Thermodynamic Cycles for CI engines

• In early CI engines the fuel was injected when the piston reached
TC and thus combustion lasted well into the expansion stroke.

• In modern engines the fuel is injected before TC (about 20o)

Fuel injection starts

Fuel injection starts

Early CI engine Modern CI engine

• The combustion process in the early CI engines is best approximated

by a constant pressure heat addition process  Diesel Cycle

• The combustion process in the modern CI engines is best approximated

by a combination of constant volume & constant pressure  Dual Cycle
 Modern CI Engine Cycle vs Dual Cycle
Fuel injected
A at 20o bTC
I
R

Air Combustion
Products
Actual
Cycle

Intake Compression Power Exhaust

Stroke Stroke Stroke Stroke

Qin Qin Qout

Air
Dual TC
Cycle
BC

Compression Const volume Const pressure Expansion Const volume

Process heat addition heat addition Process heat rejection
Process Process Process
 Dual Cycle
Process 1  2 Isentropic compression
Process 2  X Constant volume heat addition
Process X  3 Constant pressure heat addition
Process 3  4 Isentropic expansion
Process 4  1 Constant volume heat rejection

X 3 Qin
3

2 Qin
X

4
4 2

1
1 Qout
 Thermal Efficiency
Qout m u4  u1
 Dual  1   1
cycle Qin m (u X  u2 )  (h3  hX )

For cold air-standard the above reduces to:

1  rck  1 
 Diesel  1  k 1  
const c V
r  (  1)  k rc  1

where rc= v3/vX and  = P3/P2

Note, the Otto cycle (rc =1) and the Diesel cycle (=1)
are special cases:

1  Diesel

 1  k 1  

1  1 rck  1 
Otto  1 
r k 1 const cV 
r  k rc  1 
The use of the Dual cycle requires information about either the fractions
of constant volume and constant pressure heat addition (common
assumption is to equally split the heat addition), or the maximum
pressure P3.

Transformation of rc and  into more natural variables yields

k  1  Qin  1   1 1 P3
rc  1     
k  P1V1  r k 1 k  1  r k P1

For the same inlet conditions P1, V1 and the same compression ratio:
Otto   Dual   Diesel
For the same inlet conditions P1, V1 and the same peak pressure
(actual design limitation in engines):

 Diesel   Dual  otto