take

place

1.The presence of combustible mixture

2.Some means to initiate mixture
3. Stabilization and propagation of flame in combustion
chamber

In SI Engines, carburettor supplies a combustible mixture of

petrol and air and spark plug initiates combustion.
Valve Timing Diagrams
Ideal(Theoretical) and Actual Valve Timing diagrams: SI engines (Otto cycle)
Ideal(Theoretical) and Actual Valve Timing diagrams: CI engines (Diesel cycle)
 Theoretical P-θ diagram
(Pressure Crank angle diagram)
THREE STAGE OF COMBUSTION
1. Ignition Lag stage (AB)
2. Flame propagation stage(BC)
3. After burning stage(CD)
➢ AB is called as ignition lag or preparation
face in which the growth & development of
flame takes place. This is chemical process.
➢ BC is concerned with spreading of flame
through out the combustion chamber.
➢ CD is after burning where certain local
pockets of air fuel particles undergone
combustion.
The combustion process in an SI engine consists
of three stages:
 FACTORS AFFCTING THE FLAME
PROPAGATION
Rate of flame propagation affects the
combustion process in SI engines. Higher
combustion efficiency and fuel economy can be
achieved by higher flame propagation velocities.
The factors which affect the flame propagations
are
1. Air fuel ratio
2. Compression ratio
3. Load on engine
4. Turbulence and engine speed
PHENOMENON OF KNOCKING IN SI ENGINE
• If the temperature of the unburnt mixture
exceeds the self-ignition temperature of the
fuel and remains at or above this temperature
during the period of preflame reactions (ignition
lag), spontaneous ignition or autoignition
occurs at various pin-point locations.

• This phenomenon is called knocking. The

process of autoignition leads towards engine
knock.

• Because of the autoignition, another flame front

starts traveling in the opposite direction to the
main flame front. When the two flame fronts
collide, a severe pressure pulse is generated.
AUTO IGINITION
A mixture of fuel and air can react
spontaneously and produce heat by chemical
reaction in the absence of flame to initiate the
combustion or self-ignition. This type of self-
ignition in the absence of flame is known as
Auto-Ignition. The temperature at which the
self-ignition takes place is known as self-
igniting temperature (SIT).
PRE -IGINITION
Pre-ignition is the ignition of the homogeneous
mixture of charge as it comes in contact with hot
surfaces, in the absence of spark .
Auto ignition may overheat the spark plug and
exhaust valve and it remains so hot that its
temperature is sufficient to ignite the charge in
next cycle during the compression stroke before
spark occurs and this causes the pre-ignition of
the charge.
Pre-ignition is initiated by some overheated
projecting part such as the sparking plug
electrodes, exhaust valve head, metal corners
in the combustion chamber, and carbon
deposits.
EFFECT OF DETONATION
⦿ Noise and Roughness.
⦿ Vibration
⦿ Mechanical Damage.
⦿ Decrease in power output and efficiency.
⦿ Pre-ignition.
Factors affecting Detonation or
Knocking in SI engine
1.Compression ratio:
The pressure and temperature at the end
of compression increases with increase in
compression ratio. This in turn increase the
maximum pressure during the combustion
and creates a tendency to knock
2. Supercharging:
It is the process of allowing the charge at a
pressure higher than atmospheric pressure.
Because of supercharging the density and
temperature increases there by knocking
tendency increases.
Super charging is generally done on CI
engines
3. Increasing inlet temperature:
It results in increase in knocking.
4. Increase in load:
increase in load result in increase in
temperature of the cylinder, there by rising the
temperature and hence knocking tendency
increasing at high loads.
5. Advancing the spark:
when the spark is advance the burning gas is
compressed by rising piston and therefore the
increase in temperature will be much more
and hence the knocking tendency increases.
To avoid detonation spark must be retarded.
6. Flame travel distance:
Flame travel distance should be small to
avoid detonation.
7. Spark plug location:
spark plug which is located centrally has
minimum tendency for knocking because the
flame travel distance decreases.
8. Engine size:
For larger engine size the flame travel
distance will be longer and hence knocking
chances are high, because of this reason SI
engine sizes are generally limited.
9.Location of exhaust valve:
There are two hot spot zone in SI engines
i.e.,spark plug & exhaust valve.
If the exhaust valve is very far from the spark
plug the temperature around exhaust valve
region will be high.
If the spark plug is very far it will take much
time and during this time the charge near
exhaust valve would autoignitied due to high
temperature and hence exhaust valve must be
located as close to spark plug as possible.
So the flame travel distance is minimized.
10. Turbulence:
With increase in turbulence the flame speed
increases and hence the chances of detonation
would decreases.
11.Engine speed:
Increase in engine speed increases
turbulence & hence knocking tendency
decreases.
12. Octane rating of fuel:
For better antiknock properties
octane number must be high.
In order to avoid or inhibit detonation, a high
autoignition temperature and a long ignition lag
are the desirable qualities for SI engine fuels.
COMBUSTION IN CI
ENGINE
STAGES OF COMBUSTION IN
CI ENGINE
• Ignition Delay period /Pre-flame combustion
i. Physical delay
ii. Chemical delay
• Uncontrolled combustion
• Controlled combustion
• After burning
Stages of combustion in a CI engine
1.Ignition Delay period
The fuel does not ignite
immediately upon injection into the
combustion chamber. There is a definite
period of inactivity between the time of
injection and the actual burning this
period is known as the ignition delay
period.
The ignition delay period can be
divided into two parts, the physical delay
and the chemical delay.
➢ When the fuel is injected into the
combustion chamber the fuel mix with air.
The time spend in this process is known
as physical delay.
➢ Certain pre flame reactions starts and after
some time fuel burns automatically and the
time consuming during this process is
known as chemical delay.
2.Period of Rapid Combustion
During total delay period more fuel droplet
come from the injector into the combustion
chamber. This group of fuel droplets burn
together and this produces uncontrolled
combustion is known as knocking and this
occurs at the end of delay period or the
beginning of combustion.
The rate of heat-release is
maximum during this period. This is also known
as uncontrolled combustion phase, because it is
difficult to control the amount of burning/
injection during the process of burning.
3.Period of Controlled
Combustion
The rapid combustion period is
followed by the third stage, the
controlled combustion. The temperature
and pressure in the second stage are so
high that fuel droplets injected burn
almost as they enter and any further
pressure rise can be controlled by
injection rate. The period of controlled
combustion is assumed to end at
maximum cycle temperature.
4.Period of After-Burning
Combustion does not stop
with the completion of the injection
process. The unburnt and partially burnt
fuel particles left in the combustion
chamber start burning as soon as they
come into contact with the oxygen. This
process continues for a certain duration
called the after-burning period. This
burning may continue in expansion stroke
up to 70 to 80% of crank travel from TDC.
Parameters controlling abnormal
combustion in CI engines
Abnormal combustion means knocking.
1.Compression ratio:
Greater the compression the
temperature in the cylinder are higher and
hence due to higher molecular activity the
ignition delay will be less and the chances of
abnormal combustion are less at higher
compression ratios.
2. cylinder wall temperature:
If the cylinder wall temperatures are high
the delay period will be less and hence
knocking tendency will be less.
3.Delay period:
The delay period must be small. If the
delay period is large more fuel will be
accumulated in the cylinder and may burn
suddenly.
4. Inlet temperature:
For smaller delay period the inlet
temperature must be high.
5. Self ignition temperature:
Self ignition temperature must be low, so
that less time is required to reach that
temperature. Therefore only small amount of
fuel burning in a controlled manner.
6. Ignition advance angle:
If the ignition angle is advanced the fuel
injection starts at low pressure and low
temperature and due to this low temperature
the delay period will be large and hence
more fuel is accumulated in the cylinder and
may burn in an uncontrolled manner.
7. engine speed:

The fuel injector is geared to

the engine and hence the injection remains
constant interms of crank angle.
If the speed increases the
duration of injection time increases and
hence at higher speed more fuel is
accumulated in less time and hence in CI
engines the chances of abnormal
combustion are high at high speeds.
8. Using a better fuel:
Higher CN(Cetane Number) fuel
has lower delay period and reduces
knocking tendency.
9. Knock reducing fuel injector :
sudden increase in pressure inside
combustion chamber is because of
accumulated fuel.
This can be done by arranging the injector
so that only small amount of fuel is injected
first.
This can be achieved by using two or more
injectors arranging in out of phase.
 COMPARISON OF KNOCKING IN
SI AND CI ENGINES
SI NO FACTORS AFFECTING SI ENGINE CI ENGINE
KNOCKING

1 SELF IGNITION HIGH LOW

TEMPERATURE
2 DELAY PERIOD LONG SHORT

3 COMPRESSION RATIO LOW HIGH

4 INLET TEMPERATURE LOW HIGH

5 INLET PRESSURE LOW HIGH

6 SPEED HIGH LOW

7 COMBUSTION CHAMBER LOW HIGH

WALL TEMP.
Diagrams illustrating knocking combustion in SI and CI engines

1.In spark ignition engines, auto ignition of end

gas away from the spark plug, most likely near
the end of combustion causes knocking. But in
compression engines the auto ignition of charge
causing knocking is at the start of combustion.
2. In order to avoid knocking in SI engine, it is
necessary to prevent auto ignition of the end
gas to take place at all. In CI engine, the
earliest auto –ignition is necessary to avoid
knocking
3. The knocking in SI engine takes place in
homogeneous mixture, therefore , the rate of
pressure rise and maximum pressure is
considerably high. In case of CI engine, the
mixture is not homogenous and hence the
rate of pressure is lower than in SI engine.
4. In CI engine only air is compressed, therefore
there is no question of Pre-ignition in CI
engines as in SI engines.
5. SI fuels should have long delay period to
avoid knocking. CI fuels should have short
delay period to avoid knocking.
RATING OF FUELS

•Normally fuels are rated for their antiknock qualities.

•The rating of fuels is done by defining two parameters

•Octane number for gasoline

•Cetane number for diesel

•OCTANE NUMBER: The octane number of a petrol fuel

is a measure of its ignition quality.
•CETANE NUMBER: The cetane number of a diesel fuel
is a measure of its ignition quality.
Rating of SI Engine Fuels

•According to a standard practice, the antiknock value of

an SI engine fuel is determined by comparing its antiknock
property with a mixture of two reference fuels, iso-octane
(C8H18) and normal heptane (C7H16).

•Iso-octane chemically being a very good antiknock fuel, is

arbitrarily assigned a rating of 100 octane number.

•Normal heptane (C7H16), on the other hand, has very poor

antiknock qualities and is given a rating of 0 octane
number.
The Octane number fuel is defined as the percentage, by
volume, of iso-octane in a mixture of iso-octane and
normal heptane, which exactly matches the knocking
intensity of the fuel in a standard engine under a set of
standard operating conditions.
Rating of CI Engine Fuels

•The reference fuels are normal cetane, C16H34, which is

arbitrarily assigned a cetane number of 100 and alpha
methyl naphthalene, C11H10, with an assigned cetane
number of 0.

•Cetane number of a fuel is defined as the percentage by

volume of normal cetane in a mixture of normal cetane and
α-methyl naphthalene which has the same ignition
characteristics (ignition delay) as the test fuel when
combustion is carried out in a standard engine under
specified operating conditions.
 SUPERCHARGING
To achieve:
(i) improved power output and
(ii) minimum exhaust emissions.

The method of supplying air or fuel-air mixture

higher than the pressure at which the engine
naturally aspirates, by means of a boosting
device is called the supercharging.

The device which boosts the pressure is called

supercharger.
Supplying air(Diesel or CI Engines) or air-fuel
mixture(Petrol or SI Engines) at a pressure
which is higher than the atmospheric pressure,
will increase the density, thereby the mass of
air or air-fuel mixture inducted for the same
swept volume.

This in turn will increase the power output of

the engine.
This is usually done with the help of a compressor
known as supercharger.

supercharging which may be called forced induction

SUPERCHARGER
The points to be noted in supercharging an engine
summarized as:
(i) Supercharging increases the power output of the
engine.

(i) Certain percentage of power is consumed in

compressing the air. This power has to be taken
from the engine itself. This will lead to some
power loss. However, it is seen that the net power
output will be more than the power output of an
engine of the same capacity, without
supercharging.
(iii) The engine should be designed to withstand
the higher forces due to supercharging.

(iv) The increased pressure and temperature as a

result of supercharging, may lead to detonation,
Therefore the fuel used must have better
antiknock characteristics.
In practice, racing car engines use supercharging.
The most important areas where supercharging is
of vital importance are :

(i) Marine and automotive engines where weight

and space are important.

(ii) Engines working at high altitudes. The power

loss due to altitude can be compensated by
supercharging
Following are the effects on the performance of
the engine because of supercharging:

(1) In supercharged engines more amount of high

pressure and high temperature air is supplied,
which results in increased volumetric efficiency
and more output power.

(2) Because of more pressures, scavenging (i.e.,

removing the burnt gases out of the engine
cylinder) will be improved.

(3) By supercharging mechanical efficiency

increases.
(4) For petrol engines supercharging results in
better mixing of air and fuel. Note that as more
amount of air is supplied, more amount of fuel is
also required to be supplied. Hence specific fuel
consumption will be more when compared with
naturally aspirated engines.

(5) For Diesel engine by supercharging there is

improvement in combustion and hence increase in
mechanical efficiency.
 TURBOCHARGER
Compressed Air into
Cylinder

Air filter(Inlet)

Turbine Section

Compressor Section
 Text Books

Ganesan.V. “Internal Combustion Engines”, 4/e, Tata

McGraw Hill, 2012.

How Supercharger Works : https://youtu.be/F-Iugo2lqvk